Written question asked by Lee Anderson (Conservative) on Thursday, 9 March 2023, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 13 March 2023. It was answered by Nick Gibb (Conservative) on Friday, 17 March 2023 on behalf of the Department for Education.

Home Economics: Secondary Education

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of making it compulsory for home economics to be taught to key stage 4 students.

Answer: Learning how to cook is an important life skill for pupils. To facilitate this for Key Stage 4 pupils, the Department introduced a food preparation and nutrition GCSE in 2016 which requires pupils to understand and apply the principles of food science, nutrition and healthy eating when preparing and cooking food. As part of the 2014 design and technology curriculum, the Department introduced a strand called ‘cooking and nutrition’, which is compulsory for pupils aged 5 to 14. Through this strand, children are taught how to cook with an emphasis on savoury dishes, and how to apply the principles of healthy eating and nutrition.

Secondary information