The curriculum

Modern Home Economics - written for the lives our students are actually living in 2026.

Our four-module curriculum is the spine of every 6–12 week placement. It was written to answer a question the old Food Tech syllabus could not: what does a teenager actually need to know about food now - in a kitchen where takeaways are cheaper than ingredients, where ultra-processed food makes up the majority of the family shop, where phones are always in pockets and where mental health is unraveling at population scale?

Every module is mapped against the National Curriculum for D&T (Cooking & Nutrition Key Stages 3), Citizenship, PSHE Association programmes of study, GCSE Food Preparation & Nutrition specification themes, and selected Functional Skills criteria. We also align learning outcomes to EHCP Section F where applicable.

1 · The UPF Trap2 · Gut-Brain Axis3 · Micro-Budgeting4 · Digital Detox

At a glance

The four modules and why they are in this order.

Module order is deliberate. We start where the body is - what is already in the cupboards, what is already being eaten - and we build outward from there.

01Module

Deconstructing the UPF Trap

Making the ‘Fakeaway’ - high-street favourites, rebuilt from real ingredients.

  • Identify the markers of an ultra-processed food on a back-of-pack label.
  • Recreate four high-street staples (chicken burger, pizza, kebab, fried chicken) from scratch under £2.50 per portion.
  • Articulate why UPFs are not a moral failing of the family, but a structural feature of the food environment.
Read the full module brief →
02Module

The Gut-Brain Axis

Nutrition, the vagus nerve and the science of feeling well.

  • Explain, in age-appropriate language, the bi-directional link between gut and brain.
  • Cook three meals proven to support a diverse microbiome (fermented, fibre-rich, omega-3 rich).
  • Notice and record changes in mood and energy following deliberate dietary changes over two weeks.
Read the full module brief →
03Module

Micro-Budgeting - The £10 Family Meal

Feeding three people for ten pounds, including the shop.

  • Plan a four-person family meal using a £10 budget and a single nearby supermarket.
  • Build a written shopping list, unit-price the trolley and operate self-checkout.
  • Reflect on the cost-of-living conditions inside which the family is operating.
Read the full module brief →
04Module

Digital Detox

The grounding, screen-free, physical reality of cooking.

  • Tolerate a phone-free session within two weeks of placement.
  • Notice and name physical sensations of hunger, fullness and dysregulation without screen mediation.
  • Build a personal “return to the body” protocol the student can use outside of placement.
Read the full module brief →

How a week looks

One placement week - Tuesday to Friday.

Sessions run four days per week; the fifth day is reserved for the home school, mainstream re-engagement, family meetings or therapeutic input.

National Curriculum mapping

What students can credibly say they have studied by the end of placement.

ModuleD&T Cooking & Nutrition (KS3)Wider mapping
UPF TrapUnderstand and apply the principles of nutrition and health; cook a repertoire of predominantly savoury dishes.GCSE FP&N: Food, nutrition and health; Food choice. PSHE: Health and wellbeing.
Gut-Brain AxisSource of food; the nutritional content of food.GCSE Biology: Health and disease. PSHE: Mental health and emotional wellbeing.
Micro-BudgetingCook for a budget; plan and shop for a meal.Functional Skills Maths E3/L1: Money, budgeting, percentages. Citizenship: Rights and responsibilities.
Digital DetoxHealthy lifestyles; the food environment.PSHE: Online safety, body image, sleep. Statutory RSHE: Internet safety and harms.

Mapping is reviewed annually against the current DfE National Curriculum, OCR and AQA GCSE Food Preparation & Nutrition specifications and the PSHE Association programme of study. Full mapping document available to commissioners on request.