Cookery Rationale PDF

Intent

At Hawthorns we have two cookery rooms which facilitate subject coverage for the Meadows and Woodlands. They are set up and resourced very differently, reflecting the learning priorities for groups of learners.

Classes within Woodlands which includes the First Steps, Enrichment and Aspire pathways, learn about food, how to prepare it and the principles of a healthy diet which is important for every one of our children. We aim to teach our pupils how to cook and to apply the principles of healthy eating and good nutrition. We recognise that cooking is an important life skill that will help children to feed themselves and others. The ability to cook healthy and affordable meals can have a lifelong impact upon our pupils' health. 

We aim to instil a love of cooking in pupils from a young age.

We plan cookery lessons which will ensure a steady development of skills, as the children progress through school.

We aim is to give children the knowledge and skills to prepare them for what comes next in their lives.

We aim to develop pupil’s understanding of keeping themselves and others safe in the kitchen environment and the safe and appropriate use of cooking utensils.

We aim to develop pupil’s understanding and use of key vocabulary relating to food and cooking.

Cultural Capital is the essential knowledge that children need to prepare them for their future success – we aim to give children every opportunity to participate in a wide range of learning experiences, all the time, within and beyond their classroom. Cooking allows children to try various recipes from different cultures. We also consider food preferences such as halal, so that our children develop an understanding that individuals have a right to choose their food based on their beliefs/culture.

In cooking lessons, we try to incorporate celebrations and festivals such as Diwali themed food recipes, Halloween, Chinese New Year and Christmas as well as cooking recipes from different countries. This allows learners to try new foods whilst learning about other cultures' celebrations.

Classes within Meadows, specifically those children in the Connecting to the world of learning use cookery time as a vehicle to be actively engaged whilst focusing on developing skills of social interaction, attention and independence.

We aim to make the subject accessible to them with the use of visuals, structure and task schedules.

Implementation

Lessons are planned for all classes in Woodlands following the skills progression framework on Evidence for Learning. Skills acquisition is progressional and built on term by term and year by year. Sessions in First Steps and Enrichment are self-led by a class teaching assistant and focus on pupils learning through their senses enabling them to feel, smell and taste different ingredients, to follow instructions and develop skills of independence and problem solving.

Cookery lessons are designed to enable pupils to gain deeper understanding through cross curricular links to other aspects of the curriculum. For example, Maths (time and weight), English (following instructions), Science (changes, reactions, observation), Geography (recipes from other countries), PSHE (healthy eating, hygiene, safety, keeping areas clean).

All classes in Woodlands use the SEE-Ks approach, so they are actively engaged in learning, developing skills of investment, independence and initiation.

Cookery lessons are designed to be interesting and engaging developing pupils’ investment in learning through a kinaesthetic, multi-sensory approach and opportunities to apply skills in a meaningful context.

Cookery lessons are designed to enable pupils to develop skills of independence through the use of modelling, hands on materials, step by step visual and verbal instructions, opportunities for repetition and practice to embed learning in meaningful contexts.

Cookery lessons are designed to enable pupils to develop skills of initiation through pupils responding to non-verbal and verbal instructions, demonstrating what they have learnt and opportunities for interactions through adult led and peer to peer learning

Impact

In the Woodlands, pupil progress in skills acquisition is tracked using the cookery framework on Evidence for Learning for the Aspire pathway.

 
In the Meadows, pupil progress is tracked according to pupils’ priority areas of need for example social communication, emotional regulation and the appropriate readiness frameworks on Evidence for Learning