Food and Nutrition
Meet The Team
Phil Neilens - Head of Technology, Teacher of Technology (Engineering, Food and Resistant Materials)
Richard Abrams - Teacher of Technology (Engineering, Food and Resistant Materials)
Laura Jones - Teacher of Food
Tyler Joint - Teacher of Food
Intent
The intent of our Food and Nutrition curriculum is to apply the principles of nutrition and healthy eating, instilling a love of cooking in all pupils. Learning how to cook is a crucial life skill for pupils now and in later life. Throughout their time at school, we aim to encourage independent learning through practical participation. Our students learn about multicultural foods and experience how different cultural foods influence our everyday food choices. This supports our students’ understanding of different religions and ethical beliefs and how these have influence our lives. Students also have a clear understanding relating to food choices and the impact on the environment relating to food waste.
The department has a strong focus and drive to develop independent learners and promote high standards of academic achievement through making and evaluating dishes. The department has a strong belief that all students should be independent, enabling our students to develop personal responsibility and self-motivation and to consider the needs of others. This equips our students with the knowledge and cultural capital to succeed in life.
Our Curriculum Learning Pathway
Food and Nutrition Curriculum Pathway (PDF)
Implementation
Key Stage 3
During Key Stage 3, students study either Design and Technology or Food for one hour a week. Each subject is studied for half of the year. Our curriculum is built on the underlying principles of nutrition and healthy eating and this is the focus during Year 7, along with basic skills relating to health and safety in the kitchen.. In Year 8 students begin to learn more about different food commodities, strengthening their understanding of the ingredients they use and why they use them. In Year 9, Students learn about regional British and international cuisine, along with food provenance and an introduction to some of the science of cooking, in preparation for Key Stage 4.
Key Stage 4
The WJEC Eduqas GCSE in Food Preparation and Nutrition 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 aims to:
be able to demonstrate effective and safe cooking skills by planning, preparing and cooking a variety of food commodities.
- develop knowledge and understanding of the functional properties and chemical characteristics of food.
- understand the relationship between diet, nutrition and health,
- understand the economic, environmental, ethical and socio-cultural influences on food availability, production processes, diet and health choices
- demonstrate knowledge and understanding of functional and nutritional properties, sensory qualities and microbiological food safety considerations when preparing, processing, storing, cooking and serving food.
- understand and explore a range of ingredients and processes from different culinary traditions (traditional British and international) to inspire new ideas or modify existing recipes.
What exam courses do we follow?
Eduqas Food Preparation and Nutrition (GCSE)
Non Examined Assessment 1 - Food Investigation assessment - 15% of the GCSE taken during September of Year 11
Non Examined Assessment 2 - Food Preparation assessment - 35% of the GCSE completed during November and December of Year 11
Examination - 50% of the GCSE, sat during May / June of Year 11.
How do we enrich our students outside of the classroom?
We run a popular and successful Food club once a week after school. The students enjoy cooking a variety of sweet and savoury dishes as well as learning and practicing new skills. Our students regularly provide refreshments for open evenings, parents evenings and school performances.
Additionally we run cooking activities during enrichment week, including visits to restaurants and visiting chefs. Recent visitors to Lipson have included the Royal Navy catering team and the Taste of Game chefs.