Our intention for our curriculum is:
“Cooking with kids is not just about ingredients, recipes, and cooking. It's about harnessing imagination, empowerment, and creativity.” Guy Fieri. The Food Technology curriculum at Ercall Wood Academy is designed to instil the principles of nutrition and healthy eating in all our students. As well as ensuring our students develop a range of skills, we allow them to become confident, healthy and independent with a love of cooking. Learning to cook a range of basic dishes is a crucial life skill that helps ensure students are prepared for the world outside and helps them to promote healthy living as well as a promoting a healthy lifestyle. The curriculum is designed to ensure all the students have a good understanding of the environmental impact our food choices have and recognise ways to ensure we can help to reduce carbon emissions and wastage. By buying locally sourced seasonal foods, reducing the amount of food waste and recognising the choices of food packaging used, our students are aware of how they can make a significant difference in society. Students study a range of different ‘themes’ including multicultural foods and dietary requirements and lifestyles. Through research work, taste testing and practical realisations students are taught how to become confident and competent in a wide range of cooking processes such as selecting and preparing ingredients, using a range of different equipment and utensils, adaptation of recipes, costing and nutritional analysis. Year 7 students experience 10 one-hour lessons where they are taught the importance of healthy eating and the principles of basic nutrition, whilst making dishes using the various parts of the cooker. Year 8 students experience one lesson per fortnight across the whole year where they build on and develop the skills learnt in year 7 and developing a greater understanding of nutrition linked to different dietary groups. Year 9 students have five one hour lessons a fortnight and give students a wide and balanced understanding of the key areas required for KS4, with an emphasis on meals and meal planning. Students independently follow a recipe, choose their own ingredients and equipment to ensure a quality dish. During KS4 the students are working on the GCSE AQA Food Preparation and Nutrition course, which focuses on preparation skills and is divided into five core topics, food, nutrition and health, food science, food safety, food provenance and food choices which leads to a final GCSE qualification. Students will choose their own recipes which will fit the design briefs they have been set and then decide on the best equipment and utensils to use to ensure a quality dish. The dishes will be costed and have the nutritional data analysed to ensure they are suitable and to adapt and develop as necessary to make them healthier or cheaper.
Curriculum Overview - Summer 2020
| TERM | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| Summer A | Students learn to use the oven, prepare fruit and a crumble topping by making a healthy desserts an Apple Crumble in lesson t. In lessons 6 and 7 they look at Multicultural Foods making a Pizza and Spaghetti Bolognaise. The focus is on hygiene and use of different parts of the cooker, reinforcing the work from lesson 4. | Meal planning were the students consider the key points in meal planning including cost and nutritional information. Students plan out and cost a main meal and dessert before making them for a specific target market. The meal must be a suitable size, have the necessary components and show a variety of skills and processes throughout its preparation. | Following on from the theory into pastry and the ingredients students plan and prepare a sweet and savoury pastry based dish and more detail on Carbohydrates and the diet is included with carbohydrate dishes being produced. The function of salt and sugar in the diet and the consequences are considered by looking at the salt and sugar intake of certain people and the quantities currently found in basic store cupboard food items. Students consider how they can reduce the salt and sugar and what impact this will have on the end product. Introduction to Minerals required in the diet is backed up with a nutritionally balanced sweet dish and kebabs with cous cous and a dip before basic flow charts and recipe costings are investigated. | The different types of raising agents and the function of raising agents is looked at and researched by making Pizza and Swiss Roll, which also considers the function of ingredients used and the correct use of ingredients when making a product. High Risk Foods and Bacteria and Food Contamination, including Food Poisoning –types, causes and symptoms are researched and an information booklet produced by the students for a specific target audience. Through planning a practical and preparation of a Chilli Con Carne students can put into practice the theory they have learnt on high risk foods and food contamination. This links in well with HACCP and its importance in the food industry. |
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| Summer B | In lessons 8 and 9 students look at the history of different types of biscuits making shortbread and flapjacks, again using a range of different pieces of equipment safely and different parts of the cooker unaided. Student research into packaging and product labelling by looking at examples already on food items. Will understand the importance of labelling and the new labelling guidelines set down by government and the Food Standards Agency. |
Meal planning were the students consider the key points in meal planning including cost and nutritional information. Students plan out and cost a main meal and dessert before making them for a specific target market. The meal must be a suitable size, have the necessary components and show a variety of skills and processes throughout its preparation. |
Functional and chemical properties of food are investigated through note taking and the production of a variety of different food items such as a bread based pizza. The purpose of a recipe and care in the buying, storing, using and heating ingredients is covered as part of food poisoning (types, causes and symptoms) and HACCP.Through planning and preparing a Chilli Con Carne, HACCP, the purpose of a recipe can be incorporated. Seasonal foods and factors |
By practical planning and realisation of a Bakewell Tart students can develop team work by working together to produce a good quality end result, each person having a specific role in its production. Seasonal foods and factors affecting our food choices are looked at through note taking, PowerPoint presentations and taste testing before students start a mock NEA on Traditional British Cuisine. |
The curriculum for 2020/21
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| Mr D Newton (Head of Department) | Mrs J Taylor (Second in Department) |
| Ms | C Foster | Mrs | L Jones |
| Mrs | R King |
| Year 7 |
Rotary Young Chef Competition allowing students to cook a meal for two people which is healthy, fits into a budget and a specific time frame / scan (two courses for £15s to be cooked in 90 minutes) Trust Banquet competition – students designing a three course Banquet menu which can be cooked for less than £15s in two hours and competing against other students in the Trust to create a suitable banquet meal Trust Banquet where students work together as part of a team to create a Banquet for invited guests to raise money for local charities. Students plan, prepare, cook and serve the dishes and consider the layout of the tables, room and colour scheme. After school food club allowing student the opportunity to have fun cooking dishes in a relaxed atmosphere with a range of different students, to help promote social interaction. |
| Year 8 |
Rotary Young Chef Competition allowing students to cook a meal for two people which is healthy, fits into a budget and a specific time frame / scan (two courses for £15s to be cooked in 90 minutes) Trust Banquet competition – students designing a three course Banquet menu which can be cooked for less than £15s in two hours and competing against other students in the Trust to create a suitable banquet meal Trust Banquet where students work together as part of a team to create a Banquet for invited guests to raise money for local charities. Students plan, prepare, cook and serve the dishes and consider the layout of the tables, room and colour scheme. After school food club allowing student the opportunity to have fun cooking dishes in a relaxed atmosphere with a range of different students, to help promote social interaction. |
| Year 9 |
Rotary Young Chef Competition allowing students to cook a meal for two people which is healthy, fits into a budget and a specific time frame / scan (two courses for £15s to be cooked in 90 minutes) Trust Banquet competition – students designing a three course Banquet menu which can be cooked for less than £15s in two hours and competing against other students in the Trust to create a suitable banquet meal Trust Banquet where students work together as part of a team to create a Banquet for invited guests to raise money for local charities. Students plan, prepare, cook and serve the dishes and consider the layout of the tables, room and colour scheme. After school food club allowing student the opportunity to have fun cooking dishes in a relaxed atmosphere with a range of different students, to help promote social interaction. |
| Year 10 |
Rotary Young Chef Competition allowing students to cook a meal for two people which is healthy, fits into a budget and a specific time frame / scan (two courses for £15s to be cooked in 90 minutes) Trust Banquet competition – students designing a three course Banquet menu which can be cooked for less than £15s in two hours and competing against other students in the Trust to create a suitable banquet meal Trust Banquet where students work together as part of a team to create a Banquet for invited guests to raise money for local charities. Students plan, prepare, cook and serve the dishes and consider the layout of the tables, room and colour scheme. GCSE catch up sessions before, during and after school to allow students the opportunity to develop skills and understanding for the exam and NEA tasks. Work placements in local eating establishments to understand what it is like to work in the industry – links have been made with Hadley Park Hotel and Walnut in Wellington. |
| Year 11 |
Rotary Young Chef Competition allowing students to cook a meal for two people which is healthy, fits into a budget and a specific time frame / scan (two courses for £15s to be cooked in 90 minutes) Trust Banquet competition – students designing a three course Banquet menu which can be cooked for less than £15s in two hours and competing against other students in the Trust to create a suitable banquet meal Trust Banquet where students work together as part of a team to create a Banquet for invited guests to raise money for local charities. Students plan, prepare, cook and serve the dishes and consider the layout of the tables, room and colour scheme. GCSE catch up sessions before, during and after school to allow students the opportunity to develop skills and understanding for the exam and NEA tasks. |
Key Stage 3
Students are set a homework task once a fortnight in years 7,8 and 9 which is usually based around research tasks or follow up work from the lessons.
Key Stage 4
Students are generally set either one long or two small pieces of homework in years 10 and 11, which can alternate between sourcing ingredients for practical tasks, research work or examination practice based on topics covered in the classroom. Students may also be set activities on GCSE POD and Seneca, to help reinforce classroom learning.
All homework tasks for students are posted on SMHK along with deadlines and any necessary resources.
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| ISBN: 9781908682789 | ISBN: 9781471863646 |
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