FOOD STUDIES & NUTRITION
"One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well."
- Virginia Woolf
The Food Studies and Nutrition department is all about fostering a love and understanding of cooking in students and allowing them to be creative whilst learning the importance of nutritional value and crucial life skills.
OUR CURRICULUM INTENT
In food studies it is our intent is to provide students with the knowledge and skills to be able to cook, and to feed themselves and others in addition to having a good working knowledge and understanding of nutrition and special diets.
We want our students to be brave, inquisitive and independent thinkers and as part of their work with food, pupils learn how to cook and apply the principles of nutrition and healthy eating. This leads to a love of cooking in pupils, and allows students to be creative whilst learning crucial life skill that will enable pupils to feed themselves and others affordably and well, now and in later life.
Through food studies students are provided with a context where they can explore the richness, pleasures and variety that food adds to life.
SUBJECT CURRICULUM JOURNEY OVERVIEW
STUDENT LEARNING RESOURCES & GUIDES
The button below will navigate to a series of resources which will support the development of skills and techniques and understanding of the subject.
KS4 EXAM BOARDS
At GCSE we follow the GCSE Educas Food Preparation and Nutrition specification. This covers a broad range of skills and assessments it equips learners with the knowledge, understanding and skills required to cook and apply the principles of food science, nutrition and healthy eating. It encourages learners to cook, enables them to make informed decisions about food and nutrition and allows them to acquire knowledge in order to be able to feed themselves and others affordably and nutritiously, now and later in life.
The course has been designed to enable pupils to create a balance between practical and theoretical knowledge and understanding. The layout of the content into six areas of content promotes flexibility of delivery, and releasing two tasks for each of the assessments that constitute the non-examination assessment will ensure learners are able to complete assessments suitable to their needs.
GCSE Areas of Content :
Food commodities
Principles of nutrition
Diet and good health
The science of food
Where food comes from
Cooking and food preparation
Assessment 1:
15% of total qualification
The Food Investigation Assessment.
A scientific food investigation which will assess the learner's knowledge, skills and understanding in relation to scientific principles underlying the preparation and cooking of food.
A Food Investigation will be set that will require each learner to:
Research and plan the task
Investigate the working characteristics, function and chemical properties of ingredients through practical experimentation and use the findings to achieve a particular result
Analyse and evaluate the task
Produce a report which evidences all of the above and includes photographs and/or visual recordings to support the investigation
Assessment 2:
35% of total qualification
The Food Preparation Assessment.
Prepare, cook and present a menu which assesses the learner’s knowledge, skills and understanding in relation to the planning, preparation, cooking and presentation of food.
This assessment will require learners to:
Plan, prepare, cook and present a selection of dishes, to meet particular requirements such as a dietary need, lifestyle choice or specific context.
Two options for this assessment will be set by WJEC Eduqas that will require the learners to:
Investigate and plan the task, select a final menu to be produced to showcase skills and produce a plan of action for the practical execution of the dishes (to include trialling and testing)
Prepare, cook and present a menu of three dishes within a single session.
Evaluate the selection, preparation, cooking and presentation of the three dishes
Produce a folio of evidence which includes documentation related to the selection of dishes, planning and evaluation and photographs and/or visual recordings which demonstrate the learner’s application of technical skills and the final outcomes
Exam :
50% of total qualification
1hr 45min Written Exam Assessment.
This component will consist of two sections both containing compulsory questions and will assess the six areas of content as listed in the specified GCSE content.
Section A: questions based on stimulus material.
Section B: structured, short and extended response questions to assess content related to food preparation and nutrition
FOOD STUDIES WHOLE SCHOOL CURRICULUM CONTRIBUTION
What are the core skills students develop in our subject?
Students will be able to demonstrate effective and safe cooking skills by planning, preparing and cooking a variety of food commodities whilst using different cooking techniques and equipment.
Understand and apply the principles of nutrition and health
Cook a repertoire dishes so that they are able to feed themselves and others a healthy and varied diet
Become competent in a range of cooking techniques [selecting and preparing ingredients; using utensils and electrical equipment; applying heat in different ways; using awareness of taste, texture and smell to decide how to season dishes and combine ingredients; adapting and using their own recipes]
Understand the source, seasonality and characteristics of a broad range of ingredients.
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of functional and nutritional properties, sensory qualities and microbiological food safety considerations when preparing, processing, storing, cooking and serving food.
What are the big ideas in our subject?
Develop knowledge and understanding of the functional properties and chemical characteristics of food as well as a sound knowledge of the nutritional content of food and drinks.
Understand the relationship between diet, nutrition and health, including the physiological and psychological effects of poor diet and health.
Understand the economic, environmental, ethical and socio-cultural influences on food availability, production processes, diet and health choices.
How do we ensure we support the development of core skills?
Through repetition level of challenge. The topics covered will give pupils an understanding in a variety of areas including the core principles of nutrition and the current UK government guidelines, health and safety and where food comes from. We provide a range of developing and challenging sequential learning experiences. Theory lessons will be used to further develop knowledge and create a foundation of knowledge that can be extended within practical activities, this will also be used to consolidate literacy skills and allow pupils to implement them in to written, speaking and listening activities. Using the skills in different combinations so students can see how they can be used together.
We welcome and value the individual response of all students, at every level, and ability. To provide equal educational opportunities to all individuals.
What motivates and interests our students?
Learning new skills, techniques and processes and exploring a range of ingredients and processes from different culinary traditions (traditional British and international) to inspire new ideas or modify existing recipes. We also develop the confidence of the our students to produce a wide range of dishes independently and so will support them in achieving a healthy and balanced diet. As part of their work with food, students also love to explore how to cook and apply the principles of nutrition and healthy eating so they can make better informed decsisions about their own diet.
How do we ensure consistency across the key stages?
By making sure that all Key Stages are treated as important. Each key stage should link with the learning being filtered down from top to bottom.
This means pupils develop their ability to apply the skills and knowledge they have acquired in previous years to design and develop a broad range of dishes, suitable to meet a specific brief. It will also mean that pupils get the opportunity to practise more advanced cooking methods to provide them with the confidence and skills to produce high level dishes as they progress through the keystages.