Supporting Cooking in The Classroom

If Covid-19 has taught us anything, it’s that children’s education is not all about maths and English! Making learning relevant to real life; plugging in to kids’ interests; and allowing children to be the teacher are all ways we have been doing things differently, and positively, at home during lockdown. And there are LOTS of ways that you can make food part of your curriculum, whilst still focussing on the key subjects.

Subject links

Interdisciplinary teaching can lead to connected learning which prevents the narrow view of food education as being only about ‘healthy eating’. Consider for example;

• A child completing a problem in a maths book can find it abstract, whereas children weighing and measuring ingredients for an easy no cook recipe that can be completed in the classroom are applying their learning.

• Using practical cooking to develop links between food and the primary science curriculum, to help bring science to life and engage children. Use chocolate to study change of state, for example, or eggs to demonstrate the physical properties of liquids and solids, and to show chemical change.

• Recipes provide a great introduction to instructional texts. There are so many interesting words to learn when cooking! Names of ingredients (and where they come from), as well as processes such as whisking, beating and grating. Hearing and seeing these words used within a real-life application, equips kids to better understand and remember words and their meaning.

• Engaging young people in understanding the links between growing food and cooking fresh, seasonal produce. If outdoor space is inaccessible, organisations such as The Potato Council provide a FREE growing kit containing everything you need to grow a successful crop (register with growyourownpotatoes.org,uk). Produce from a schools’ garden can be prepared and cooked by catering staff for children to taste.

• Supporting learners to recognise how interconnected the world is and how this relates to the food that they eat.

Obesity has been identified as an independent risk factor for more severe outcomes and death from Covid-19. We are failing a generation of children if we do not give them access to healthy, affordable food, together with the knowledge and understanding to adopt lifelong habits which better support health and well-being, with the potential to increase attainment and reduce inequality.

Cooking can be done in almost any environment with a few essential items; even cooking without an oven is possible. We’ve put together some handy hints and tips giving you, the teacher, the knowledge and tools to help yourself.

Practical Learning opportunities – Hints & tips to give teachers the know how to teach cooking in the classroom

We don’t have a dedicated area: You don’t need a kitchen. Cooking in school can be set up in almost any environment with a few essential items:

• Access to hot water – use a washing up bowl if you don’t have access to a sink.

• Cover classroom desks with wipe-clean plastic cloths

• You’ll need a supply of washing-up liquid, cloths, tea towels and anti-bacterial spray for surfaces and hands

• Have a dust pan and brush and paper towels ready to clear up any spills

We have large classes: It is possible to prepare food with a full class:

• Choose recipes that are ‘assembly based; rather than ‘skill’ based

• Move tables together to create a cooking space that works for you

• Remove chairs so children stand to prepare ingredients, giving them better control of equipment

• Having an extra pair of hands means a lot less stress! Ask parents to come into class to help

We don’t have any cooking facilities: Children can learn to cook without the need for an oven

• Recipes can be prepared in the classroom and taken home to cook

• Provide suitable containers and recipe cards

We don’t have the right equipment: Be inventive.

• Choose recipes that the children can ‘assemble’ in their take-home container

• Use kitchen scissors to cut a variety of ingredients to include herbs, spring onions & pepper sticks

• Tiny hands are more than capable of tearing up lettuce leaves and cabbage (for coleslaw)

We don’t have qualified staff: Be confident and well prepared.

• Practice recipes before hand

• Use PowerPoint recipes, particularly with infant classes. It makes things so much easier.

Remember! The children don’t know what to expect. If things don’t go to plan, don’t panic! Take a breath and carry on.

Whilst it’s good practice to have a Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene certificate, it’s not a legal requirement. However, it’s a good way to ‘open your eyes’ to potential risks and help you avoid or minimise them, and it can help you feel more confident about undertaking practical cooking in school. These courses are readily available online and are reasonably priced.

We don’t have time to buy the ingredients: Sign up for a Supermarket delivery and get the ingredients delivered to school

We don’t have time:

• Children don’t always need to cook from scratch. What can you pre-prepare/measure out in advance?

• Peel and grate carrots but allow students to spiralise courgettes for example.

I’m worried about health and safety:

• Make sure you’ve got up-to-date permission slips signed by parents/carers so you are aware of allergies, intolerances, religious or cultural reasons which may prevent children eating or coming into contact with particular foods. This information will enable you to plan your session to ensure it is safe and inclusive.

• Ask you school dinner provider to store ingredients safely or use the staffroom fridge