Leiths, the cooking school founded by Dame Prue Leith, has announced a major new initiative that aims to ensure every child in Britain leaves primary school able to cook nutritious food from scratch.
The cookery programme is accessible through an online portal filled with cook along videos and recipes, and is completely free for all non-fee-paying pre- and primary schools across the UK. Lessons are designed specifically to make cooking accessible for children, with detailed lesson plans, student activity sheets and scalable ingredient and equipment lists.
The move follows new research revealing a significant gap in food education, with more than 75% of primary pupils receiving no regular cookery lessons before the programme’s pilot began.
The scheme was officially launched today at St Clement & St James primary school in West London, where Dame Prue, joined by Labour MP Joe Powell, surprised Year 1 and 2 pupils during a cookery lesson. The former Great British Bake Off judge said the programme reflects a lifelong passion for food education and health.
‘I would encourage all primary schools to make use of this new free programme, to ensure every child learns about food, nutrition and cooking from their very first years in education', says Prue.
‘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.’
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The initiative directly addresses concerns raised by educators and health professionals about declining food literacy, despite government guidance linking diets based on fresh, home-cooked ingredients to improved long-term health. It also supports wider government ambitions to raise the healthiest generation of children and equip young people with essential life skills.
The Leiths Primary Cookery Programme is delivered through a free online portal, offering cook-along videos, child-friendly recipes, lesson plans and activity sheets. Pupils learn how to prepare fresh ingredients safely, use everyday kitchen equipment, and cook simple dishes designed to be shared with friends and family.
‘I am passionate about our duty to teach young people to eat well'
Recipes include pea, basil and tomato bruschetta, Greek salad pitta pots and upside-down lime cheesecakes, with some recipes costing as little as 40p per pupil.
The programme follows a year-long pilot in 45 diverse schools involving more than 4,600 pupils, which showed significant improvements in children’s cooking skills (82%), understanding of healthy eating (41%) and knowledge of food safety and hygiene (59%). Teachers also reported wider benefits, including better teamwork, independence and engagement across subjects such as maths, science and literacy.
Parents have also responded positively, with 79% saying they were pleased their child was receiving cookery lessons, and half reporting that children had recreated dishes or shared their experiences at home.
Maria Dunbar, CEO of Leiths Education, said the organisation is now calling for regular practical cooking lessons to become a core part of the primary curriculum. ‘Cookery lessons are not a ‘nice to have’,’ she said. ‘They are essential for children’s health, education and future independence.’
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