Cultural capital is the accumulation of knowledge, behaviours, and skills that a student can draw upon and which demonstrates their cultural awareness, knowledge and competence; it is one of the key ingredients a student will draw upon to be successful in society, their career and the world of work.

Cultural capital promotes social mobility and success in our stratified society.

Cultural capital gives a student power. It helps them achieve goals, become successful, and rise up the social ladder without necessarily having wealth or financial capital.

Cultural capital is having assets that give students the desire to aspire and achieve social mobility whatever their starting point.

Policy Rationale:

At Barnwell School, we recognise that for students to aspire and be successful academically and in the wider areas of their lives, they need to be given rich and sustained opportunities to develop their cultural capital.

The school recognises that there are six key areas of development that are interrelated and cumulatively contribute to the sum of a student’s cultural capital:

Personal Development
Social Development, including political and current affairs awareness
Physical Development
Spiritual Development
Moral Development
Cultural development

Summary of the key areas of coverage for each area of Cultural Capital Development:

Personal development:
Careers and Information, advice and guidance provision;
Personal Finance Education;
Employability skills, including work experience;
Citizenship, Personal, Social and Health Education provision and the RSE curriculum;
The school’s wider pastoral framework;
Growth mindset and metacognition - Resilience development strategies;
Transition support;
Work to develop confidence e.g. public speaking and interview skills;
Activities focused on building self-esteem;
Mental Health & well-being provision.

Social Development:
Citizenship, Personal, Social and Health Education provision;
Student volunteering and charitable works;
Student Leadership – Ambassadors and Faculty Champions;
Core Group Access;
In school and wider community engagement programmes;
Work experience and business engagement programmes;
Access to counselling and external agencies.

Physical Development:
The Physical Education curriculum;
Healthy Eating policies and catering provision;
Anti-bullying and safeguarding policies and strategies, including the student-friendly policy and Student Anti-Bullying Charter;
The Health Education dimension of the PRIDE curriculum, including strands on drugs, smoking and alcohol;
The extra-curricular programme related to sports and well-being;
The celebration of sporting achievement including personal fitness and competitive sport;
Extra-curricular programme, including lunch times;
Activity-based residentials;
The curricular programme related to food preparation and nutrition;
Advice & Guidance to parents on all aspects of student lifestyle;
The promotion of walking or cycling to school.

Spiritual Development:
The Philosophy and Ethics curriculum;
Our collective acts of worship and reflection;
Support for the expression of individual faiths;
Inter-faith and faith-specific activities and speakers;
Visits to religious buildings and centres;
School-linking activities – locally, nationally and internationally;
The pastoral and assembly programme.

Moral Development:
The Philosophy and Ethics curriculum;
The behaviour and justice framework underpinning the school’s Behaviour Management/Climate for Learning policy;
Contributions to local, national and international charitable projects.

Cultural Development:
Citizenship Education through the PRIDE, and Philosophy and Ethics curriculum;
Access to the Arts;
Access to the languages and cultures of other countries through the curriculum and trips and visits;
Promotion of racial equality and community cohesion through the school’s ethos, informing all policy and practice.

Character Education

Cultural Capital