FOOD AND COOKERY
CURRICULUM DESIGN
The cookery curriculum at Cranbury College has been designed by a professional chef to offer students the opportunity to explore food and cuisines from around the world, while developing their knowledge of health & safety and food hygiene. Every student will be given the opportunity to explore food through practical cooking sessions which will improve their skills and knowledge of food and the important part it can play in our wellbeing, our culture and social interactions. Many of our students are referred to us as they find that mainstream education does not always meet their needs, our goal is to demonstrate to our students that there is no one size fits all approach to learning and that they are capable of achieving if supported in the right way. Our curriculum is not designed to be easy. In fact, we cover some extremely complex dishes throughout the curriculum, but students are supported and scaffolded to ensure that they learn that difficult does not mean unachievable. Even if students do not wish to pursue further studies or a career in hospitality, they will learn valuable transferable life skills that will serve them well in the future.
CURRICULUM IMPLEMENTATION
KEY STAGE 3
All KS3 Students are given the opportunity to explore a range of cooking techniques and a wide variety of dishes from around the world.
Students will study cookery in our fully equipped food tech room where they will not only develop their practical cooking skills covering pastry, cakes, soups, sauces, pasta, rice, meat, poultry, fish, bread, dough & food from around the world. They will also learn about food hygiene and health and safety in the kitchen, teaching them the best ways to keep themselves and the food they prepare safe. They will also be taught basic knife skills to ensure they can safely and effectively use a range of knives when preparing food and the different functions of each type of knife in the kitchen.
Students will undertake AQA Unit Awards at entry level; all students can gain AQA Unit Awards and progress to a higher level. AQA Unit Awards can be tailored to our students’ needs and abilities, particularly for those students who are with us for a small amount of time.
Assessment in KS3 consists of practical observations to determine the competency of the allocated task and written work.
KEY STAGE 4
At KS4, students have the option to develop more advanced skills, building on from previous experience, they will work in our fully equipped food tech room. At this stage, students are exposed to more advanced dishes, they will undertake AQA Unit Awards at Level 1 & Level 2, the syllabus covers the same topics as the KS3 curriculum, however the dishes we cook are of a more advanced level with many dishes based on restaurant-level cooking. The level of detail within the theory work will also be expanded with more depth added to their knowledge of food hygiene and health & safety.
For our KS4 students who choose cookery as one of their options, they will be given the opportunity to achieve a Level 1 & Level 2 BTEC in Home Cooking skills. These qualifications culminate in the students having to plan, prepare & cook a full 2-course meal and then evaluate it afterwards.
Assessment
In KS4 assessment is based on practical observations of tasks in more advanced settings, as well as written work to evaluate their understanding of the different aspects of cookery.
Progression
The cookery curriculum at Cranbury College equips students with the knowledge and skills needed for further study, apprenticeships, entry into employment or for the development of cooking skills that will serve them well in the future. Students may choose to continue their education in hospitality & catering, such as enroling on a college course or an apprenticeship for professional cookery.