Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their policy on cooking, nutrition and food education in schools.

All schools are required to teach a balanced and broad curriculum that helps provide young people with the knowledge, skills and understanding to prepare them to play a full and active part in society.

The National Curriculum for Design and Technology (D&T) requires maintained schools to teach pupils about food, nutrition, how to cook and healthy eating. Cooking and nutrition is a discrete strand of the D&T curriculum and cooking is compulsory in maintained schools for key stages 1 to 3 (ages 5-14). The curriculum aims to teach children how to cook, with an emphasis on savoury dishes, and how to apply the principles of healthy eating and nutrition. In 2016, we also introduced a new food preparation and nutrition GCSE to provide pupils with practical cookery experience and teach them about the underlying scientific concepts of nutrition and healthy eating.

The importance of a healthy diet is also included in the science curriculum for both primary and secondary schools where healthy eating is covered through topics relating to nutrition and digestion, including the content of a healthy diet and the impact of diet on how the body functions.