Food & Nutrition

Curriculum Intent

Knowledge of Food preparation and Nutrition equips students with the skills to lead a healthy lifestyle, enabling them to make informed choices about food and allowing them to acquire knowledge to be able to feed themselves and others affordably and nutritiously.

At The Dorcan Academy, our curriculum has the learner at the centre, and therefore, as well as providing the best opportunities for students to maximise their potential in terms of outcomes, it is also focused on applying practical skills and knowledge for a healthy lifestyle, nurturing their emotional and physical wellbeing.

By studying food and nutrition we aim to engage and inspire all students, to increase their self-confidence, creativity, and sense of achievement; whilst creating a balance between practical and theoretical knowledge that they require to develop to progress onto further education or industry.

Results

In Food and Nutrition last year, 58.3% of students achieved grades 9 to 5; and 100% achieved grades 9 to 4.

What we study – Topic Overview

 Term 1Term 2Term 3Term 4Term 5Term 6
Year 7   Health and Safety Key skills and processesThe Principles of Nutrition Food CommoditiesRevisiting Skills and processes
Year 8   Health and Safety Review HACCP Key skills and processesDiet and health: Nutrition and the Eat well Guide Food and CommoditiesRevisiting Skills and processes
Year 9Bread, cereals, flour, oats, rice, potatoes and pasta  Fruit and vegetables, (fresh, frozen, dried, canned and juiced)Milk, cheese and yoghurtMeat, fish, poultry and eggsSoya, tofu, beans, nuts and seedsButter, oils, margarine, sugar and syrup
Year 10Principles of NutritionDiet and Good HealthThe Science of foodCooking and food preparationThe Food Investigation: Experiment NEA1The Food Preparation: Practical’s NEA 2
Year 11Food Investigation: Research NEA 1  Food Investigation: Experiments NEA 1  Food Preparation: Research and Trialling NEA 2  The Food Preparation: Practical’s NEA 2  Exam Practice and Revision   

How we assess

Assessments enable us to measure the progress that our students are making, providing us with information to support students make further progress. In Design Technology we begin with a baseline assessment which allows us to gain an understanding of students’ knowledge, perception and misconceptions prior to teaching the content; this is informative and provides us with clear direction for planning and teaching. We then use regular low stakes quizzes and recall activities to check knowledge and understanding of topics covered. Termly cumulative assessments are used to assess familiarity of contents covered and identify areas for further improvement. Summative assessments take place at the end of learning where students have the opportunity to demonstrate mastery of new learning and celebrate student accomplishment. Throughout, students are provided with both constructive verbal and written feedback, enabling them to develop and demonstrate understanding through progress tasks.  

Meet the team

Mr Eugene Haynes – Subject Lead for Food and Nutrition

Mr Christopher Holland – Teacher of Food and Nutrition

Curriculum Allocation

All students will study Food and Nutrition throughout Years 7 and 8 at The Dorcan Academy and may choose to continue to follow through to GCSE. 

In Year 7 and 8, all students have 3 lessons a fortnight for terms 5 and 6. In Year 9, students that have selected to specialise in Food and Nutrition will receive 4 lessons a fortnight.

Students in Year 10 and 11 that select Food and Nutrition as an option subject will receive 5 lessons a fortnight. 

Enrichment Opportunities

In Design Technology students are able to pursue extra curricula sessions. On a Thursday night we offer a Cooking Club which equips students with the knowledge, understanding and cooking skills required to apply the principles of healthy eating. Furthermore, it encourages students to be adventurous in their cooking and enables them to make informed choices about their own diet. We also offer Lego League which guides students through STEM learning and exploration; from discovery, to exploring, and then to challenge, students will understand the basics of STEAM and apply the skills in an exciting competition while building teamwork skills along the way.

Food Links for Parents

Link to the online Revision Textbook: https://www.illuminate.digital/eduqasfood/

Seneca is an online learning platform used in schools. The free parent platform allows you to monitor your child’s progress. To sign up simply click on the link below.  Once you have signed up connect your account to your child’s Seneca account. https://app.senecalearning.com/parent/monitoring/overview?utm_source=email&utm_medium=parent&utm_campaign=uk&utm_content=jack-ParentPlat-EmailToTeachers

Food Links for Students

Link to standardised revision assessments on SENECA: https://app.senecalearning.com/dashboard/class/92djmmtq0v/assignments/assignment/f1f698cf-5bf8-495b-889d-986d9c383737

Exam Command Word Quiz on Microsoft Forms. Exam Command words like ‘identify’ or ‘explain’ are often used in exam questions. These command words are instructions for how to answer a question, so it is important you know the meanings of these words. https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=PK8vj3JVwUizxsjB3FWMos4RSoixoKZAinPhVUalm65UNFpBTlNIWENHTlc5WVZFUEJXOEMyNVNYUS4u

ASPIRE TOGREATNESS
The Dorcan Academy
St. Paul’s Drive
Covingham, Swindon
Wiltshire SN3 5DA
Switchboard: 01793 525231
Fax: 01793 431461
Email: enquiries@dorcan.co.uk
The Dorcan Academy is a charitable company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales under company number 07831414. The registered office is St. Paul’s Drive, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN3 5DA.
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