What are the aims and purpose of our curriculum?

This curriculum equips pupils with practical food skills and develops their understanding of healthy and sustainable diets. Pupils will be taught to make informed decisions about food and drink, and to celebrate food as an important part of different cultures, and source of nourishment, connection, and joy.


What overarching curriculum principles inform the design of our curriculum?

This principle recognises the important role that knowledge, and vocabulary as a particularly important type of knowledge, play in learning. Substantive knowledge, such as healthy eating or food science, is taught with increasing complexity throughout the key stages. Procedural knowledge is developed through practical cooking lessons, where knowledge of food, skills and techniques for more accurate and precise work are introduced. These types of knowledge work together to enable pupils to plan, prepare, make and evaluate a range of dishes. We identify and map vocabulary across the curriculum, both in terms of the introduction of new vocabulary and the necessary repetition of vocabulary that has gone before. New vocabulary, called keywords, are signalled in bold in our lesson materials to indicate their importance.

A careful and purposeful sequencing of our curriculum content underpins the design of our curriculum, ensuring that pupils are able to build on and make links with existing knowledge. For example, in year 1, when learning about food origin and provenance the focus is on the sources of food, with pupils able to describe food from plants and animals. This knowledge is built on to include food origins, through learning about ‘farm to fork’, seasonal fruit and vegetables and the processing of foods. Pupils apply this learning by making recipes such as potato salad, mackerel and tomato pâté and a seasonal salad. Attention is paid to vertical coherence via threads, which map the developments of concepts over time; for example, in our ‘healthy eating and nutrition’ thread, pupils are introduced to the Eatwell Guide in year 2 which is part of the fundamental knowledge for pupils to be able to explain why macronutrients are needed for health in year 8.

Our evidence-informed approach enables the rigorous application of research outcomes, science of learning and impactful best practice both in education in general and at a subject specific level. For example, the design of our resources reflects findings from Sweller’s cognitive load theory and Mayer’s principles of multimedia learning whilst our lesson design draws on Rosenshine’s principles of instruction. We also draw on findings from research organisations such as the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF). At the subject level evidence-based cooking skill recommendations have been considered, national healthy eating guidelines followed, and insights into more sustainable eating reviewed. The curriculum is based on the ‘Food - a fact of life’ education programme and the research undertaken into effective food and nutrition teaching and learning approaches, teacher training, and good practice in UK schools.

Our flexible approach enables schools to use our resources in a way that fits their contents and meets the varying needs of teachers and their pupils. Our curriculum can be used in its entirety or units can be selected to complement existing curricula or to match the equipment and materials available to the school. Our resources are adaptable so that, for example, teachers can edit or add checks for understanding, adapt practice tasks to better reflect the prior knowledge of their pupils or recipe ingredients can be changed to suit school budgets, pupil food skill level, equipment availability, dietary needs, and timetabling.

Our commitment to breadth and diversity in content, language, texts, and media can be seen in the curriculum, for example in the group of diverse school age characters that feature in our resources. Pupils are taught about food and cuisines from around the world. Food examples and recipes are diverse, introducing pupils to unfamiliar foods, customs and traditions. A social commentary runs through our cooking lessons that adds to the broader socio-economic context of the important role of food in our lives. For example, in the year 7 unit ‘Independent and confident cooking’ pupils learn about how food is deeply ingrained in our cultural heritage, whether through an ingredient, a national dish, or traditions and celebrations. Pupils learn that yakisoba, originally from China, is now a staple in Japan.

Our curriculum is intentionally designed to facilitate high-quality teaching as a powerful lever to support pupils with SEND. Aligned with EEF guidance, our resources have a focus on clear explanations, modelling including food skills videos and frequent checks for understanding, with guided and independent practice. Lessons are chunked into learning cycles and redundant images and information are minimised to manage cognitive load. For example, a reduced pictorial representation of the Eatwell Guide is provided. We have removed reference to year groups in our resources so that they can be used when pupils are ready, regardless of their age. Our resources are purposefully created to be accessible, for example by using accessible fonts, colours with good contrast, and captions in our videos.

What subject specific principles inform the design of our curriculum?

Specifically in relation to food and nutrition (in Key Stages 1-3 only):

Focuses on the knowledge and skills specific to food and nutrition, including:

Planning, preparing and cooking a repertoire of predominantly savoury dishes using a range of ingredients and cooking techniques;

To ensure that knowledge and skills specific to food and nutrition are enacted throughout the curriculum, units are sequenced to teach food preparation and cooking, healthy eating, food provenance, and consumer awareness. Pupils learn how to plan, prepare and cook a wide variety of predominantly savoury dishes, safely and hygienically, applying their food knowledge to make informed nutrition and health decisions.

Applies our diversity principle by enriching learning through the experience of a range of international cuisines.

There is a focus on the diverse nature of food, cuisine, culture, custom, and heritage, and how these influence personal food choice. For example, we celebrate diversity through cooking experiences and references to a range of cultures, giving pupils the opportunity to expand their own food horizons. In the year 8 unit ‘Local food to world wide cuisine’ pupils focus on the wide range of cuisines, ingredients, cooking techniques and equipment that are used around the world. In the year 9 unit ‘Global food challenges’, pupils learn about the pressure on food systems, caused by climate change and a growing population.


How does our curriculum reflect the aims & purpose of the national curriculum?

The national curriculum for design and technology has four aims, three relating to design and technology and one to cooking and nutrition. Here we discuss how our curriculum enacts the cooking and nutrition aim.

Our curriculum reflects the national curriculum aim relating to cooking and nutrition that all pupils should ‘understand and apply the principles of nutrition and learn how to cook’. The concepts of healthy eating, cooking, and food provenance are taught over time with increasing complexity, providing pupils with the opportunity to apply knowledge and skills by making informed choices when preparing, making, and evaluating dishes.

What teaching time does our curriculum require?

Our curricula for key stages 1-3 are designed for 36 weeks of curriculum time across the school year, leaving time for other activities both within and beyond the curriculum such as assessments or school trips. At key stages 1-3, our design and technology and cooking and nutrition curricula have been presented independently on our platform, for ease of use by teachers. We don't currently offer key stage 4 cooking and nutrition.

Our curriculum has been designed to teach one weekly lesson, approximately 40 minutes long in key stage 1 and 50 minutes to an hour in key stages 2 and 3. Our allocation of units and lessons is two thirds to design and technology and one third to cooking and nutrition, but we understand that exact time allocated can vary greatly between schools due to differences in curriculum planning, resource allocation and school-specific priorities. Therefore we fully expect and encourage teachers to adapt our curriculum and resources to best suit their needs and available curriculum time.

We use threads to signpost groups of units that link to one another, that together build a common body of knowledge over time. We use the term thread, rather than vertical concepts, themes or big ideas, because it helps us to bring to mind the visual concept of a thread weaving through the curriculum.

Our cooking and nutrition threads that weave through both our primary and secondary curricula are (in alphabetical order):

Our threads have been chosen to reflect the core knowledge and skills that underpin cooking and nutrition. The threads support the key aspects of the Cooking and Nutrition National Curriculum content and the government’s Core competences for children and young people and published Characteristics of good practice in food and nutrition teaching. Consistent threads across our primary and secondary curricula can enable more effective transition, helping pupils to bridge their knowledge and understanding from primary to secondary. For example, in the primary curriculum, the thread ‘Food origins and provenance’ is first taught in year 1 in the unit ‘Food from plants and animals’ and is then developed through all year groups such as the ‘Safe and edible food’ unit in year 6. The thread continues into secondary, with units such as ‘Food origins’ in year 7 and ‘More sustainable diets’ in year 8.

Recommendations from subject specific reports

How does our curriculum address and enact recommendations from subject specific reports (e.g. EEF guidance reports & Ofsted Research Review)?

Our cooking and nutrition curriculum incorporates guidance from the Core competences for children and young people aged 5 to 16 years developed by Public Health England and the Food Standards Agency (and updated to reflect the NHS Eatwell Guide in 2017). These competences form the foundation of our curriculum, which aims to help children and young people make and implement healthy food choices through the knowledge and skills developed and applied around diet, consumer awareness, cooking, food safety, and active lifestyles.

The curriculum also reflects the Characteristics of Good Practice developed by the British Nutrition Foundation including ensuring that practical food lessons are delivered in a hygienic, safe and organised way. Through our additional materials, teachers will be able to access guidance such as cooking practicalities and setting up the classroom.

How does our curriculum deal with elements that arise from the specific needs of the subject?

Why does cooking and nutrition have a distinct curriculum rather than being embedded within the design and technology curriculum?

Our design and technology, and cooking and nutrition curriculum have been presented separately to help teachers find cooking and nutrition content quickly and easily and to signpost the importance of cooking and nutrition as a body of knowledge. Each subject area has been carefully sequenced so that they can be taught independently or together. Cooking and nutrition has approximately one third of the curriculum time compared to design and technology. Each subject has its own distinct group of threads.

What equipment is required to teach the curriculum?

Careful consideration has been given to the equipment and space needed to teach our cooking and nutrition curriculum. We understand that resources are limited, especially within primary schools. We have followed the Design and Technology Association guidance not to cook with heat in key stage 1. We have limited the use of hobs at primary, with covered classroom tables suitable for most lessons. Where ovens are used, these can be used by adults. Advice for each practical cooking lesson is given within our additional materials.

British Nutrition Foundation

 is a charity that works to give people, educators, and organisations access to impartial, evidence-based, and reliable information on nutrition. The British Nutrition Foundation provides teaching materials, support, guidance and professional development to food and nutrition teachers across the UK. Through their flagship education programme, Food - a fact of life, the Foundation is working to instil a culture of healthy eating and food literacy in children and young people, helping them to apply their knowledge in meaningful ways.

This KS1 and KS2 cooking and nutrition curriculum plan supports you in teaching pupils the foundations of healthy eating, food preparation and basic nutrition. Aligned to the national curriculum for cooking and nutrition, the sequences are designed to introduce and revisit key ideas around ingredients, seasonality, and food safety — helping pupils build essential knowledge and confidence when working with food.

Filter by year group to quickly access age-appropriate units and activities. Curriculum threads such as ‘make’ and ‘materials’ show how pupils' knowledge of ingredients, preparation skills, and kitchen safety develops over time — from simple tasks like cutting and combining, through to creating balanced meals and understanding where food comes from. These threads help you plan a curriculum that builds both practical ability and nutritional understanding year by year.

You can find the full lesson resources for 

 cooking and nutrition and download all the resources you need for free.

Primary

Cooking and nutrition

Key Stage 1

Key Stage 2

Key Stage 3

Key Stage 4

Secondary

Art and design

Core

GCSE

Citizenship

Computing

Design and technology

Edexcel

Eduqas

English

French

Edexcel B

Geography

German

History

Maths

Music

Physical education

Religious education

RSHE (PSHE)

Science

Spanish

Consumer awareness

Food culture

Food hygiene and safety

Food origins and provenance

Food preparation and cooking

Healthy eating and nutrition

Sensory evaluation

Sustainability and climate change

The science of food

Select from and use a wide range of materials and components, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients, according to their characteristics.

Use the basic principles of a healthy and varied diet to prepare dishes.

Understand where food comes from.

This unit introduces pupils to food and gives them their first opportunity to prepare simple dishes. Pupils use different food skills and equipment, and learn about handling food safely and hygienically.

Let's make a layered breakfast

Let's make some veggie snacks

Let's make butter bean hummus on crackers

Let's start cooking

This unit focuses on food and drink being essential for life. Pupils examine food preferences and the different factors of food choice, and make and evaluate a dish using their senses.

Eat, drink and grow

Food likes and dislikes

Let's make some fruit salad kebabs

Food and drink for life

This unit explores food from plants and animals. Pupils sort food into plant and animal sources, and name a range of food from each source. This learning is extended through making a potato salad, highlighting the food source of each ingredient.

Plant or animal?

Food sources

Let's make a potato salad

Food from plants and animals

In this unit pupils taste a range of fruit and vegetables to develop their sensory skills. They explore why people eat different types of food, such as time of day or culture, and plan and make a salad for their family.

My favourite fruit and veg

Family food

Let's make a stripy salad pot

Food for me and you

During this unit, pupils continue to acquire and develop their food skills. Pupils learn about the structure of a recipe and how to use the 'bridge hold' and 'claw grip'.

Making veggie dip and dippers

Making a couscous salad

Making simple sushi

Cooking without heat

This unit introduces pupils to The Eatwell Guide, exploring its key messages and food groups. The composition of healthy meals is examined, focusing on 5 A DAY and drinking plenty. Pupils use a range of food skills to make a healthy wrap based on the Eatwell Guide food groups.

Introducing The Eatwell Guide

Healthy meal times

Making a healthy wrap for lunch

The Eatwell Guide: healthy eating

In this unit pupils explore the origins of foods, listing foods that are grown, reared and caught. They construct simple 'farm to fork' food chains showing how food changes from its origin to consumption.

Grown, reared and caught

Food origins

Making a mackerel and tomato pâté, with celery sticks

Where my food comes from

In this unit pupils taste a range of bread and explore different varieties from around the world. They examine how and why bread is eaten on special occasions, and plan and make a bread 'pocket' for a special occasion.

Bread for all

World wide bread

Making a coronation chickpea pocket

Food for occasions and celebrations

Prepare and cook a variety of predominantly savoury dishes using a range of cooking techniques.

Understand and apply the principles of a healthy and varied diet.

Understand seasonality, and know where and how a variety of ingredients are grown, reared, caught and processed.

This unit develops pupils' food skills through the context of food from around the world. Pupils learn about the structure of a recipe, how to portion foods evenly and, with supervision, use heat in cooking.

Making veggie kebabs

Making rock cakes

Making spring rolls

Cooking around the world

In this unit pupils explore the factors that determine what people eat and drink. They investigate and plan food for different occasions and celebrations, and make tuna canapés for a party.

Healthy meals

Food for special occasions

Making tuna canapés

Food and drink choices

This unit investigates food grown, reared and caught in the UK and around the globe. Pupils name and locate food origins, expanding their experiences of food and cuisines. They make apple flapjacks, identifying ingredients from the UK.

Food from the UK

Food from around the world

Making apple flapjack bites

Food origins: from farm to fork

In this unit pupils are introduced to a range of food and dishes, some familiar and some unfamiliar. They explore different ingredients, equipment and utensils used globally, and make an 'international' salad.

Familiar and unfamiliar foods to me

Ingredients, equipment and food skills

Making an international salad

Global food and dishes

This unit focuses on weighing and measuring, making three dishes to refine food skills. Historical context and science through food is explored during cooking activity.

Making Irish soda bread

Making Glamorgan sausages

Making raisin and banana cookies

Cooking for life

In this unit pupils map and plan meals inline with the Eatwell Guide food groups, suggesting improvements for the future. Pupils make a frittata, highlighting the food group included, as well as possible additions.

My meals the Eatwell Guide way

Eat well every day

Making mini frittatas

The Eatwell Guide: for me and you

This unit explores the seasons in the UK and the seasonal fruit and vegetables available. Pupils examine the benefits of using local food and list ways to reduce food waste. Pupils create and make a salad using seasonal produce.

Seasonal fruit and vegetables

Reducing food waste

Making a seasonal salad

Seasonal food and ingredients

In this unit pupils investigate and make smart snack swaps, as well as explore how the food and drink we consume at home can differ to that eaten outside the home. Pupils plan and make breakfast muffins for their school friends.

Healthy snack swaps

Eat in, eat out

Making breakfast muffins

Meal occasions and smart snacks

This unit focuses on being creative with food, looking at how recipes can be adapted. Changing ingredients, forming different shapes and great presentation are covered. Food skills are further secured, with attention to health and safety.

Making a poke bowl

Making fruit scone wedges

Making Mexican pockets

Creative cooking

In this unit pupils investigate food and drinks providing energy and nutrients for our health. They explore some of the functions of nutrients, as well as food sources. Main nutrients are linked to the Eatwell Guide food groups.

Why we need energy and nutrients

Sources of energy and nutrients

Making curry in a hurry

Food for energy and nutrients

This unit goes through different ways in which our food is produced and processed, using a range of examples. The reasons why and how our food is processed is highlighted. Pupils identify the origin of ingredients through cooking a baked dish.

Producing our food

Processing our food

Making bruschetta

Food production

In this unit pupils discover unfamiliar flavours of the world through tasting, and explore how food is woven into tradition, custom, religion and special occasions. To illustrate, pupils make Paska, a traditional bread for Easter.

Food for the senses

Customs and traditions

Making paska

Our rich global food cuisine

Through three recipes, pupils showcase accurate and precise food skills through dicing, weighing and measuring, and portioning, as well as presentation techniques. Pupils will be more confident and show greater independence in their cooking.

Making patatas bravas

Making a UK seasonal fruit traybake

Making a tear 'n' share pizza

Cooking showcase

In the unit pupils apply key healthy eating messages to their own and others' diets. They examine and use food labels to make healthier choices, and calculate the energy and nutrients provided by a recipe that they make.

Health and wellbeing

Food labels for health

Making bean and plantain stew

Healthy eating in action

Pupils explore different ways to store, prepare and cook food so that it is safe to eat. They examine food labels for safety and quality assurance marks, and make Cornish pasties to apply their food safety and food origins learning.

Making food safe to eat

Food labels for safety

Making Cornish pasties

Safe and edible food

In this unit the food and dietary needs of different groups are examined. Dishes and meals are planned, based on their specific needs and healthy eating guidelines. Pupils make an oven baked veggie korma to celebrate with their school community.

KS1 & KS2 cooking and nutrition curriculum

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