Y8 DT Food & Nutrition

Head of Department
Miss Bentham

Organisation of the subject:

In Design and Technology students have a double lesson each week throughout the year. They will work on rotation between two main areas (D&T and Food & Nutrition).

Key Concepts (The big ideas underpinning the subject)

Learn why Food & Nutrition is so important to our health, and understand and apply Government guidelines to their own diets such as “The Eat Well Guide” and the“8 Healthy Eating Tips”.
Learn to work correctly and safely with a range of utensils and equipment in the kitchen.
Be able to demonstrate a variety of cooking techniques and skills, producing predominantly savoury dishes.

What will your child be learning?

The importance of “Mise en place” and having all equipment and ingredients ready to support timings in a practical.
To grow in confidence to dovetail tasks allowing efficiency.
To consider the social, moral, cultural and environmental implications of food.
To identify the correct utensil.
Different cooking methods and skills.
The basic function of ingredients such as fats, flours, sugars, eggs etc.
The food groups and their nutritional properties and attributes.

Key 'Learning Capacities' in this subject

Learn to identify and use a range of appropriate practical cooking methods, and suggest how others could impair or improve the taste or nutrition of a dish.
Learn to problem solve, quality check and persevere with difficult tasks.
Learn the practical application of principles learnt in Maths—for example wet to dry ratios, scaling of ingredients, costing and percentages.
Apply Scientific principles such as the conditions needed to activate yeast and other raising agents, coagulation, emulsification, caramelisation, aeration and dextrinisation amongst others.

How will your child be learning?

Teacher demonstrations and sensory analysis sessions.
Students will make the majority of dishes independently as each new skill will be taught each week. However, we also have opportunities for paired work to allow students to help support each other and use the “Ask 3 Before Me” system.
There are group work lessons which allow for the trialling of ingredients and cooking methods using the schools ingredients. Students can then feedback their findings and opinions during this process.
Supporting theory work and homework tasks.

How will learning be assessed?

Formative written assessment of classwork and homework.
Ongoing verbal and written assessment of practical tasks. Food booklets contain an “Assessing my achievements page” as an ongoing log of practical successes.

What can you do to support your child?

Allow students to help weigh and prepare ingredients before a lesson.
We welcome any variations on the recipes set to help support and accommodate a personal dietary need or taste. Please discuss this with your students or with your child's teacher as necessary.
Complete the feedback page on the inside cover of the homework booklet
Allow your child to help prepare meals at home.

Equipment needed for this subject

Normal school equipment to help complete supporting theory work.
Aprons are provided by school. Please ensure your child has a hair bobble to tie long hair up.
The majority of practical sessions require students to bring ingredients and suitable containers from home. If there is ever a problem with this, then please do not hesitate to speak to your child's teacher in advance.

Extra-Curricular/Enrichment Opportunities

We host various Food clubs and seasonal activities throughout the year which students from KS3 are more than welcome to attend, even if they aren't on the Food rotation at that point.