SQA Subject Blog - Hospitality, Food and Drink BlogI am delighted to share information below in relation to our new #GoodFoodSkills resource which launches today, Wednesday 31st October.
I would appreciate if you could share the resource with practitioners & networks with access to Glow.
New recipe for supporting food education
Education Scotland has developed a new resource to help build practitioners’ confidence in delivering practical food education. …
Teachers of Hospitality, Cake Craft and Fashion courses have been brushing up on their skills at a number of recent practical training events.
Newly qualified teachers took to the kitchen where they participated in a series of hands-on workshops to develop their knife and pastry skills. They also picked up some top tips from Gary MacLean, Senior Lecturer at City of Glasgow College and Scotland’s national chef.
The event focused on developing cooking skills for the practical elements of National 3, National 4 and National 5 Hospitality: Practical Cookery courses.
Speaking about the event, Graeme Findlay, Qualifications Manager at SQA, said: “The day provided an opportunity for new and less experienced teachers to develop their confidence in teaching practical skills to candidates.”
The event has received positive feedback from attendees. One teacher said, “It was a fantastic CPD session. The lecturers were very knowledgeable but kept it relevant and applicable to what we could do in the classroom.”
Willie McCurrach, Curriculum Head, Food, Faculty of Leisure and Lifestyle, said: “It was a fantastic day, with various skills workshops where teachers developed a variety of preparation skills and cookery methods, along with rolling, lining, blind baking, whisking, filleting and piping. The buzz in our kitchens was amazing; the teachers really enjoyed their day, and made lots of useful contacts with regard to towards working together in the future. We’re looking forward to working with SQA on the next successful day!”
SQA hosted a similar practical skills event for teachers of National 5 Hospitality: Practical Cake Craft, facilitated by City of Glasgow College’s Bakery Lecturers (see picture, right). Over 60 delegates learned skills in crimping, modelling, icing, piping, stencilling, texturing and embossing.
Amanda A Davis, Curriculum Head of Food at the college said: “The teachers were enthusiastic, inquisitive, and eager to learn new skills. They all decorated a cake, which they will take back to their schools to inspire their pupils.”
Most recently, new and potential teachers of National 4, National 5 and Higher Fashion and Textile Technology gathered at St Aidan’s High School in Wishaw, North Lanarkshire.
Every delegate created a handbag, and at each stage of the process they were advised of the standard required at the various qualification levels.
Kirsty Williams, Deputy Principal Assessor and Verifier for Fashion and Textiles, said: “It’s important for SQA to deliver Understanding Standards events so that we can upskill our teachers to provide the best possible opportunities for our students. Things change all the time in the Textiles industry and we need to be keeping people aware of what’s current.”
Attending the event was Carol McGurk, a Home Economics teacher at Whitburn Academy in West Lothian. She found it a useful opportunity to speak with colleagues who have a wide range of skills. She says: “I will go back to my own Centre with the confidence to be able to deliver the courses. I would definitely recommend Understanding Standards events to other teachers.”
Sharon McCully, a Textile Technology teacher from Dalziel High School in North Lanarkshire, says that she had gained an assurance from the event that she is assessing her pupils to the correct standards: She adds: “I can go into my class next week with a fresh perspective. Now I know that I’m on the right track.”
These subject-specific events form part of SQA’s Understanding Standards programme. Through events, webinars and support materials, the programme aims to help to build the confidence of teachers and lecturers in preparing learners for assessment in National Qualifications. We are currently running a programme of events, until January 2019, for Higher courses with new or significantly revised course assessment components.
Find out more about our full programme …
On a more positive note, the Health Survey also revealed new figures for fruit and veg consumption in Scotland, which showed the highest reported intake since 2003. The improvement is small (from 20% of adults eating 5-a-day last year to 24% this year, and 3 portions per day average to 3.3 portions), but encouraging. Talking of vegetables, we will be unveiling pledges by Scottish businesses for how they will make it easier for their customers to eat more veg at the second Vegetable Summit next week in London! Watch our social media accounts …
Are you planning food lessons for your primary school pupils? We’ve got everything you need!
Are you planning food lessons for your primary school pupils? We’ve got everything you need!
Take a look at this selection of resources to get you started!
If you are delivering food lessons in a UK primary school, you are eligible for free …
Draft review makes recommendations for industry and regulatory authorities to improve compliance and assurance.
Recommendations to be considered by the Boards of the Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland on 17 October.
The UK’s two food regulators today published a draft Review with a series of recommendations for the meat industry and the regulators themselves aimed at improving compliance and assurance in the meat processing industry.
The six-month review was launched in the wake of a number of high profile non-compliance issues identified at cutting plants.
The Review took a fundamental look at how the current arrangements could work better and focused on tackling the root causes of common issues, and not just the symptoms.
The recommendations, which are subject to the approval of each organisation’s Board at a meeting in Edinburgh on 17 October, are designed to prioritise food safety and improve overall industry standards in the meat supply chain.
The 19 recommendations for industry and regulators include:
Greater involvement of industry to produce clearer guidance to meet the needs of food businesses
Increased focus on skills and capabilities across industry
Greater data transparency and sharing across industry and with the regulators
More effective use of data by regulatory authorities and improved regulatory coordination and consistency
Trialling the feasibility of using a single organisation to deliver all official controls in a geographic location
Geoff Ogle, Chief Executive of Food Standards Scotland, said:
“This review is essential for ensuring the public continues to have full confidence in the safety of the UK’s meat industry. The majority of our meat sector acts responsibly ensuring food safety …
Registration is quick and easy and will give you access to the latest information and resources to help you plan health promoting activities for your nursery or school.
This year’s BNF Healthy Eating Week will take place from 10-14 June 2019.
Scotland’s Enterprising Schools Progress Report for 2017/18 is out now. It celebrates the successful delivery of the programme in partnerships with Young Enterprise Scotland and Social Enterprise Academy and outlines the vision for the future, now reaching and supporting over 2100 members.
New release: PSE Review
The report of the thematic inspection of personal and social education/health and wellbeing in Scotland’s schools and early learning and childcare settings has been released. It makes clear reference to career education (DYW) and recommends extending its reach across all age groups in line with the Career Education Standard 3-18.
Don’t miss out on some of the best CPD opportunities this autumn. Come along to learn more about School-Employer Partnerships from:
Castelbrae CHS (Edinburgh) and St Albert’s PS (Glasgow) and how their partners inspired learning and helped to raised attainment.
Peebles HS’s (Borders) multi-agency approach to DYW that prepares learners for the world of work.
Laxdale PS’s ( …
Today (13 September 2018) the major UK retailers have published* their latest campylobacter testing results, which shows that contamination in UK-produced chickens remains steady.
The data from April to June 2018 shows that 3.7% of chickens tested positive for the highest level of campylobacter contamination, which is similar to that seen in the last set of results (3.8% from January to March 2018) and lower than the first publication covering July to September 2017, which was 4.6%.
We’d like to remind consumers that the risk of becoming unwell from handling and eating chicken is low in Scotland providing you follow our good hygiene and cooking tips.
The average percentage levels of campylobacter from …
This is the blog for SQA’s Hospitality and Food and Drink teams, where you will find all the latest news, information and updates relating to the work that we do.
