Cooking & Nutrition at White Rock

Intent:

At White Rock Primary School, we recognise that instilling a love of cooking in pupils will open the doors to one of the greatest expressions of human creativity. Learning how to cook is a crucial life skill that enables pupils to feed themselves and others, both affordably and effectively.

We aim to inspire our students to be creative whilst developing key life skills that prepare them for adulthood, using a broad range of subject knowledge to problem-solve, develop resourcefulness and resilience. We use a variety of high-quality texts to enhance and stimulate children's learning experiences.

Cooking and Nutrition doesn't end in the classroom. As a school we encourage our children to make healthy choices by providing after-school sports clubs, consulting a chef to implement a healthy school menu and offering fresh fruits and vegetables for snacks.

Implementation:

In Key Stage 1, children will learn to use the basic principles of a healthy and varied diet to prepare dishes. They will learn about where food comes from and the need for hygiene.

In Key Stage 2, children will learn to understand and apply the principles of a healthy and varied diet. They will prepare and cook a variety of dishes using a range of cooking techniques.

Impact:

Children will be able to talk about the process behind their dish and where the ingredients have come from. They will also known and be able to demonstrate how to use equipment safely.

At White Rock Primary School, we aim to ensure that all children are able to talk about culturally significant food in their lives and food significant to cultures other than their own. They will demonstrate an understanding of the need for hygiene and safety measures.

What can my child learn from cooking?

Cooking is fun, practical and enjoyable – and that’s just for starters. There’s a whole multitude of skills that your child will learn.

• Cooking can increase your child’s vocabulary for items of food and drink, fresh herbs and spices.
• They’ll learn what a recipe looks like, how to understand and write instructions and how to develop their use of time connectives such as first, then, next and finally.
• Cooking helps your child’s maths skills – they’ll learn to recognise larger numbers and measure out ingredients. If you’re making double/half the recipe, then they’ll learn to double/half amounts.
• They’ll learn words in different languages, whether it’s names of ingredients (macaroni, lasagne, linguini) or names of dishes (guacamole, paella, salade niçoise). 
• Baking’s all about science. It’s about realising how using the same quantities of ingredients and the same method each time will produce the same result. 
• Cooking helps your child to develop life skills, such as listening, concentrating and working as part of a team.

Finally, if your child has had a hand in making the family’s food, they’re much more likely to want to eat it themselves. If you’ve got a fussy eater at home, cooking can be a great way to encourage children to try new tastes and textures of food.

How can I encourage my child to get involved with cooking at home?

1.Cooking isn’t just about making food. You can encourage your child to think about what to cook, how to plan meals and which ingredients you’ll need to buy. They could write their food shopping items.

2.Let your child get involved with choosing your family’s food. Encourage them to be creative and talk to them about food. Would they like to dedicate a particular day of each week to a different country’s cooking? How many different coloured foods can they see on their plate? You could think about the festivals that are coming up – what meals could they prepare for those occasions? 

3. Be enthusiastic and don’t worry about the mess. And praise is important: remember to say a big well done to your child!

4.Start small: fairy cakes, biscuits and one-pot dishes are great to begin with. Once your child gets more confident, they may be ready to move on to more complicated meals.