Read on to find out how the Adopt a School programme works in a typical primary school setting.
For secondary schools, colleges and other settings—including SEN schools, hospital schools, youth clubs and local community projects—please contact our team.
How does the core programme work?
Typically, three sessions are delivered each academic year to the same class, usually Year 4 or Year 5. (Year 3 and Year 6 classes are also routinely accommodated.)
The entry point for every pupil is Taste and Sensory followed by Knife Skills. These two, 1-hour sessions lay the foundations for a third activity of the school’s choice.
Sessions are designed to take place inside the classroom. All ingredients and equipment are provided:
Taste and Sensory – Children learn about the five basic tastes, where food comes from and how to make informed food choices. This session features the Eatwell Guide and tastings of sample ingredients.
Knife Skills – Children learn two different methods for safely cutting fresh fruits and vegetables before preparing a healthy salad.
It is then up to the school and their chef to discuss options for a third activity, modelled on the examples below:
Bread Making – Children make a simple bread dough from scratch, to be baked at school or at home. Alternatively, flatbreads can teach children about the history of bread and different food cultures.
Practical Cookery – Children use fresh ingredients to prepare a simple healthy dish from scratch, perhaps linked to a topic elsewhere in the curriculum.
Front of House – Children learn how to set a dinner table before role playing waiters, order takers, water servers and guests at their own “restaurants.”
In many cases these sessions can also be delivered inside a classroom, although some may benefit from the use of a school oven, school fridge or school hall.
How are sessions timetabled?
Each full cycle of the programme can be delivered across an academic year, a school term, or even a series of consecutive weeks. Key learnings from the sessions are revisited throughout the programme, reinforcing each child’s skills and understanding of the impact our food choices have on health and the environment.
Once a chef has been matched with a school’s preferences, apre-visit to the school can determine the best schedule, session combination and number of visits for both parties.
What is the cost for schools?
The amount we ask your school to contribute towards the running of the programme will depend on the type of chef you receive: a Volunteer Chef, or a Regional Chef.
Volunteer Chefs take time out of the industry to deliver sessions at one (occasionally more) ‘adopted’ school each year.
They offer their time to schools free of charge, covering direct costs such as travel and ingredients as part of their contribution towards the programme. Volunteers often team up with colleagues to adopt larger schools together, or to deliver to multiple year groups within the same school. They’re trained and ready to deliver our core programme (Taste and Sensory, Knife Skills, plus a third session). Many volunteers return to their school year after year—adapting the programme, offering additional activities and becoming an embedded member of the school community.
Contribution for schools in 2026-27:
£3 per child per academic year (equivalent to £1 per child per session)
Regional Chefs are employed and resourced by the Adopt a School Trust via the generous support of our programme sponsors.
Together, our Regional Chef Team delivers the programme to more than 150 schools each year. They also train and support Volunteer Chefs in schools, particularly where volunteers are new to delivering the programme. Regional Chefs are ready to deliver our core programme in schools. They’re also ready to discuss any additional or bespoke sessions that can build immediately on these foundations, such as practical cookery, ingredient masterclasses and curriculum-themed activities.
Contribution for schools in 2026-27:
From £3 per child per session (based on individual session requirements)
What is the contribution for?
Our Volunteer Chefs are incredibly generous in offering their time and other resources to schools free of charge. A minimal school contribution is required to help cover direct costs for the charity, such as a hat and apron for each child.
The contribution for our Regional Chefs goes further, helping to cover additional programme costs such as planning, preparation and ingredients for each session; travel expenses; cooking equipment and equipment maintenance.
Which areas of the UK are covered?
Founded by the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts in 1990, the Adopt a School Trust is a small national charity with an ambitious UK programme that is continuously expanding its reach.
Our Regional Chefs are currently based in London and the South East; Sussex; Birmingham and the West Midlands; Liverpool and the North West.
Our Volunteer Chefs register their interest from all over the country, and much of our work involves connecting trained volunteers with senior leaders who’d like to roll out the progamme at their school. Equally, if you request a Chef for your school and none is available, it may be possible for us to recruit a new volunteer in your area.
Contact the Team
Email us: adoptaschool@royalacademyofculinaryarts.org.uk
Call us: 07887 437 359