At St Robert Southwell Catholic Primary School, we are committed to providing an ambitious curriculum that equips every child with the knowledge, skills and cultural capital they need to thrive in life.
Ofsted defines knowledge and 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.”
For us, cultural capital means much more than exposure to occasional enrichment. It is the foundation of our knowledge-rich curriculum, woven into every subject, every unit, and every opportunity, ensuring that children grow into articulate, confident and well-rounded individuals.
At St Robert Southwell, cultural capital is about:
French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu first described cultural capital as a kind of power—those who possess it are able to access more opportunities, while those who lack it face disadvantage. At St Robert Southwell, we are determined to address this inequality.
Our curriculum deliberately builds cultural capital for all pupils, especially those who may not otherwise have access to such opportunities. This means:
We believe cultural capital is not an extra—something “done” through a museum trip or a choir rehearsal alone. It is embedded in the fabric of our curriculum: in the texts children read, the vocabulary they acquire, the concepts they grapple with and the enrichment experiences that flow naturally from their studies.
By ensuring that every child at St Robert Southwell develops strong cultural capital, we prepare them to be:
