Cultural Capital at St Mary’s
Cultural Capital is defined 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’. National Curriculum
At St Mary’s, through our curriculum and enrichment offer, we pride ourselves on preparing our pupils effectively for their next steps in education, employment and training. We want them to achieve their potential and be successful life-long learners in wider society.
We place great importance on the quality of experiences our pupils have whilst with us and how this helps to develop their cultural capital. These experiences will take a mixture of forms, including lessons through our curriculum, extra-curricular activities, trips and visits, and Careers related activities.
We recognise that the following areas are key aspects that contribute to building our pupils’ cultural capital:
- Personal Development
- Social Development
- Physical Development
- Spiritual Development
- Moral Development
- Cultural Development
| Personal Development | Social Development | Physical Development |
|---|---|---|
|
Careers & information, advice and guidance provision – all year groups Personal Finance Education – Citizenship Employability skills – work experience placement (Y11) , World of Work Days, Three College Taster Days Personal, Social and Health Education Curriculum
Pastoral Support via Heads of Year, Pastoral Managers and Assemblies Transition support and induction – ‘Getting to Know You’ and Team Building days. Primary liaison visits Mock interviews and Careers interviews Wellbeing Wednesdays – all year groups Tutor Time Activities |
PSHRE Curriculum Tutor Time Activities Charity work including: Charity Committee inc. fundraising activities Such as Food Banks/Cafod/Ukraine etc Student Voice – School Council Student Leadership – Prefect System, Head Boy & Girl, House & Sports Captains Student Ambassadors House System & Competitions (Eisteddfod, Inter House Games & Sports Day) Student Parliament Event |
Physical Education Curriculum ‘This Girl Can’ initiative PE Enrichment inc. full list of clubs/fixtures Links with ‘Worcester Warriors’ Rugby Links with ‘Laura Gale’ Dance Anti-Bullying and Safeguarding policies and strategies Annual Sports Day and Inter House Games Day Trips inc Ski Trip to Austria and Broadhaven PE Residential (Annual) The Health, Drugs, Alcohol, Smoking and Sex/Relationships elements of the PSHRE curriculum Guest speakers delivering assemblies re: Healthy Lifestyles etc |
| Spiritual | Moral | Cultural |
|---|---|---|
|
RE Curriculum – compulsory, all year groups to GCSE Daily Acts of Collective Worship – Morning prayers in the chapel, Form time prayer Acts of Collective Worship – House masses and Whole School Mass Opportunities for Sacrament of Reconciliation Access for all pupils and staff to purpose built Chapel (on site) Full-time Lay Chaplain Pupil led Chaplaincy Team Annual Spirituality INSET for all staff at Belmont Abbey Assemblies – HOY & SLT Spiritual Retreats Pilgrimages to Lourdes & Rome |
RE Curriculum Behaviour Management Policy Involvement with charitable projects – Cafod/Ukraine Appeal/Food Banks Key themes and messages shared via Heads of Year and SLT Assemblies Gospel Values Virtue Pairs – visible throughout school |
School’s ethos promotes inclusivity, racial equality and community cohesion Access to the languages and cultures of other countries through MFL Curriculum: French/Spanish/German and through trips, visits e.g. Morocco (Geog), Battlefields (History) Austria (PE) France (MFL) German Christmas Markets (MFL) Cross-curricular cultural links e.g. African Drumming (Music) Promotion of the Arts via: Eisteddfod (Annual) Herefordshire Performing Arts Festival Various Musical Evenings School Productions Hay Festival Visit (Literary) Assembly Programme Tutor Time Activities |