According to a PCP poll 63% of parents want kitchens in state schools so children can be taught how to cook. Andy Powell said: “Parents quite rightly want the best learning environment for their children and that includes facilities that in the past have only been available in the country’s private schools. If designed and managed correctly, with a clear vision and with dedicated staff and sponsors, new-build academies offer an opportunity to give pupils the type of learning they need, using the right facilities.”
In the 2006 Budget, Gordon Brown set out a goal to raise state school spending per pupil from £5,000 a year to the independent sector average of £8,000. The Department for Children, Schools and Families said: “Schools in England have never had such massive, sustained investment in facilities – with an eight-fold real terms rise between 1997 and 2011. Around 4,000 schools and tens of thousands of classrooms have been newly built, rebuilt or largely refurbished thanks to our £36bn capital over the last 12 years. We are committed to rebuilding or refurbishing the entire secondary school estate and half of all primary schools – giving parents, teachers and pupils outstanding classroom, music and sports facilities.”
Personally I think that this is a great idea as children should enjoy cooking and if you introduce cooking from an early age it doesn’t seem quite so intimidating and you are then able to aquire a broader range of skills in the kitchen. It may also help to reduce obesity as children will be taught how to prepare healthy snacks and meals. It may also reduce the number of adults that rely on ready meals as they don’t know how to make simple meals such as bangers and mash.