At Highfield Primary School the curriculum has been created to engage children in their learning, whether academic, social, sporting or being creative. The aim of our curriculum is to ensure that children are equipped with the skills, knowledge and attitudes that will help them to succeed in life.

British Values are promoted through our children’s Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (S.M.S.C.) education, which permeates throughout the school’s curriculum, and supports the development of the ‘whole child’.  In each component of S.M.S.C. our children will have opportunities to explore different values, beliefs and behaviours.

Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Components

• Spiritual - Pupils will be taught to explore beliefs and experience; respect faiths, feelings and values; enjoy learning about oneself, others and the surrounding world; use imagination and creativity; reflect
• Moral - Pupils will be taught to recognise right and wrong; respect the law; understand consequences; investigate moral and ethical issues; offer reasoned views and have an appreciation of British Values
• Social - Pupils will be taught to investigate moral issues; appreciate diverse viewpoints; participate, volunteer and co-operate; resolve conflict; engage with the fundamental values of British democracy
• Cultural - Pupils will be taught to appreciate cultural influences; appreciate the role of Britain's parliamentary system; participate in culture opportunities; understand, accept, respect and celebrate diversity

At Highfield Primary School, we strive to create a learning environment which promotes respect, diversity, self-awareness and one which equips all of our pupils with the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values they will need to succeed in their future lives within modern Britain.

We recognise that such development is most successful when values and attitudes are promoted by all across our school community, to provide a model of behaviour for our pupils. Therefore, to support these fundamental principles, we have embedded the S.C.A.R.F. (Coram Life) set of values: Safety, Caring, Achievement, Resilience and Friendship extensively throughout school life.

Our approach to learning and teaching is:

• To provide all children with a broad & balanced curriculum of the highest quality
• To have high aspirations for every pupil
• To ensure that, in the way we support children in their learning, we provide a learning culture that is positive, supportive, and engaging
• To equip our pupils with the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life

What does Cultural Capital mean at Highfield Primary School?

Every child and family who join our setting will have their own knowledge and experiences that will link to their culture and wider family. This might include: languages, beliefs, traditions, cultural and family heritage, interests, travel and work.

Cultural capital is the accumulation of knowledge, behaviours, and skills that a child can draw upon and which demonstrates their cultural awareness, knowledge and competence; it is one of the key ingredients a pupil will draw upon to be successful in society, their career and the world of work.

Cultural capital gives power. It helps children achieve goals, become successful, and rise up the social ladder without necessarily having wealth or financial capital. Cultural capital is having assets that give children the desire to aspire and achieve social mobility whatever their starting point.

Our curriculum is designed to:

• be creative and to build upon what children already know
• give exposure, not only to culture, but also to situations in which the children might not have previous experiences of
• to instil high aspirations for all children and to encourage them to become resilient, life-long learners, who embrace challenges and continue to grow and develop their cultural capital
• to celebrate the culture and heritage of our own pupils and families, ensuring they feel valued within our school community

We continue to improve and adapt our learning and experiences to ensure all children benefit and increase their cultural capital. By gradually widening children’s experiences as they progress through the school, is an important step in providing rich and engaging learning across the curriculum. We plan carefully for children to have progressively richer experiences in nursery and beyond. These may include trips to the local park, shops and visits to places of worship, museums, sports and music venues.

Examples of Cultural Capital at Highfield Primary School:

• exposure to a wide range of books
• exposure to exciting and adventurous vocabulary
• exposure to different types of music including world and classical music
• after school clubs
• lunchtime activities 
• workshops
• school trips 
• sporting activities
• celebration days
• engaging learning
• parents’ workshops
• S.M.S.C. - Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development activities