What does Cultural Capital mean at Dulverton Primary School?

Every child 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. Research shows that when children and families’ cultures are valued, both the child’s experience of learning and progress can benefit.

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 child will draw upon to be successful in society, their career and the world of work.

Ofsted 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’.

At Dulverton Primary School, children benefit from a flexible curriculum that builds on what they understand and know already. Class teachers routinely use Big Questions and KWL Grids (Know, Want to know and Learned) to encourage pupil engagement, discussion and deeper thinking. We believe that widening children’s experiences is important in providing exciting and engaging learning. We therefore plan carefully for children to have progressively richer experiences from nursery onwards. These experiences are thoughtfully linked to your children’s learning through Forest School, community days, World Week, workshops and assemblies in school, trips within the local area, visits to places of worship and museums. They will also involve participation in sporting activities and music events.