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.
In Food and Nutrition last year, 58.3% of students achieved grades 9 to 5; and 100% achieved grades 9 to 4.
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.
Mr Eugene Haynes – Subject Lead for Food and Nutrition
Ms Jane Simms – Teacher of Food and Nutrition
Mr James Allen – Teacher of Food and Nutrition
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 1 lesson a fortnight for terms 5 and 6. In Year 9, students that have selected to specialise in Food and Nutrition will receive 3 lessons a fortnight.
Students in Year 10 and 11 that select Food and Nutrition as an option subject will receive 5 lessons a fortnight.
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
