DT Food Technology in Years 7, 8 and 9.

The above shows some of our Year 9 pupils cooking their chosen Chicken Korma or Chicken Chow Mein dishes in a Food Technology lesson.

What is DT Food Technology?

The curriculum in Design Technology Food Technology helps pupils to understand the physical, chemical, nutritional, biological and sensory properties of foods and how to exploit these properties when designing and making food products. It is the process involved in the conversion of raw materials to edible food products including meals. It requires students to learn about materials, food safety and hygiene whilst examining the processes, skills and techniques needed to make foods. In food technology investigative work is carried out to see how products are conceived, researched, developed, manufactured and marketed to meet the needs of the consumer.

What will your child study?

YEAR 7

· Food Technology is a 12-week course complemented by Design Technology Product Design and ICT.

· The pupils begin the course by building on the knowledge gained in KS2, with an additional discussion, "What is Food Technology". After a brief revision of hygiene rules the students begin a unit "Learning about products". Weighing and measuring skills are reinforced with the focus on the design of scones, with practical tasks and product and sensory analysis. The next unit examines the "Understanding of materials", looking at the ‘balanced plate’, vegetables and fruit and salads. The students have the opportunity to examine the variety of fruit and vegetables available to them, the processing they may undergo and the ways in which they are prepared. They will make soup, pizza, fruit salads and savoury salads. Finally the students will complete their course with "Designing and making for yourself". Here they will look at the design of snack foods, learning about casings and fillings and working towards modelling their own snack.

YEAR 8

· Begins with Exploring materials and focuses on Desserts for a number of sessions, working towards an individual student’s design and make project Creating a layered dessert for a chilled cabinet. They will then progress to looking at Designing for clients.

YEAR 9

· Progresses to Selecting materials looking closely at ready-made meals and how they have been designed to meet the needs of an individual. Practical work includes adapting Cumberland pie, using a variety of shortcrust pastry, and then finally a large unit on Bread.

How will your child be assessed?

· Some children will find an encouraging word from the teacher most valuable in signalling that their performance is improving, but formal assessment is set out below.

· They will be assessed on their efforts in the organisation and planning of their making tasks.

· The stages in the design process will be recorded in project work and this will be assessed at its conclusion.

· For some pupils extra individual help is given to support their work in Food Technology and this is extremely valuable.

· Any area of special effort and improvement is recognised by the use of the School’s commendation system.

What activities will your child take part in?

· The most popular part of this course is the practical work. This can take the form of individual, group or class activities, with product analysis, focused practical tasks, sensory analysis or experimental sessions.

· Students may visit companies and retailers who are involved in the manufacture or marketing of products.

· Outside agencies will visit to supplement areas of the Food Technology curriculum.