Food Studies at The Polygon School

Ethos 

Our curriculum is designed to equip students with essential life skills, including keeping safe in a cooking environment, healthy eating, food preparation and an understanding of where our food comes from. This helps to promote sustainability, cultural awareness and ethical food choices which will allow our students to make informed choices around food as they move into adult life. Removing barriers to learning is a key part of what we do at The Polygon, therefore, all ingredients are provided at no cost. Together, pupils learn many key skills such as organisation, time management, communication, planning, evaluation and resilience. We provide our pupils with recipes that are inclusive of all cultures including traditional British dishes, West African and Chinese food to mention a few.  

Intent  

In Years 7 and 8 at The Polygon School we want to equip our pupils with the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to make good, informed choices around the foods they eat, the nutritional content of that food and how it can help them make healthy choices. We also want to encourage them to feel confident within the kitchen so that they can be creative and independent when cooking. To help support this outcome, we look at many different areas of learning, including health and safety, food nutrition and food provenance.  

In Years 9, 10 and 11 the pupils are working towards the NCFE Technical Award in Food and Cookery. This course helps to provide pupils with a strong introduction to food, food preparation, nutrition and how the food industry works. This is done through theoretical learning and practical skills. 

The course topics that include health and safety in food preparation, factors that influence food choice and menu planning and evaluation.  The course encourages our pupils to think about real life situations and encourages problem solving, creativity and independent thinking.  

Implementation   

Key Stage 3 

Pupils learn about food origins, healthy eating, and practical cooking skills right from the beginning of Key Stage 3.  

Year 7 

Lots of the pupils that come to us in Year 7 have not cooked from scratch before. We want our Year 7 students to feel comfortable and confident in the cooking environment. Pupils starting Year 7 will spend the first term cooking and learning basic cooking techniques and kitchen health and safety.  

The main objectives within Year 7 are: 

• Becoming familiar with the cooking environment 

• Health & Safety 

• Food Hygiene 

• Practical Cooking Skills 

• Nutrition & Healthy Eating 

• Food Science & Sensory Analysis 

• Food Provenance & Storage 

Year 8  

During Year 8 skills are further developed alongside the theory of food and nutrition.  

• Knowledge & Understanding - Eatwell Guide, nutrients and their functions, food provenance and food safety and hygiene. 

• Practical Skills- developing the use of different kitchen equipment, follow recipes more independently, demonstrating safe food handling and storage and adapting recipes for healthier outcomes 

• Behaviour & Attitude - Work safely and hygienically, show respect for shared equipment and work areas, follow instructions and complete all tasks on time and reflect on their cooking and suggest improvements. 

 

Years 9, 10 and 11 

Qualifications – NCFE level 1/2 Technical Award in Food in Cookery  

This qualification aims to: 

• Focus on the study of food and cookery 

• Offer breadth and depth of study, incorporating a key core of knowledge 

• Provide opportunities to acquire a range of practical and technical skills 

 

• Health and Safety in Food Preparation 

-Safe working practices in the kitchen 

-Hygiene and food safety procedures 

• Food Legislation and Provenance 

-Understanding food laws and regulations 

-Knowledge of where food comes from and how it's produced 

• Nutrition and Balanced Diets 

-Food groups and key nutrients 

-Planning and evaluating balanced meals 

• Factors Affecting Food Choice 

-Cultural, ethical, and personal influences on food selection 

• Food Preparation and Cooking Techniques 

-Practical skills in preparing and cooking a variety of dishes 

-Use of tools, equipment, and cooking methods 

• Recipe Development and Evaluation 

-Amending and improving recipes 

-Evaluating outcomes and suggesting improvements 

• Menu and Action Planning 

-Planning meals and managing time and resources effectively 

The assessment is formed of 2 parts, 60% course work where students plan, prepare, and evaluate dishes in response to a brief and 40% where the theoretical content is assessed.  

Impact 

Food Technology in The Polygon is wide reaching. It not only supports pupils at an educational level but a personal one. Together we support our pupils to feel confident and knowledgeable about food, what we eat, what that does to us and how we can support ourselves to make healthy choices around food, but on an educational level too. Pupils are encouraged to show independent thought, problem solve and make decisions for themselves.  We discuss how lots of what we do in the kitchen can support learning in other areas like Maths and English.