Curriculum Information

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Key Stage 3

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From Key Stage 3, students begin to gain an appreciation of the importance of good nutrition and develop skills and knowledge they will use almost daily throughout their working and home lives. Decision-making, team-working, creativity and time management are just a few of the skills being developed in a typical lesson.

 

The three main concepts covered are:

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Healthy Eating:

Students explore ways of achieving a healthy diet and develop practical cookery skills including the creative use of ingredients and cooking for different cuisines and occasions.

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Independent Living:

This area helps students appreciate the importance of becoming discerning consumers. It involves investigating factors that influence consumer choices and decisions, such as advertising and peer pressure. Students also investigate consumer rights, responsibilities and sources of support.

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Home and Family Life:

Exploring Home and Family Life provides students opportunities to understand the importance of the family as a caring unit. It explores the roles and responsibilities of individuals within a variety of home and family structures, for example, sharing roles within the family, role reversal etc.

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Key Stage 4 (GCSE)

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At GCSE level, students can choose to study Home Economics: Food and Nutrition or Home Economics: Child Development.

 

GCSE Food and Nutrition

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The Home Economics: Food and Nutrition specification encourages students to develop knowledge and understanding of the science behind food. The GCSE Food and Nutrition specification includes topics such as food provenance, food processing and production, macronutrients and micronutrients, government nutritional guidelines, and food safety. Students develop practical skills in food preparation, cooking and presentation.

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This GCSE consists of two components each contributing 50% of the final grade and both completed in Year 12.

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Food and Nutrition:

In this examination unit, students learn about the nutritional content of foods and how the specific nutritional and dietary needs of different people can be met by modifying recipes, and planning, preparing and cooking meals and dishes that reflect current nutritional guidelines. They also study how to be an effective consumer in relation to food choice, food safety and managing resources.

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Practical Food and Nutrition:

In this unit, students carry out a task that develops unique transferable skills. Students are required to research a given task title. They then choose and justify a related practical activity, complete the practical activity in a single 3-hour session and evaluate all parts of the task.

 

GCSE Child Development

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GCSE Child Development encourages students to develop knowledge, understanding and skills, including practical skills, by focusing on these key areas:

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• pregnancy, childbirth and caring for a newborn baby;

• the responsibilities involved in parenting and other family roles; and

• the social, physical, intellectual, communication and emotional development of small children, including their dietary, health and educational needs.

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Students develop subject-specific skills such as evaluating feeding options for a baby. They also learn about relevant scientific and technological developments. This course prepares students for further study in child health or education, or the world of work.

There are two written exams, each worth 30% of the overall mark, and one controlled assessment task, worth 40%.

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The specification has three units:

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• Unit 1: Parenthood, Pregnancy and the Newborn Baby – 30% external examination completed in Year 11

• Unit 2: The Development of the Child (0-5 Years) - 30% external examination completed in Year 12

• Unit 3: Investigation Task - 40% Controlled Assessment completed in Year 12

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Key Stage 5 (GCE/A-Level)

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Many students go on to study GCE Health and Social Care. Please see the Health and Social Care Department for further information on this qualification.