Enrichment - Creating Cultural Capital
The National Curriculum defines Cultural Capital as:
"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"
The concept of cultural capital is associated with sociologist Pierre Bourdieu to explain why some children achieve better educational outcomes than others.
Bourdieu defined cultural capital as the various assets that people have including the way they speak, their level of education and their hobbies and interests.
He noted that children from less advantaged backgrounds were less likely to achieve academically than their better off peers and concluded that the education system and wider society values certain aspects of cultural capital more than others.
This, he believed, influenced social mobility, wellbeing and life outcomes.
At Enfield Heights Academy and North Star Community Trust we are committed to helping as many children as possible to succeed at school and in life.
Out Trust's mission is to work within disadvantaged communities to make a real and lasting difference in order to give children the very best chances to succeed, academically and socially.
Examples of cultural capital at Enfield Heights Academy:
- The quality and variety of our school’s curriculum
- ensuring children have the knowledge and skills for what comes next (e.g. getting ready for Y1, transition to secondary school)
- the exciting and stimulating opportunities that teaching staff create with and for the children every day
- enquiry based learning
- vocabulary development
- promoting physical activity (PE lessons, bikeability, active feet active mind coaches, sports clubs)
- exploring the world around them (visitors, workshops and educational visits)
- after school clubs (Arts and crafts, Lego, Drama, Newspaper, Puzzle, Journalism, etc)
- high quality books in libraries and classrooms (EHA Book spine, Reading Road map)
- music lessons with specialists
- teaching children emotional literacy (Zones of Regulation, ELSA, PSHE, our positive behaviour policy)
- teaching children how to be confident and respectful (School Values)
- insisting that children speak in standard English, full sentences, grammatical correctness
- teaching children table manners (EHA Lunch hall turned into a restaurant, Daffodil breakfast)
- teaching children manners (thank you, good morning, making eye contact)
- giving children responsibilities ( School Council, ECO warriors )
- sports competitions and matches; debating competitions; singing festivals
- extended opportunities for learning e.g. Financial literacy-Maths day; Hispanic Celebrations, Art exhibition.
