Why is food hygiene and safety important for School caterers?

It is important to serve safe, hygienic food to everyone – but in education settings, it is especially important to keep young bodies and brains protected and nourished, and immune and digestive systems developing safely. Understanding food borne illness and how to prevent it is important for anyone who works with children, and food hygiene training in schools is a crucial tool in improving skills.

What level of food hygiene training do I need in school?

This depends on your role – if preparing and serving food is a small part of your role, and someone else is instructing or supervising you, a Level 2 Food Hygiene award should be adequate. If you are running the kitchen, putting processes and plans in place, and supervising others, you might want to look at a Level 3 Food Hygiene award.  This gives you some insight into management level skills and a greater background knowledge of food safety.

Where can I get food hygiene training for schools?

If you already work in a school or college, your employer may have a preferred training provider for food hygiene. If you’re looking for a course yourself, you can choose to study a face to face or online. Think about what is important to you before you decide – cost, convenience, being able to recap material and study at your pace, or being able to ask questions?

Look for a course that is designed for early years practitioners, especially at Level 2. Courses such as those offered by The Safer Food Group cover specific situations and details that will be relevant in your role.

Also, consider whether you’ll need any additional training. For instance, do you need to learn about Allergen Management, or Nutrition for your setting? If so, look for a training provider who can cover all of these subjects – you’ll have all your training details held in one place, and you’ll build up a comfortable familiarity with the teaching methodology.

I want to know more about catering in a school setting….

Have a look at our free guide below. It covers menu planning, food safety, hygiene and allergens, and provides links to some great free resources for school cooks.

Click here to access our free resource for school caterers