The time has arrived! The new cooking and gardening lessons for pupils will start in the second half of the summer term. Pupils will participate in an introductory lesson in the kitchen, with their class teacher, and in the garden with our new gardener teaching assistant, Ellie Lock. The timetable for this is attached below.

Some important things for you to know:

• On their allocated day, pupils should wear appropriate non-uniform clothing for gardening and close-toed shoes (Wellies will be provided at school if needed).
• Children's health care plans need to be updated in detail on Laser as teachers will check these carefully for food allergies and intolerances when planning food preparation and will ensure certain ingredients are not used and that procedures are put in place to avoid cross-contamination where needed.
• Each class in the second half of the summer term will have one introductory lesson. Lessons will continue in the new academic year with children in Years 3,4 & 5 participating in one lesson each half term, and children in Years 1,2 and 6 once every half term apart from the first half of the Summer Term (due to statutory testing).
• From the Autumn Term, to support the effective planning of the lessons, and to enable us to provide the best possible opportunities for all pupils, in-line with our Charging Policy a voluntary contribution of £4 (payable via Laser) will be requested for each child for each half term. This will ensure teachers can buy ingredients needed to supplement fresh ingredients provided by the school garden. Please remember to add the charge to your cashbook.
• Also from the Autumn Term pupils will also be asked to bring to school, on their allocated cooking day, a clearly labelled container. Pupils will then be able to bring home some/all of the food they have prepared at school to share with their families and friends. 

The first lesson for each class will focus mainly on exploring the kitchen, the equipment and developing an understanding of the basic hygiene and safety rules with progression of cooking skills starting in September for all pupils. 

This is an amazing opportunity for our pupils that they, and the teachers, are very excited about. Here's to home-grown ingredients and delicious dishes!