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DT – Cooking & Nutrition

“Cooking is all about people. Food is maybe the only universal thing that really has the power to bring everyone together. No matter what culture, everywhere around the world, people eat together.” Guy Fieri

Our curriculum has been developed to enable students to engage in a range of practical skills and to have experience of cooking with a diverse range of ingredients. Cooking and Nutrition aims to instil a love of cooking in our students, aiming to open a door to one of the great expressions of human creativity. The curriculum looks to provide students with the necessary knowledge to prepare and cook a variety of dishes and demonstrate a range of skills. Students will have the opportunity to express their creativity at the same time as developing time management skills within a food environment.

Cooking and Nutrition lessons aim to build sufficient knowledge to enable students to understand and apply the principles of nutrition and health, cook a repertoire of predominantly savoury dishes, so that they are able to feed themselves and others a healthy and varied diet. Students are taught to become competent in a range of cooking techniques e.g. selecting and preparing ingredients, using utensils and electrical equipment and applying heat in different ways. The range of skills we use helps students to have an awareness of taste, texture and smell to decide how to season dishes and combine ingredients. The curriculum allows students to adapt recipes alongside understanding the source, seasonality and characteristics of a broad range of ingredients. Learning how to cook is a crucial life skill, our curriculum enables our students to feed themselves and others affordably, now and in later life.

Year 7

 

Cooking a range of dishes:  skills to provide meals for family and friends.

 

 

Health and Hygiene: providing students with the knowledge and understanding of  making healthier choices to support a healthy lifestyle and safe working practices when handling food.

 

 

Students will understand and apply the principles of nutrition and health. Using the principles of the Eatwell guide we learn to cook a variety of dishes that reflect the principles of the Eatwell guide and healthy eating.
Students will cook a repertoire of predominantly savoury dishes so that they are able to feed themselves and others a healthy and varied diet All learners take part in making dishes from sweet to savoury offering a range of diverse meals from around the globe: including Quesadillas and Chilli ‘non’ Carne, making use of a non meat source of protein.

 

Students will become competent in a range of cooking techniques. Learners will be familiar with a variety of techniques including peeling, chopping, weighing, using a variety of  utensils and electrical equipment. They will gain an awareness of taste, texture and smell to decide how to season dishes and combine ingredients.
Students will begin to understand the source, seasonality and characteristics of a broad range of ingredients Making use of foods that are apparent to seasons and gaining an understanding of how to cook on a budget and create dishes at home.

Year 8

 

Dishes from around the world to engage students with  taste and textures.

 

 

Advancing technical skills in cooking . Building on skills to create more advanced dishes.

 

 

 

Students will understand and apply the principles of nutrition and health. Using the idea of source and function to understand what nutritional value our food offers and the Macronutrients within food.
Students will cook a repertoire of predominantly savoury dishes so that they are able to feed themselves and others a healthy and varied diet We begin to cook a wider range of diverse meals from around the world including Jolly West African Jollof rice, Curry in a Hurry and Pinwheel Pizza scones.

 

Students will become competent in a range of cooking techniques. We introduce whisking, kneading  and creaming, all skills that help create more advanced dishes and offer intermediate cooking skills.
Students will begin to understand the source, seasonality and characteristics of a broad range of ingredients We look at foods that are in season and how they can be used in dishes and bought more readily at certain times of the year.

 

Year 9

 

Cooking for a range of diets

 

Increasing technical ability in the kitchen

 

 

 

 

Students will understand and apply the principles of nutrition and health. Using the principles of the Eatwell guide we build on its importance looking at the functions of macronutrients and how the micronutrients affect the body.
Students will cook a repertoire of predominantly savoury dishes so that they are able to feed themselves and others a healthy and varied diet Building a portfolio of dishes which concentrate on the macro and micronutrients and their nutritional value for specific groups of people and diet through life.
Students will become competent in a range of cooking techniques. Focaccia, Lasagne, Brownies and home-made Pizza incorporate higher level skills helping to become proficient in skills that can be used at home and incorporate a range of skills that have been gained throughout Key stage 3.
Students will begin to understand the source, seasonality and characteristics of a broad range of ingredients Investigating fruits and vegetables that grow in cycles and ripen during certain seasons- helping to understand seasonality and creating dishes in different seasons.

 

 

 

Hospitality and Catering – Eduqas Level 2 Vocational Award

Our Hospitality and Catering curriculum is designed to support students who want to learn about this vocational sector and the potential it can offer them for their future careers. The Hospitality and catering sector, one of the largest employers in the UK can range from waiting staff, receptionists and catering assistants to chefs, hotel and bar managers and food technologists in food manufacturing. Our curriculum aims to offer students an insight into:

The environment in which Hospitality and Catering providers operate

  • Food Safety
  • Hospitality and Catering Operations
  • Health & Safety
  • Understand the importance of nutrition when planning menus
  • Understand menu planning
  • Hospitality and Catering lessons will consist of a combination of theory and practical lessons,
  • students will be taught to be independent practitioners applying their knowledge of ingredients
  • to make a range of dishes using a variety of techniques.

Health and Social Care – Level 2 OCR National Award

Our Health and Social Care curriculum is designed to support students who wish to enter the Health and social care sector, one of the fastest growing areas for employment in the UK. Our curriculum aims to offer students an insight and opportunity to gain knowledge through a variety of vocational contexts by studying human lifespan development, health and social care services and values, and health and wellbeing.

Health and Social Care lessons gives students the opportunity to develop knowledge in the following areas:

  • the life stages and key characteristics in the physical, intellectual, emotional and social (PIES) development classifications and the different factors that can affect an individual’s growth and development
  • different life events and how individuals can adapt or be supported through changes caused by life events
  • health and social care conditions, how they can be managed by the individual and the different health and social care services that are available
  • the barriers and obstacles an individual may encounter and how these can be overcome
  • the skills, attributes and values required to give care and how these benefit the individual
  • how factors can affect an individual’s current health and wellbeing
  • how physiological indicators and an individual’s lifestyle choices determine physical health
  • the use of the person-centred approach
  • recommendations and actions to improving health and wellbeing and the barriers or obstacles individuals may face when following recommendations and the support available to overcome.

Child Development – Level 2 OCR National Award

Our Child Development curriculum is designed to support students who wish to enter the Early years sector. Our curriculum aims to develop students independence and confidence in using skills that would be relevant to the Childcare sector and create

an insight and opportunity to gain knowledge through a variety of vocational contexts by studying about the health and well being for a child’s development, creating a safe environment, understanding the nutritional needs of children from birth to five and understanding the development of a child from one to five.

Child Development lessons give students the opportunity to develop knowledge in the following areas:

  • preparing a feed or meal for a child
  • choosing suitable equipment to use in a childcare setting
  • planning suitable play activities
  • helping to prevent accidents in a childcare setting.
  • Pre-conception health and reproduction
  • Antenatal care and preparation for birth
  • Postnatal checks, postnatal care and the conditions for development
  • Childhood illnesses and a child safe environment.
  • Creating a safe environment in a childcare setting
  • Choosing suitable equipment for a childcare setting
  • Nutritional needs of children from birth to five years.
  • Physical, intellectual and social developmental norms from one to five years
  • Stages and types of play and how play benefits development
  • Observe the development of a child aged one to five years
  • Plan and evaluate play activities for a child aged one to five years for a chosen area of development.

Read like a Chef / Designer / Social Scientist

In Technology, reading plays a crucial role in supporting pupils’ learning and development, we embed reading into every lesson. As pupils move through the department  we aim to expand their knowledge of keywords and expand their vocabulary so they are able to access technology at a higher level

The reading we do in technology will help pupils to navigate in a range of environments. Pupils engage in reading of a range of texts, which vary from recipes, to instructions and higher level subject matter. We believe that reading engages the mind and allows our students to absorb information and think more critically.

Click here to view the suggested Social Scientist (Health and Social Care) reads poster.
Click here to view the suggested Social Scientist (Child Development) reads poster.
Click here to view the suggested Chef reads poster.
Click here to view the suggested Designer reads poster.
Please note: the images of the book covers are clickable hyperlinks to the book.

Home Learning

Learning beyond the classroom will involve…

  • A weekly homework set online for KS4.
  • A fortnightly homework set online for KS3.
  • There are additional learning sessions in place for support outside of teaching hours for students requiring extra learning opportunities.

Enrichment and other extracurricular activities

A wide range of DT – Cooking and Nutrition related enrichment options are available, including:

  • Christmas Cooking Club
  • Technicians Academy
  • Afternoon Tea Experience
  • Guest visits from Michelin star chefs
  • Live cooking demonstrations from Chefs

Contact

Mrs Waters, Director of Design Technology – Food, Technology and Health and Social Care
n.waters@sharplesschool.co.uk