Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of the school teaching of home cooking; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Cooking and nutrition are part of the national curriculum for design and technology (D&T). This was introduced as part of the 2014 D&T curriculum and is compulsory for key stages 1 to 3, or ages 5 to 14. Schools are required to teach children how to cook, with an emphasis on savoury dishes, and how to apply the principles of healthy eating and nutrition. This means children are equipped with the knowledge and skills to prepare a range of nutritious dishes that will stand them in good stead in their adult lives.
The department also introduced a food preparation and nutrition GCSE in September 2016. This allows students to develop their skills further in practical cooking, as well as helping them to understand and apply the principles of food science and healthy eating when preparing and cooking food.
The Levelling Up White Paper confirmed the department’s dedication to food education, including a commitment to launch a school cooking revolution. The department is developing curriculum support to ensure young people leave school knowing how to cook at least six savoury recipes that will support healthy lifestyles.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to promote apprenticeships in the digital, culture, media and sport sectors to help support the Government’s agenda of levelling up across the UK.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
We are committed to supporting more employers in all sectors, including digital, culture, media, and sport, to use apprenticeships to develop the skilled workforces they need, and to supporting more people, from all backgrounds, to benefit from the high-quality training that apprenticeships offer.
In August, we launched a new £7 million flexi-job apprenticeship fund to support the greater use of apprenticeships in sectors, such as the creative industries, where flexible working practices are commonplace, including short periods of project-based employment. Flexi-job apprenticeships will enable apprentices to move between different host employers in a given sector or region as they complete the training requirements for their apprenticeship.
In addition, we are making it easier for large employers to transfer levy funds to support new starts in small businesses or in a certain sector or region. On 13 September, we launched a new online service to allow levy paying employers to advertise funding pledges, enabling a much wider range of businesses to browse and apply for available funds. It is brilliant to see that employers have already begun to take advantage of this opportunity, including Amazon who have made a pledge on the new service of £50,000 to support apprenticeships in the creative industries.
We are also working closely with Screenskills who are piloting a flexi-job apprenticeship training model funded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with the support of Netflix and Warner Bros. The pilot is funding 20 apprentices in Production Assistant and Production Accountant roles and aims to widen participation in the film sector.
To further help employers offer new apprenticeships, employers can claim £3,000 for each apprentice they take on as a new employee until 30 September, under the government’s Plan for Jobs.