Curriculum – Food Technology

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Curriculum – Food Technology

Food Preparation & Nutrition

The Curriculum

Curriculum Intent

Food is an essential and joyous part of our daily lives: a healthy balanced diet improves both quality of life and life expectancy. Students are encouraged to create a range of diverse dishes and to understand how the constituent macro and micro-nutrients help to grow, maintain and repair their bodies.  They will also develop an understanding of how different cooking methods scientifically affect their ingredients, again furthering both curiosity and repertoire as they grow in independence.  Strong cross-curricular links are formed with all three Science disciplines, particularly Biology, and students are encouraged to undertake practical investigations which allow them autonomy to develop their analytical skills. Food is also a pathway to empathy; the interplay of traditions and customs that shape our world cuisine are explored and celebrated through both practical work and discussion.

Food and Nutrition students at SHSG will gain a broad range of vital life skills which will increase their independence and empower them to feed themselves and others affordably and nutritiously, both now and later in life. A sound understanding of food and nutrition ultimately shapes a student’s future and fuels success at every stage in life.

What does it feel like to be a student in the Food Department?

The Food Preparation and Nutrition syllabus equips you with the understanding, knowledge and skills required to cook and apply the principles of food science, food nutrition and healthy eating. An early focus on food safety ensures that you will be able to develop your knowledge and skills within a clear framework of safe working practices.  You will be encouraged to experiment and adapt recipes you cook, developing your confidence and independence. It enables you to make informed decisions about food and nutrition which will enable you to be able to feed yourself and others affordably and nutritiously and promote good physical and mental health.

You will be encouraged to carefully consider the needs of others, through exploring our differing nutritional needs and cultural influences; you will also learn how to accommodate those who have to eliminate certain ingredients for reasons of health, or religious or ethical frameworks.  This will allow you to become a more creative and empathetic person, as well as broadening your culinary horizons.  You will also be confronted by the impact of your food choices, as sustainability, food poverty and food wastage are all explored through the course.

As you study, the strong links between science, humanities and PE will facilitate your development across the breadth of your KS3 and 4 studies, as well as equipping you with essential life skills and understanding.

Please click on the button below to download the assessment policy for Food Preparation and Nutrition.

Download Department Assessment Policy

Journey

Food Curriculum

Key Stage 3 (Years 8 - 9)

At Southend High School for Girls we teach a curriculum that is designed to offer real-world insight and skill. The SHSG Food Preparation & Nutrition curriculum is devised to allow students to engage with a balanced variety of nutritional knowledge, cooking skill and wholistic insight in order to produce rounded and confident young people.

The Food Preparation & Nutrition curriculum is planned and delivered using the intellectual framework of the classical education model, the Trivium:

  • Grammar (Knowledge and skills) awareness of topical issues in food preparation, knowledge of ingredients and processes, practical skill in a variety of food commodities
  • Dialectic (Enquiry and exploration) research, develop, analyse, evaluate, challenge
  • Rhetoric (Communication) designing, discussion, presentation, critique

Year 8 – 9

Pre-requisite or helpful knowledge from Year 6 Design Technology ready to study in Year 8 if applicable
The expectation for prior learning at KS2 in food covers both the National Curriculum for Food and also the Core Competencies.  Most students have experienced some cooking at junior school, although this often falls short of the expectation that students will have cooked a variety of ‘predominantly savoury’ dishes

The topics below have been chosen in order to meet the breadth of skills in the KS3 National Curriculum, the Core Competencies and Healthy Lifestyle from PSHCE. They also feed into the GCSE syllabus, hopefully encouraging students to undertake our KS4 programme of study.

Year 7

This subject is not taught in Year 7.

Year 8

Students in years 8 and 9 will enjoy a carousel of learning in design technology, to include specialist lessons in food preparation and nutrition, graphic design, product design, fashion and textiles and electronics.  Each term will be spent in a different specialist room working in one of the above areas, as detailed on the design technology page ‘here’

Year 9

Students in years 8 and 9 will enjoy a carousel of learning in design technology, to include specialist lessons in food preparation and nutrition, graphic design, product design, fashion and textiles and electronics.  Each term will be spent in a different specialist room working in one of the above areas, as detailed on the design technology page ‘here’

Recommended reading in Food Preparation and Nutrition for Lower School (Years 8 – 9)

  • See departmental reading notice board in CPA block

Useful websites, TED Talks and research for Lower School (Years 8 – 9)

  • BBC Good Food
  • Delish.com
  • Masterchef
  • Great British Bake Off

Food Preparation and Nutrition -specific language to master in Lower School (Years 8 – 9)

  • Students are supplied with a specialist glossary at the back of all handbooks
  • Comprehensive list of key terms on Teams

Key Stage 4 (Years 10 - 11)

At Southend High School for Girls students are given a holistic experience in food, being taught the most rigorous aspects of nutrition and food science alongside learning vital, practical skills.  Students are guided and challenged, affording them a springboard into a host of possible contemporary A Level and career options.

The Food Preparation and Nutrition curriculum is planned and delivered using the intellectual framework of the classical education model, the Trivium:

  • Grammar (Knowledge and skills) knowledge, subject terminology, cultural capital
  • Dialectic (Enquiry and exploration) research, develop, test, trial, model, evaluate, sensory analysis
  • Rhetoric (Communication) presentations, maps, hand-outs, debate, discussion

Pre-requisite or helpful knowledge from Key Stage 3 Food Preparation and Nutrition ready to study at GCSE

  • Students should have experience of cooking a variety of both savoury and sweet dishes
  • Students should be enquiring and enthusiastic about food and cooking
  • Students should be unafraid of trial and error and should have an enthusiasm for biology

The topics below have been chosen as they reflect the ambitions of the Eduqas exam board specification, and as a Grammar school, also challenge students beyond the exam board specification. They have been carefully sequenced in this order to build a student’s learning journey to achieve the aims of our Food Preparation and Nutrition intent. Along the way students are assessed and topics will be revisited in assessments to keep each stage of this learning journey alive.

Year 10, Term 1

Topic 1

  • Macro and Micro nutrients

Topic 2

  • Diet and good health

Commodity 1

  • Cereals

Commodity 2

  • Fruit and vegetables

Practicals

  • Pasta
  • Risotto
  • Welsh cakes
  • Stuffed apples
  • Ratatouille
  • Vegetable rosti

Year 10, Term 2

Topic 3

  • The science of cooking

Topic 4

  • Food spoilage

Topic 5

  • Food provenance and waste

Commodity 3

  • Dairy

Commodity 4

  • Butter, oil, sugar, syrup

Practicals

  • Chocolate mousse
  • Crème anglaise
  • Potato Dauphinoise
  • Jam
  • Butter

Year 10, Term 3

Topic 6

  • Cultures and cuisines

Topic 7

  • Factors affecting food choice

Practice food science experiment

Commodity 5

  • Meat, poultry, fish, eggs

Commodity 6

Beans, nuts, seeds, soya, tofu, mycoprotein

Practicals

  • Chicken kiev
  • Meatballs with pepper
  • Cod bake
  • Cheese souffle
  • Mayonnaise
  • Bean burgers
  • Thai Quorn curry
  • Tofu noodles

Year 11, Term 1

NEA1 – Science investigation

Year 11, Term 2

NEA2 – food preparation investigation

Year 11, Term 3 (one half term only)

Revision

  • Practice papers
  • Review of topics

Achieving outstanding outcomes in Food Preparation and Nutrition – knowing and remembering even more than what is expected in a grammar school GCSE curriculum

Our assessment practice at SHSG reflects on how successful students have been in knowing, remembering and doing more through the above topics.

To go beyond what is expected of a Food Preparation and Nutrition student at GCSE and achieve outstanding outcomes  in the subject, students should develop a passion for food that evolves outside of class-room learning.  They should watch programmes and competitions which allow them to maintain an awareness of fashionable ingredients, techniques and plating.  They should also look to form conscious links between their studies in FPN and their studies in science, the humanities and PE.

Recommended reading in Food Preparation and Nutrition for GCSE

  • Any books from the KS4 Reading List that are available in the department

Useful websites, TED Talks and research for GCSE

  • A list of videos and helpful websites are provided on Teams once you start the course. An up to date list of recommend library books can be found in the food room.

Food Preparation and Nutrition-specific language to master at GCSE

  • Students will be encouraged to use correct nomenclature for ingredients and equipment through lessons, written and NEA tasks
  • Students will be encouraged to broaden their descriptive vocabulary in order to access necessarily impressive analyses, developments and evaluations
  • A comprehensive glossary of terms is available on Teams