Curriculum: Cultural Capital
Introduction
“It is the essential knowledge that pupils need to be educated citizens, introducing them to the best that has been thought and said and helping to engender an appreciation of human creativity and achievement.”
National Curriculum
Cultural Capital at St Stephen’s
Every child and family who joins us at St Stephen’s will have their own knowledge and experiences that will link to their culture and wider family. This might include: languages, traditions, cultural and family heritage, interests, travel and work.
Cultural capital is the accumulation of knowledge, behaviours, and skills that a child can draw upon and which demonstrates their cultural awareness, knowledge and competence; it is one of the key ingredients a pupil will draw upon to be successful in society, their career and the world of work.
At St Stephen’s, children benefit from an engaging curriculum that builds on what they understand and know already. Through our curriculum, we aim to teach children and provide them with the skills and knowledge to “be prepared to make a change, challenge and contribute” in the world they live in. We believe that exposure, not only to culture but also to situations in which the children might not have previous experiences, is of paramount importance to their ongoing success.
Gradually widening children’s experiences as they progress through school is an important step in providing rich and engaging learning across the curriculum. We plan carefully for children to have progressively richer experiences in nursery and beyond. These include: gardening in our school grounds, trips to the local area, museum trips and residential trips.
At St Stephen’s, not only do we provide a broad and balanced curriculum that offers a range of exciting experiences and enrichment opportunities; we provide varying extracurricular clubs that include: reading, crafting, creative writing, board games, sports and cooking. We believe that these activities will allow our children to develop skills and knowledge that prepare them for life outside of the classroom.
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SMSC Books
At St Stephens, we have SMSC books: “Special Moments in St Stephen’s Classrooms” which travel with our classes through school. These books evidence all the experiences and opportunities the children have had throughout the school year developing their knowledge and skills by immersing the children in the world around them. These provide discussion points in the classroom and allow conversation to develop around areas of study or interest outside of the year group curriculum.
Learning Experiences
- Learning about and celebrating different cultures and traditions
- Religious and mindfulness retreats for all classes in school annually
- Growing food and plants in our allotments and caring for our animals in school
- Engaging with the wider community: welcoming the local councillor, working with artists, musicians and authors
- Visits to local museums, theatres, libraries and bringing experiences in school
- Showing our talents through performances, sports days and concerts