Hints and Tips to Cooking in School

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GetCooking

www.kiddycook.co.uk

This September, England joins the rest of the UK, ensuring that children and young people receive teaching around food, cooking and nutrition. To support schools with this change, we’ve got some handy hints and tips to get you started, so let’s get cooking!

We don’t have a dedicated area: A dedicated room or area is best but we know that this is not always possible. Think about moving tables together to create a cooking space in your classroom or hall and work on ways to show that it is a food area e.g. put up posters. If possible, work in an area with a wipe clean floor.

Get Started

We don’t have any cooking facilities:

Children can learn to cook without the need for cooking facilities. They can prepare food and then take it home to cook, or think about recipes that don’t need any cooking. Also think about using an external provider who will be able to bring in

aprons and utensils to include portable hobs in some cases.

What equipment do we need and where can we store it? The most important thing is that the equipment is suitable for children. Think about the size and shape of the utensils and where it will be stored. If you don’t have a dedicated store cupboard, think about using a portable storage container which you can stack and move around easily from classroom to classroom.

We don’t have room to store ingredients? If you don’t have the facilities to store ingredients safely, such as a fridge for perishable items and a cupboard for non-perishable items, ask parents to provide them. Or what about asking your school dinner provider? Can they source ingredients for you at cost? Can they store them? Or again, think about using an external provider who will be able to source, purchase and bring along any ingredients as part of their offering.

What about hygiene and safety? Hot water and soap is essential for clean hands. If you do not have access to a sink, use a washing-up bowl with clean, soapy water. Children will also need aprons (to fit) along with a supply of washing up cloths, tea towels, washing-up liquid, anti-bacterial spray or wipes for surfaces, wipe-clean table coverings and oven gloves (for those schools who have access to cooking facilities).

“The children loved the experience with Kiddy Cook

and learnt a lot about different foods. The great thing

about Kiddy Cook is that you do not always need to

be near a kitchen, as often the children take home

what they have prepared and can cook it at home

with their parents.. Highly recommended”.

Nicola Nelson, Headteacher, St Patrick’s RC

Primary School, Manchester

Get Organised!All cooking sessions need to be prepared in advance. What are the learning objectives? Create a checklist to help you to identify the main things for consideration.

Are the recipes age appropriate?

Does the recipe match the learning objectives?

Does anyone in the class have food allergies, special dietary requirements, religious or cultural beliefs that will prevent them handling or tasting certain foods.

Do you know what you are doing? You need to be confident and competent to demonstrate a skill. If you are not, think about using an expert in this area.

Do you have a designated cooking area? Classroom furniture should be arranged practically. Tables should be cleaned with antibacterial spray and covered with a wipe-clean tablecloth.

Do you have all of your ingredients? Do they need part preparation or pre-measuring before you start the activity? How will this impact on your time?

Ensure that the equipment is clean and that it works properly.

Are you near a sink? If not, make sure that you have a washing-up bowl for the children to wash

their hands.

Other things to know about:First aid policies and procedures.

School health and safety policyand risk assessment.

Whole school food policy.

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Get Cooking!

Other useful resources

• Change4life• www.schoolfoodplan.com• www.kiddycook.co.uk• www.foodafactoflife.org.uk

Plan lessons around national curriculum requirements to include cooking arange of savoury dishes, learning about where food comes from, seasonality and sustainability, plus kitchen safety and basic kitchen skills.Think about how you can include other elements of the curriculum, inparticular, NUMERACY and LITERACY using food as the basis.Advantages to using an External Provider

• An external provider could help you put cooking on the curriculum, andcould well save you time and money.• No need to purchase lots of expensive equipment for your students to use– an external provider will bring everything with them, SAVING YOU LOTSOF MONEY! This includes all utensils, aprons and ingredients.• An external provider can take the hassle out of lesson planning and

preparation, SAVING YOU both TIME and MONEY and reducing stress onover worked teachers.

Kiddy Cook has been working with the Norfolk Food Discovery’s ground breaking, Big Lottery funded project for primary school children from disadvantaged backgrounds; teaching them how to grow their own

vegetables, fruit and herbs, and then cooking them up into delicious affordable meals from scratch.

“We will continue to work with Kiddy Cook for the duration of our Lottery funding, and

have no hesitation in warmly recommending them as excellent cooking trainers, highly

professional, supremely well organised and able to create delicious dishes of the

highest quality under pressure”.

Christabelle Dilks , Project Manager, Norfolk Food Discovery

Photos courtesy of Norfolk Food Discovery