What does Cultural Capital mean at St Peter’s Eaton Square Primary School? 

Every child and family who joins our setting 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 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 St Peter’s Eaton Square, children benefit from a curriculum that builds on what they understand and know already. Culture Capital isn’t always something that is ‘taught’ or ‘given’ but can be acquired through rich experiences based around culture, languages and traditions. At St Peter’s we want to celebrate the uniqueness of our children and share our differences and individualism. 

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. This includes trips to our local park, Belgravia Gardens, collaborative art projects with local galleries, drama projects with the Shakespeare company, cultural celebration weeks  and offering a variety of after school and lunchtime clubs to the children. 

Building Experiences and Knowledge by Immersing Children in the World Around Them