Potato Council is introducing a wide range of potato related resources into secondary schools as part of the national curriculum after a successful pilot project.
Cook Your Own Potatoes follows on from the council’s Grow Your Own Potatoes scheme in primary schools and will help 11-14 year olds learn about different varieties, uses and tastes as well as give them important nutritional information. The council hopes this will set them up with good cooking and eating habits.
Sue Lawton, education coordinator for Potato Council, said: “Research has revealed that only one in five secondary school pupils knows that potatoes are fat free and 12 per cent actually believe they are high in fat.
“This new programme will show them that potatoes are a nutritious carbohydrate. It will also teach them the basic cooking skills needed to ensure that they can prepare potatoes and encourage them to include a variety of potato dishes in their repertoire.”
To establish potential interest in the project, Potato Council worked with Kids Connections to carry out research among teachers that it followed with live classroom testing of materials. Food technology teachers from a range of schools across England highlighted a real need for a comprehensive and engaging online resource library of skills, lesson plans and recipes for secondary students.
Lawton said: “The feedback about ‘Cook Your Own Potatoes’ has been really positive. In particular, teachers are keen for resources to help them deliver on topics such as health, nutrition and sustainability, as well as recipes and video demonstrations to support the development of varied cooking skills. This demand has been compounded by the closure of the department for education’s food technology resource in the summer.”
Pilot lessons were delivered in schools in Leicester and London and the response from teachers and students confirmed that ‘Cook Your Own Potatoes’ would be extremely well received.
The project, which is due to be rolled out nationally during Potato Week from 1-7 October this year, will provide teachers with a dedicated website where they can access the material such as lesson plans, skills and recipe videos, work sheets and fact sheets.
