Adopt a School volunteer, Greg Nicholson, at his ‘adopted’ school
Adopt a School training
Friday 9th February, 3-6pm
Via Zoom
We require everyone delivering Adopt a School to attend our training session. During the training, we will be re-creating a school environment as much as possible to allow trainees to understand what they may expect when delivering the programme to primary students. The Adopt a School team will also follow up trainees after the training to support them through adopting a school and delivering their Adopt a School sessions. There are also opportunities to observe the Adopt a School team before delivering your own Adopt a School session.
The Adopt a School programme is based on a chef and/or hospitality professional volunteering their time to visit a local primary school ideally 3-4 times per school year, usually once per term. The idea is that the chef works with one year group and a long term relationship with the school is encouraged. We are also happy for team members to share the commitment and work together to deliver the sessions e.g. a chef and front house member.
Among a range of sessions, typical hour long classes include:
Taste and Sensory – This session encourages children to familiarise themselves with food by introducing foods by seeing, hearing, touching, smelling and tasting a baguette, before identifying the four tastes. Different coloured jellies are used for children to discover more tastes. Provenance and healthy eating is the key message with a focus on the importance of a balanced diet and the risks of too much salt and sugar.
Practical – This looks at identifying different fruits and vegetables, where they come from and how they are grown. Students then create a salad or simple dish using different varieties. Children are taught knife skills and how to use the “bridge and claw” techniques while again emphasising provenance and healthy eating. This also provides an opportunity to cover numeracy by cutting ingredients into specific shapes and sizes.
Bread making - The third session is about where bread comes from, how wheat is grown, harvested and milled into flour. Children then make the bread. As there is usually not time nor the facilities within schools, children take the proved bread home to bake, which helps to ensure that the whole family is involved.
Front of House - Children learn how to use a knife and fork correctly, how to set a table and children participate in role-play activities set within “a restaurant”; they learn how to take orders and serve bread and water. This session enhances social and interactive skills.
Come along to our next Adopt a School training session to find out how to deliver our Adopt a School programme to a local primary school near you.
To sign up or find out more, email helenahoughton@raoca.org.uk