Children's Cultural Capital

What is Cultural Capital?

''The term cultural capital is not new. It is a complex theory that comes originally from the field of sociology, which involves the study of society, including relationships, social interactions and culture. It is important to recognise that everyone has cultural capital – that is – knowledge, skills and behaviours, and that these accumulate over time through many different experiences and opportunities. Cultural capital is understood to contribute to ‘getting on in life’ or ‘social status’, i.e. being able to perform well in school, knowing how to talk in different social groups or societies, accessing higher education and being successful in work or a career.''

 

Cultural capital is the essential knowledge that children need to prepare themselves for their future success.

It is about giving children the best possible start to their early education.

 

Pupil Voice

Learning mentors work with children and young people on a group or one-to-one basis. They provide support, motivation and guidance to help pupils overcome obstacles to their learning. These could include learning difficulties, family issues, mental health problems or a lack of confidence.

Miss Lena is our learning mentor here at Rushey Green, and works very hard to develop these understanding relationships with the children to equip them with the skills to build their individual cultural capital. 

''My focus for that time has been to support the Social Emotional and Mental Health of the children with a particular focus on Mental Health and Wellbeing. At Rushey Green we know that for our children to reach their full potential they need to feel happy and safe, therefore we work to break down the barriers that could be affecting their mental health and wellbeing and help to develop well-rounded, happy young people so that they can, with our help, build a successful future. 
As a mentor I work with children in a safe therapeutic setting ‘The Rainbow Room’ to enable children to build healthy relationships in school with myself, the other adults and children. I support children 1:1, in small Social Interaction Groups as well as in class and around the school. I work closely with the Inclusion team so that we are able to support our children holistically to meet their needs. I also work with the school kitchen staff to deliver Healthy Eating interventions to offer the children education around developing healthier diets as we know that our children’s physical health is directly linked to their mental health; we strive to empower our children to make better choices for their bodies and minds. In addition to this, the children are able to work within the school kitchen of our school Chefs to learn practical life skills and to enrich their learning experience. 
We encourage the children to focus on positivity, mindfulness, gratitude and kindness. I also work to support the parents and carers with accessing free parenting, healthy eating and mental health workshops.''
 

Pupil Voice is key in our school community, we place emphasis on being heard and understood. One of the key ways this can be seen implemented is through our behaviour policy; it is our standard to recognise behaviour that we want and expect to see, rather than highlight behaviour we deem unacceptable. This allows our children, when they experience behaviour that we do not model, to understand the emotions behind their actions, work through the meaning and origin of these emotions and start to expand their self management skills. 

It is a strength of our School that both children and staff are tolerant and respectful of one-another.