Renowned for their world-class higher education culinary courses, Leiths are taking their mission back to where food education begins with a commitment to expanding opportunity to benefit all primary-age children.
Their new nationwide programme, offered free to all non‑fee‑paying pre‑school and primary schools, is designed to ensure every child can cook nutritious food from scratch by the time they leave primary school.
With 50 years of expertise in teaching technique, recipe development and curriculum design, Leiths design accessible, high‑quality food education at every stage. This new programme brings that experience into early years through an online hub of chef-led cook‑along videos, structured lesson plans and affordable recipes, enabling pupils to handle ingredients safely, understand where food comes from, and prepare nutritious dishes.
Leiths’ unique position in the UK comes from the full breadth of their educational pathway, offering a seamless progression from pre‑school pupil to qualified professional. Their curricula, accredited qualifications and training pathways span KS1 to KS5 in schools, progress into a Higher Education Culinary Diploma, and continue through accelerated food‑teacher training at Leiths Culinary School in London.
The KS1 and KS2 programme removes long‑standing barriers to practical cookery - from limited equipment and budgets, to low confidence amongst non-specialist staff - by offering remote, video‑led lessons delivered by Leiths chef teachers. Through hands-on cooking, pupils explore healthy eating, science, maths, teamwork, life skills and food culture.
Leiths Education is setting a benchmark for accessible, inclusive and transformative food education. This new initiative supports children’s health, wellbeing and learning, strengthens progression routes and future workforce capacity, and helps schools deliver on Government priorities to raise the healthiest generation of children and equip all young people with essential life skills.
Cookery lessons in school are a powerful tool for engaging children across the wider curriculum and preparing them for the next stages of their lives
Maria Dunbar, CEO at Leiths Education said:
“We now know from our first-hand experience in primary schools that if children have the opportunity to engage in regular high-quality practical cooking lessons, the benefits are real and far reaching. Cookery lessons in school are not only fun and engaging but are also a powerful tool for engaging children across the wider curriculum and preparing them for the next stages of their lives. Leiths is on a mission to make sure every child can cook by the time they leave primary school and is calling for regular practical cooking lessons to be part of the curriculum.”
Dame Prue Leith, founder of Leiths Education, said:
“I am passionate about our duty to teach young people to eat well, to understand where ingredients come from, how to prepare them, and to learn to cook a wide range of healthy and nutritious food. If we can also give them some really basic practical cooking skills to enable them to cook for themselves, we set them up for life.”
The Leiths KS1 & KS2 programme is now free to every non-fee-paying pre-school and primary age pupil in the UK.