Ireland Wood Primary School
Immerse, Inspire, Include

Curriculum  »  Cultural capital

 

 

What is Cultural Capital?

Cultural capital is about preparing children with the knowledge and skills for what comes next. It is one of the key ingredients a child will draw upon to be successful in society, their career and the world of work.
 

Cultural Capital gives children the power to help achieve their goals and become successful without neccessarily having the wealth or fancial capital. Cultural capital is having resources that give pupils the desire to aspire and achieve social mobility whatever their starting point. 

How do we achieve this at Ireland Wood?

We are passionate and committed to providing children at Ireland Wood with outstanding learning opportunities. Our children benefit from a broad, balanced and enriched curriculum that builds on what they already know and understand. We believe that exposure, not only to culture but also to situations in which the children might not have previous experiences of, is of paramount importance to their ongoing success. Gradually widening children’s experiences as they progress though our school is an important step in providing rich and engaging learning across the curriculum.


Our aim is to enrich every child’s school experience and create an environment where they include, immerse and inspire. There are six key areas of development that are interrelated and cumulatively contribute to the sum of a child’s cultural capital:
 

  1. Personal Development
  2. Social Development, including political and current affairs awareness
  3. Physical Development
  4. Spiritual Development
  5. Moral Development
  6. Cultural development

 

Here is a summary of the key areas of coverage for each area of Cultural Capital Development:

Personal development

  1. Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education provision;
  2. The school’s wider pastoral framework;
  3. Growth mindset support – resilience development strategies;
  4. Transition support;
  5. Work to develop confidence e.g. role play, supporting peers;
  6. Activities focused on building self-esteem;
  7. Mental Health & well-being provision.

 

Social Development

  1. Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education provision;
  2. Volunteering and charitable work – eg. raising funds for NSPCC, Children in Need
  3. Pupil Voice –School Council, Food Ambassadors, Peer Mediators;
  4. Child and Family Support Worker support;
  5. Pastoral support from all staff
  6. Mental Health awards.

 

Physical Development

  1. The Physical Education curriculum;
  2. Healthy Eating policies and catering provision;
  3. Healthy Schools status;
  4. Anti-bullying and safeguarding policies;
  5. The Health Education dimension of the PSHE programme, including strands on drugs, smoking and alcohol;
  6. The extra-curricular clubs related to sports and well-being;
  7. The celebration of sporting achievement including personal fitness and competitive sport;
  8. Activity-based residential visits in Y6.
  9. Design and Technology units related to food preparation and nutrition.

 

Spiritual Development

  1. The Religious Education Curriculum;
  2. Our collective acts of reflection;
  3. Support for the expression of individual faiths;
  4. Visits to religious buildings and centres;

 

Moral Development

  1. The Religious Education Curriculum;
  2. The school’s Behaviour policy;
  3. Contributions to local, national and international charitable projects.

 

Cultural Development

  1. Citizenship education through PSHE;
  2. Arts education including Music and Drama;
  3. Access to the languages and cultures of other countries through the Geography and MFL curriculum;
  4. Promotion of racial equality and community cohesion through the school’s ethos, informing all policy and practice.

 

We recognise that for children to aspire and be successful academically and in the wider areas of their lives, they need to be given rich and sustained opportunities to develop their cultural capital. We believe that children should be able to recognise themselves and their circumstances so they can see their lived experiences validated and valued.

 

Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC)

Each curriculum area makes its own contribution to children’s cultural capital development and supports SMSC across the school. Here is a brief snapshot of SMSC at Ireland Wood school.


#littlethings Cultural Capital

Here are some ideas for you to try at home. We would love to see your child experience them.