Heybrook Primary and Nursery

Heybrook Primary and Nursery School

Cultural Capital and Curriculum Enrichment

 

Vision

Here at Heybrook, we know how important it is to build our children’s cultural capital if they are to succeed later in life. We are committed to raising aspirations and broadening our children’s experiences so that they can grow to become well-rounded, educated citizens. We strive to give our children opportunities that they might not otherwise have access to because we know that for those children with limited knowledge and experience of the wider world, this can be a significantly inhibiting factor in their ability to succeed in and engage with society.

  

Aims

We aim to:

  • Build our children’s cultural capital through our carefully designed curriculum (e.g. prioritising reading as a driver of social mobility and future success, Heybrook’s core values running throughout the curriculum, extensive exposure to other cultures and communities, history and geography forming a core element of our curriculum design, rich curriculum for foundation subjects).
  • Enrich the curriculum and further develop our children’s cultural capital through a wide range of curriculum-related experiences (e.g. school council, assemblies, theme-weeks, trips to museums and theatres, trips to a variety of geographical localities, internal workshops and visitors, outdoor learning, learning to play an instrument, musical and theatrical performances, dance classes, sports competitions).
  • Offer a comprehensive programme of extra-curricular opportunities (e.g. breakfast club, free of charge after-school clubs, residentials).

  

1. Curriculum design

Our curriculum is carefully designed to not only develop our children’s academic knowledge and skills, but also to build our pupils’ cultural capital. The development of cultural capital is a key thread throughout our curriculum.

 

  • Prioritising reading – We prioritise reading as we know that it is a fundamental life skill that is often the key to building cultural capital and future success.
  • Heybrook core values – Our core values run throughout our entire curriculum. These values have been carefully selected to ensure that we develop well-rounded, socially and morally conscious members of society.
  • Diverse curriculum – Our curriculum exposes the pupils to an extensive array of cultures and communities that they might not otherwise have encountered e.g. studying a wide range of religions and cultural celebrations.
  • History and geography key drivers – We know that our children often come to us with limited knowledge of history and geography. We also know that these are often crucial for building cultural capital. We therefore use these subjects, along with reading and high-quality texts, as linchpins around which we can structure our curriculum.
  • Foundation subjects – The foundation subjects are highly valued at Heybrook. Our foundation subjects are rigorously structured and highly engaging. By offering such a well-planned and varied diet of foundation subjects, we work hard to build our children’s knowledge of the world and broaden their experiences.

 

2. Curriculum-related experiences

Our curriculum offer is further enriched by an extensive range of curriculum-related experiences.

 

We recognise that many of our families may find it difficult to financially support these experiences. We therefore ensure that these enrichment opportunities are either provided free of charge or with a significant subsidy from school.

 
Curriculum-related experiences 2023-24

  

 3. Extra-curricular opportunities

In Year 6, we offer our children the opportunity to attend two highly enjoyable residentials (Moorland Home and Robinwood Activity Centre). Both are offered with a significant subsidy to ensure that they are as accessible as possible for our families.

 

We also offer a wide range of extra-curricular opportunities for our children at Heybrook. Many of these are delivered as part of our after-school clubs. All of our after-school clubs are offered to families free of charge.

 

As of September 2023, the following after-school clubs will be on offer:

 

 

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

KS1

Indoor curling

Football

Gymnastics

Gardening 

Netball

Basketball

KS2

Band

Football

(Y5/6 only)

 

Choir

Football

(Y3 only)

Dance

 

 

We also offer a daily breakfast club for a nominal charge of £1 a day. Alongside our breakfast club, we also run an attendance club for those children who need support with their attendance.