Curriculum Intent

The Design Technology/Food curriculum at St Thomas’s Centre will promote:

Personal Development – to develop healthy individuals

• Understand and apply the principles of nutrition and health
• Understand how nutritional needs vary with age and health conditions
• Understand the source, seasonality and characteristics of a broad range of ingredients
• Demonstrate a repertoire of predominantly savoury dishes, as part of a healthy and varied affordable diet

Instilling a love of cooking that leads to self-sufficiency and independence

Caring Attitudes – To make a positive contribution to the community

• Understand the economic, environmental, ethical, religious and socio-cultural influences on food availability, production processes and diet and health choices
• Understand how food contributes to various religious and spiritual events and celebrations
• Explore a range of ingredients and processes from different culinary traditions

Instilling a love of cooking that enable students to feed themselves and others

Academic Achievement - To make, at least, the expected academic progress

• Ensuring that students achieve their expectations in a creative and innovative way
• Demonstrate knowledge of functional chemical and nutritional properties, the sensory qualities and the microbiological considerations leading to food preparation
• Critique, evaluate and test food and the food of others
• Apply the principles of nutrition and healthy eating in learning between subjects and beyond the classroom as understanding of nutrition and food ultimately fuels better academic success across the curriculum

Key Stage 3 overview

As part of their work with food, students will be taught how to cook and apply the principles of nutrition and healthy eating.  Instilling a love of cooking will also open a door to one of the great expressions of human creativity.  Learning how to cook is a crucial life skill that enables students to feed themselves and others affordably and well, now and in later life.  

Year 7

In year 7 students are equipped with basic skills which they will use throughout Key Stage 3. Pupils will demonstrate a range of sweet and savoury dishes under the supervision of teaching staff. The key concepts covered in Year 7 are:

• Food prep and cook WP & Food hygiene and safety in the kitchen
• Diet and nutrition – understanding macro nutrients
• Knife skills – claw grip
• Safe use of the hob and oven
• Weighing and measuring ingredients
• Practical cooking skills

Year 8

In Year 8 students continue to build on skills covered in Year 7 with a stronger emphasis on understanding how to adapt recipes for health and producing a range of savoury and sweet dishes to a good standard. The key concepts covered in Year 8 are:

• Food prep and cook & Food hygiene and safety in the kitchen
• Diet and nutrition (macro and micro)
• Special diets (religious, dietary)
• Adapting an existing recipe (to improve health)
• Buying and storing food
• Practical cooking skills

Year 9

In Year 9 students are introduced to further complex aspects of the kitchens around food commodities, diet and nutrition as well as understanding of adapting dishes to suit dietary needs. The key concepts covered in Year 9 are:

• Food prep and cook & food hygiene and safety in the kitchen.
• Understand food commodities
• Food labelling
• Diet and nutrition (calories, fibre, digestion)
• Understand how to adapt recipes to suit a dietary need
• Practical cooking skills