Intent

The Food Preparation and Nutrition curriculum at Preston Muslim Girls’ High School, will equip students with the knowledge, understanding and skills required to cook and apply the principles of food science, nutrition and healthy eating. Our curriculum will encourage pupils to cook and enable them to make informed decisions about a wide range of further learning opportunities and career pathways as well as develop vital life skills that enable them to feed themselves and others affordably and nutritiously – now and later in life.

At PMGHS our curriculum is designed to inspire, challenge and develop independence, whilst equipping students with the knowledge and skills required to create, cook and evaluate their own dishes. The curriculum will develop knowledge and skills to allow pupils to make a range of nutritious meals inspired from dishes from around the world. Additionally, students will gain knowledge of the importance of nutrition and health impacts. They will also develop their awareness of the source, seasonality and the impact food has on the environment.

Pupils are encouraged in lessons to make decisions, think independently and critique their work. Creativity, resilience and problem-solving are essential skills we believe are necessary for planning, preparing and applying their knowledge to everyday tasks. Through a well-planned combination of theory and practical projects, pupils are provided with opportunities to apply these skills in real life contexts. As a regular feature of our practical lessons, pupils are provided with many opportunities to evaluate their products and make a record of the steps that they will take to make further improvements and take ownership and responsibility for their learning and progress. Through our sequence of learning experiences, pupils gain life skills and learn how to maintain a healthy balanced diet and gain a better understanding of dietary related health problems.

Implementation

The PMGHS Food Preparation and Nutrition curriculum is carefully sequenced to provide a coherent learning journey that starts in KS3 and evolves through to learning in KS4. Our lessons use a range of learning and teaching strategies to ensure that all students are challenged, engaged and enjoy learning about food preparation and nutrition. We focus on developing knowledge, understanding and skills through demonstrations and regular retrieval practice. Embedded within the curriculum are links with literacy, numeracy and science.  These are implemented through learners developing skills such as measuring, timing, ratio and proportion, key vocabulary, scientific baking processes and evaluations- vital for everyday tasks. The food preparation and nutrition department also link with Design Technology and Art to work on design projects.

The curriculum is designed for students to develop and progress within 5 key concepts of knowledge which underpin our subject; Nutrition & Diet, Science of Food, Where Food Comes From, Factors affecting food choice and Food preparation and cooking. These 5 key concepts are progressed in each year, building on prior knowledge. Our knowledge rich curriculum fosters a love of learning and high aspirations in an environment of positive support, whereby pupils are actively encouraged to reach their full potential. Pupils begin

PMGHS having had varying amounts of food experience. The curriculum is designed to embed the foundation stage of each of the 5 key concepts.

In KS3 students are given regular opportunities to demonstrate effective and safe cooking skills by planning, preparing and cooking using a variety of food commodities, cooking techniques and equipment.  In Year 7, pupils will learn about correct hygiene & safety rules, the correct storage of food, the Eatwell Guide and the nutrients and their functions. This starts to develop essential knowledge around healthy foods and a balanced diet which over time will educate our students on how to eat healthily. This knowledge is built on in Year 8, where pupils learn to explore and create multicultural dishes from around the world. Our students learn about these foods and experience how overtime, they have influenced food choices for everyone, building a culture of mutual respect and a tolerance of different cultures and religion. The curriculum in Year 9 enables pupils to consolidate previous learning and develop their knowledge and understanding on topics such as Health and Nutrition. By Year 9, pupils will apply these food principles to identify the nutritional needs of different age groups in both the practical and theory setting and use the nutrition program to research, plan and cook healthy and predominately savoury meals to suit an individual’s dietary requirements e.g vegetarianism or a diet to suit a coeliac. A range of cooking techniques are taught across the three years, focusing on developing skills and creativity.

In KS4, the AQA GCSE Food Nutrition and Preparation course is designed to develop students understanding of the working characteristics, functional and chemical properties of ingredients. Students will also develop knowledge, skills and understanding in relation to the planning, preparation, cooking, presentation of food and application of nutrition related to chosen tasks. The carefully sequenced lessons ensure that our pupils are well equipped with the knowledge and skills required to cook and confidently apply their learning to complete NEA tasks in Year 11.

Pupils are monitored throughout each topic and practical skills are tested on a regular basis to ensure all pupils are making the maximum level of progress possible. Pupils are also given the opportunity to visit food production companies and local farms to develop their cultural capital awareness.

All pupils have access to the GCSE online digital book and we encourage independent study using this resource in order to expand and deepen students’ understanding of topics covered in lessons. The practical and theoretical skills learners will acquire throughout the curriculum will empower them to work confidently, independently and develop valuable life skills.

Impact

Food Preparation contributes to broader curriculum aims by promoting the position of food education within the health and well-being agenda of the whole school. Pupils will explore healthy eating and balanced diets and will learn about nutritional needs of different groups in society. 

By the end of the KS3, pupils will have developed a robust knowledge of the various topics that Food Preparation covers, ready for if they choose to study further in KS4 and the GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition. This will be evident in their classroom books and the meals they prepare and cook. Pupils will be equipped with the knowledge and vital life skills to make informed choices to achieve a healthy balanced diet for themselves and others.

The GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition course is a demanding and creative course, which combines practical cooking skills with an in-depth knowledge of nutrition, food provenance and food science and develops pupils’ practical cookery skills as well as a strong understanding of nutrition.

Pupils are assessed through continuous assessment and diagnostic testing, which is built into each unit of work and challenge all abilities throughout KS3 and KS4.The clear focus and detailed curriculum approach leads to sustained levels of progress for individuals. Pupil attainment at KS4 level is consistently high – all of our pupils achieve 100% 9-7 and the standards are very high when compared nationally.