We were asked to go into a local school to deliver the Bake Off Week. This was a week where we taught the students how to bake each day but also looked at some inspirational people who use baking to help the community. Within this week we looked at some key issues that some people in our society are facing; CSE, Mental Health Illness’ , Criminal exploitation and more. It was good to have discussions with the students about these and to hear their opinions.
Throughout the week we got to build good relationships with the students and were able to talk about some of their life situations they were struggling with too. Overall, It was a great week where we saw students not just learn a new skill but also build their confidence as they achieved things they didn’t think they could do.
We had a group of 12 students, 11 of which were female and 1 male. The students were brilliant, they engaged in every activity that we did and helped each other with baking and with the cleaning up afterwards. The teacher that we had with us was really impressed with the week and was excited for us to run a week like this again next year.
The schedule for the week was that each day we would have a demonstration of what we were baking by one of our volunteers. We would then set off baking which would take up the morning lessons. In the afternoon lessons we would have some time each day were we looked at a different charity that used baking to help the community and would have discussions around this. We then would have some time were each student could plan a show stopper that they would bake on the last day. This show stopper would be judged on appearance, taste but also the inspiration behind it. Each student would need to design their cake around something they feel inspires them.
The cost of this week came to a total of £177, this price including all the baking ingredients that we needed, the prizes, the aprons, the equipment for the baking booklets and a gift for our volunteer baker.
Below is the schedule for the week along with some pictures:
Day One – Millionaire Shortbread
The charity that we looked at on this day was the Bramber Bakehouse. They work with women who have been exploited, giving them a new start in life by teaching them life skills and providing them with counselling. One of the ways they do this is through teaching the women how to bake and then give them opportunities to work at the bakery that they also own. Through looking at this charity we got to discuss what Child Sexual Exploitation is – some of the causes and signs, but also some of the ways you can get help about this.
Day Two – Garlic Bread Twists
The charity that we looked today was the MEC, they are a café in Manchester that only employ ex – offenders. They do this so that they can provide a different life choice for people and help them through rehabilitation programmes to reduce the risk of re- offending. It was good to discuss this with students and to hear their opinions on what they feel people need in order to try and live a different way.
Day Three – Chocolate Eclairs
The Charity that we looked at today was the depressed cake shop, this is a charity that was set up to raise awareness for mental health and also money to help support those who work in this area. We got to discuss what the five steps to well- being are and how baking actually ticks a lot of those boxes and can really help have a healthy mindset.
Day Four – Cake making and icing skills
The charity that we looked at today was a café called “stepping stones” which gives adults with additional needs the opportunity to learn life skills through working at the café.