Cultural Capital
Cultural capital is the essential knowledge that children need to prepare them for their future success.
Every child and family who joins our school will have their own knowledge and experiences that will link to their culture and wider family. This might include: languages, beliefs, traditions, cultural and family heritage, interests, travel and work.
Cultural capital is defined as 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.
Cultural capital gives power! It helps children achieve goals, become successful, and rise up the social ladder without necessarily having wealth or financial capital. Cultural capital is having assets that give children the desire to aspire and achieve social mobility whatever their starting point.
At Millfields Primary School, children benefit from a curriculum that builds on what they understand and know already. 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 successes.
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 school.
At Millfields Primary School cultural capital is broken down into 6 key component parts:
Personal: e.g. careers, finance, work experience, metacognition, growth mindset, interview skills
Social: e.g. volunteering/charity work, political awareness, mental health
Physical: e.g food preparation & nutrition, lifestyles, competitive sports, healthy eating
Spiritual: e.g. collective worship, inter-faith lectures & activities, visits to spiritual buildings
Moral: British Values, charitable work, justice, law and order
Cultural: arts participation, alternative cultures & languages, racial equality, community cohesion.
The activities that have been planned, reflect on ‘Personal Development’ and how children learn skills and realise talents, develop character and resilience, and learn about British values, diversity and mental health & well-being.
These activities fill the children with the urge or ability to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.
- Planning & running charity events - Children in Need, Comic Relief, etc.
- Author visit - Year 1 (virtually)
- Forest School
- Learning about animals welfare - Brian the dog
- Gardening Club with a parent
- Supporting our local community
- Litter picking
- Harvest Festival
- Reverse Advent Calendar
- E-safety poster competition
- Nature Walks
- Pupil Voice
- Learning about Artists: Henri Matisse, Andy Warhol, Claude Monet, Caravaggio, Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Cezanne, Edward Hopper, Mark Rothko, plus more
- Learning about Musical Artists: Survivor, plus more
- Learning about Athletes: Usain Bolt, plus more
- Learning about Designers: Alexander McQueen, Anthony Gormley, plus more
- Learning about Scientists: David Attenborough, Charles Darwin, plus more
- Learning about Activists: Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, plus more
- Learning about Historical people: Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth II, King John, William the Conqueror, King Henry VIII, Queen Anne, plus more
- Learning about Authors: Allen Ahlberg, Roald Dahl, Michael Murpugo, Katherine Rundell, plus more
- Year 6 crucial crew
These activities allow the children to produce or bring about something by a course of action or behaviour.
- Rock Steady
- Celebrating the Queen’s Jubilee
- P.E. Lessons from outside providers - Colchester United, Colchester School of Gymnastics, Tappy Toes
- Annual Young Voices concert
- Learning about people in our culture
- Millfields Gazette
- Celebrating different cultures, traditions and faiths - Chinese New Year, Diwali, etc.
- World Book Day
- Christmas Fun Day
- Playing a musical instrument
- Year 6 and reception readers
- Thrive assemblies
- Tes/Disney 'live' lesson
These activities bring about or reach a desired objective by effort, skill, or courage by the children.
- Taking part in community competitions - Gardening competition, Art trail,
- Extra curricular activities - BSL club, coding club, chess club, cooking club, arts & crafts, computing club, football club
- Sports Competitions - Cross country, cricket, etc.
- African Drumming with Hasan
- PGL school trip
- Educational visits linked to topics
- St. Osyth Priory, Colchester Zoo, etc.
- EYFS Nativity performance
- Key Stage 1 Christmas Spectacular
- Lower Key Stage 2 Easter Spectacular
- Upper Key Stage 2 Summer Performance at the Lakeside Theatre
- Sports Day
- Sharing assemblies
- Bikeability
- Mini medics
- First Aid Training (Year 5)
- Making pancakes