Dundonald High School

Key Stage 3 Home Economics

Home Economics is taught in a newly refurbished purpose built classroom with an adjoining ICT suite. All Key Stage 3 pupils study Home Economics for three 30-minute periods per week.

Home Economics is at the core of the revised curriculum for KS3 and is one strand of Learning for Life and Work.

Home Economics develops pupils as individuals by:

Helping them to explore their health in a practical context, enhancing their potential to live a healthy lifestyle and make responsible choices about their diet and food.

Home Economics develops pupils as contributors to society by:

Giving them a sense of themselves as social beings and how they relate to one another; making them aware of values and lifestyles that are different from their own and helping them to make reasoned judgements in family relationships.

Home Economics develops pupils as contributors to the economy by:

Giving them an awareness of themselves as consumers in a changing economy to help them become discerning and effective when making judgements in relation to the environment and personal finances.

Aim of the Home Economics Department

The central aims of the department are to foster enjoyment in the study of Home Economics and to enable pupils to gain knowledge, understanding and skills which will enable them to make informed decisions about food and home and family life. When we hear the term 'Home Economics' most of us think about cooking and food. Home Economics is about much more than food however. Home Economics combines aspects of Science, nutrition, cooking, parenting skills and finance. Students learn about the inter-relationships between diet, health, family, home and independent living.

Three key concepts are studied:
Healthy Eating
Home and Family
Independent Living

Home Economics is an academic subject with a strong practical element, including ICT. Pupils have the opportunity to cook once a fortnight.

What do I need to bring to class?

Your Home economics folder, pens, pencils, ruler and colouring pencils are required for theory lessons.

A lunchbox is required for practical lessons. (GCSE Hospitality pupils must bring an apron for practical lessons).

Does school provide the ingredients for practical work?

At the beginning of the school term, pupils are given a letter detailing fees for practical lessons. These fees must be paid before pupils can participate in practical lessons.

Do boys study Home Economics?

All pupils, girls and boys, study Home Economics at Key Stage 3. Pupils have the opportunity to select the subjects of Home Economics, Child Development and Hospitality to study at GCSE.

GCSE Home Economics

When we hear the term, 'Home Economics' most of us think about cooking and food. Home Economics is about much more than food however. Home Economics combines aspects of science, nutrition, cooking, parenting skills and finance. Students learn about the inter-relationships between diet, health, family, home and choice and the management of resources.

Home Economics gives students a valuable insight into:

• What's really in the food we eat everyday;
• How to plan and cook nutritious and economical meals;
• How to choose the best food for themselves and their family;
• The importance of good nutrition and health; and
• The role of the consumer in modern eating patterns.

Home Economics delivers vital skills that enable students to lead effective lives as individuals and family members as well as members of the wider community. This course encourages students to adopt a critical and analytical approach to decision-making and problem-solving in relation to Home Economics. It also encourages them to develop as effective and independent learners.

GCSE Home Economics is focused around three areas:

1. Diet and Health and Consumer Awareness.
This area focuses on topics such as nutrition, food choice and diet and health. Assessment of this unit involves an examination (1 ½ hours), including short-answer and structured extended writing questions. (40% weighting of overall grade).

2. Diet and Health.
This area comprises the practical element of the course. You will be expected to plan, cook and serve a meal associated with one area of the diet and health unit. (40% weighting of overall grade).

3. Consumer Awareness.
This area focuses on topics such as advertising, money management and shopping. You will be expected to research one topic associated with consumer awareness. (20% of overall grade). /div>