A good education is the springboard for lifelong learning and an understanding and appreciation of others. It also facilitates the development of skills and knowledge that allows young adults to cope with whatever life throws at them. We recognise that learning is not just confined to the classroom; learning can occur anywhere! What is important for learning to occur is the resources, experiences and people that make it happen. Remember not everything we learn can be recorded in copy books or expressed as a grade.
In all of our primary schools we interleave the development of a child’s cultural capital at the heart of our bespoke thematic curriculum. Cultural capital can be defined as the accumulation of essential knowledge needed to be educated citizens to engender an appreciation of human creativity and achievement. It is through this understanding that we have developed a non-negotiable list of experiences to empower pupils’ learning and deepen their knowledge of both curriculum and non-curriculum content. In short, the development of additional experiences for our pupils will strengthen the fabric of their learning and allow them to navigate through school with a deepened sense of security and happiness.
Each primary school in our Trust has carefully selected the experiences that will be contextually important to the children in their care. These chosen experiences and activities have been incorporated into our curriculum to enrich learning and enhance the children’s understanding of the world that we live in. Below is a small selection of activities that pupils across all of our schools will encounter.
EYFS
- Meet a person who helps our community
- Care for an animal
- Visit a farm
- Taste food from different cultures
- Join and visit a Library
- Meet a person of faith
- Become a bird spotter
- Become a time traveller
- Hunt for creatures
- Have a pen pal
KS1
- Visit a place of worship
- Build with a purpose
- Grow a plant
- Visit the coast
- Navigate with a map and compass
- Perform on stage
- Have a picnic adventure
- Create a natural habitat
- Write and post a letter
- Develop a new talent or interest
KS2
LKS2
- Communicate in a new language
- View a performance
- Visit a historical landmark
- Engage with the local community
- Prepare food for others to enjoy
- Learn to swim
- Become a chocolatier
- Learn to play a musical instrument
- Meet an author
- Take part in an extra-curricular club
UKS2
- Become an entrepreneur
- Learn basic first aid
- Attempt to break a world record
- Perform a dissection
- Create a multi-media project
- Raise money for charity
- See a person in a place of work
- Be healthy in body and mind
- Visit a place of further education
- Take on a responsibility in school
The Rookeries 10
- Learn BSL
- Star gazing at the local observatory
- To cook with wild ingredients over an open fire
- Learn how to light and tend to a fire
- To construct outdoor shelters
- To craft and create using natural resources
- Making Pontefract Cakes
- A virtual reality experience
- Take part in a musical performance in an arena
- Create a whole school art project
Young people need to be able to experience learning in multiple contexts, locations and formats – this is how resilience and creativity are nurtured.