D&T Food Preparation & Nutrition

By learning about the foods we eat and how they impact our bodies, informed decisions can be made that make a difference to the lives we lead.

Department Vision:

To nurture a passion for creativity, and a desire for success.

Department Aim:

To develop our students into confident, creative, robust problem solvers, who have the skills and tools to be able to communicate knowledge and techniques when creating dishes and building menus. Students will become food practitioners who will make changes that will positively influence the culinary experience of consumers in the world around us.

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Examination Board: OCR J309, GCSE Food Preparation & Nutrition

Food & Nutrition (under the umbrella of D&T)

Food Preparation & Nutrition is about life skills, as much as it is about a vocational GCSE subject: it encompasses all aspects of the food industry. Without Food Preparation & Nutrition life would be difficult, potentially dangerous, and altogether uninspiring.

Food Preparation & Nutrition at GCSE is a subject that will develop research skills, problem solving, and improve independent learning. Students learn to communicate, work as a team, take responsibility for their organisation, and for timekeeping. The practical skills employed by food and catering professions are introduced, learned and developed.

Our department’s focus is to give students the chance to fully discover the world of food with a particular focus on nutritional values that promote a healthy lifestyle and is lockstep with sustainability. Important is the way that knowledge of nutritional ingredients and food products, prepared in a safe way, leads to pleasurable, delicious meals, attractively presented.

In our curriculum we aim to:

· Explore the food industry and food provenance

· Understand nutrition and the responsibilities of the food practitioner to promote and inspire

· Give students confidence to work with different foods and ingredients and to understand the differing results of choices made

· Allow students to discover ways to develop their creativity in order to satisfy the needs of the consumer

· Encourage a life-long interest in the subject of food, and a greater appreciation of food based decisions that have helped shape the world around us.

· Foster a deeper understanding of sustainability, and the responsibility of all to work in ways which will enhance the longevity of the planet, and combat the damage of the past.

D&T Food Preparation & Nutrition is a popular subject at KS4 because it allows students to work in a different environment, drawing on a spectrum of learning styles, and developing knowledge and skills which can genuinely be applied to enhance the experience of others. Some of analytical skills are cross curricular, meaning they can support the learning in other subjects across the school.

The department understands the need to embrace traditional hand skills whilst also promoting more modern technology. Students who study Food Preparation & Nutrition can move onto further studies with varying food based specialisms, or enter into apprenticeships or careers in the plethora of opportunities that are food related both in this country and abroad.

Learning ladders

Click on the Learning Ladder to see a larger version. The Learning Ladder shows the subjects or topics that students will learn about each year. Click on any 'Year' roundel to view an in-depth Learning Journey for the year you have selected. This shows in more detail, what students will learn each term, with links to useful resources etc. (this applies to all roundels)

FOOD TECHNOLOGY KS4

View the Learning Ladder and the Learning Journey for this subject here.

Career Options in Food Technology

These are some examples of career paths available if you study this subject:

Dietician in Medicine, Food Manufacturing Industry, Food Market Research, Food Scientist or Technologist, Food Testing and Tasting, Journalist, Hospitality Industry as a Chef or Front of House, Nutritionist, Quality Control Officer, Retailer, Teacher