Cultural Capital

St John Bosco Catholic Primary School

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Cultural Capital in the St. John Bosco Curriculum

Developing Cultural Understanding and Preparing Children for Life

At St John Bosco, we believe that a rich and engaging curriculum should inspire children to explore the world around them, develop a strong sense of identity and appreciate the diverse cultures, traditions and experiences that shape our society.

Through our curriculum and wider school experiences, we aim to develop curious, compassionate and confident learners who understand their heritage, respect others and recognise the positive contribution they can make to the world.

History: Building a Sense of Identity, Heritage and the Wider World

• Through the study of history, our children develop an understanding of the past and how it has shaped the world in which we live today.
• Exploring ancient civilisations: Learning about ancient Egypt, Greece and the Maya introduces children to different cultures, beliefs and achievements from around the world.
• Discovering British history: Studying significant periods and events, including the Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, the Great Fire of London, the Victorians and the two World Wars, helps children develop an understanding of Britain's heritage and the experiences that have shaped our nation.
• Bringing history to life: Visits to museums and giving opportunities to handle historical artefacts to enable children to make meaningful connections between the past and the present.

Geography: Understanding Places, Environments and Global Citizenship

• Our geography curriculum encourages children to develop an understanding of the world, its diverse environments and the communities that inhabit it.
• Exploring the world: Learning about local, national and global geography helps children appreciate how people live in different parts of the world.
• Comparing contrasting places: Studying locations such as the UK including local area studies, Europe, South America, The USA, France and African Safari. This develops children's understanding of different landscapes, climates, lifestyles and cultural practices.
• Learning beyond the classroom: Fieldwork, including local walks, map reading and observations of land use, allows children to connect their geographical learning with their own experiences and surroundings.

Art and Design: Exploring Artists, Ideas and Creative Traditions

• Through art and design, children discover how creativity can communicate ideas, express identity and reflect different cultures and periods of history.
• Discovering inspiring artists: Studying artists from a range of backgrounds and historical periods, including Van Gogh, Andy Goldsworthy, Paul Nash, LS Lowry, Henri Rousseau, Paul Curtis, Yayoi Kusama, Wassily Kandinsky, Frida Kahlo, Pablo Picasso, Roy Lichtenstein, Eric Carle, Maggi Hambling and Anthony Gormley, broadens children's artistic knowledge and inspires their own creativity.
• Experimenting with materials and techniques: Children explore a variety of artistic approaches, including printing, sculpture and pattern-making, developing their skills while discovering creative traditions from different cultures.
• Celebrating artistic expression: Opportunities to host and exhibit artwork and projects created by the children to their peers and parents.

Music: Connecting Children with Musical Heritage Around the World

• Music provides children with opportunities to explore different cultures, traditions and forms of expression while developing their own musical skills and confidence.
• Exploring musical traditions: Our curriculum introduces children to classical, folk, global and contemporary music, helping them develop a broad musical knowledge and appreciation of different styles.
• Celebrating our Catholic identity: Singing hymns and exploring liturgical music deepens the children's understanding of the spiritual traditions and shared identity of our Catholic school community.
• Developing musical skills and confidence: Learning to play instruments, singing in choirs and taking part in performances provide valuable opportunities for children to develop their talents. Performance is an important feature of every year group, with opportunities to perform within their own classes, across MADCOS, and in a mass choir at Liverpool Philharmonic.

Literature and Reading: Discovering Diverse Voices and Shared Stories

• Reading is central to our curriculum. Through a wide range of texts, children encounter different perspectives, explore important ideas and develop a deeper understanding of themselves and the world around them.
• Exploring a rich variety of texts: Reading across the curriculum introduces children to classic literature, stories from around the world, sacred texts, poetry, myths and legends. Our class novels are carefully selected to develop children's vocabulary, understanding of language and ability to engage with unfamiliar themes and ideas.
• Developing empathy and understanding: Exploring themes such as courage, morality and justice encourages children to consider different perspectives and develop their understanding of others.
• Celebrating authors and storytelling: Author studies and opportunities to explore different storytelling traditions help children build a broad knowledge of literature and develop a rich range of cultural references.
• We also provide the children with opportunities to share in their love of reading through events such as World Book Day, the school book fair and the children also have access to a school library where we give the older children responsibility to manage it as junior librarians.

Science: Discovering the World Through Significant Thinkers and Discoveries

• Our science curriculum encourages children to be curious about the world, ask questions and develop an understanding of how scientific knowledge has evolved over time.
• Celebrating scientific contributions: Learning about scientists who help children recognise the contributions of significant thinkers from different cultures and historical periods.
• Developing curiosity through investigation: Practical experiments and scientific investigations provide shared opportunities for children to ask questions, explore ideas and develop their understanding of the world through enquiry.
• The children participated in British Science Week and together solved a problem as a whole school, scientifically.

Religious Education: Developing Spiritual, Moral and Cultural Understanding

• As a Catholic school, we place great importance on nurturing children's spiritual and moral development, helping them to grow in faith, understanding and respect for others.
• Strengthening our Catholic foundations: Exploring Scripture, Catholic teaching and Church traditions helps children develop their faith and deepen their understanding of our Catholic identity.
• Understanding different faiths: Learning about other world religions encourages children to appreciate different beliefs and traditions while developing respect, tolerance and an awareness of the wider world.
• Celebrating our faith: Feast days, religious celebrations and the liturgical seasons are woven into school life, helping children understand and participate in the traditions of the Catholic Church.
• Living out our faith: Through daily and weekly Celebration of the Word and prayer, children are encouraged to reflect on the needs of others. Our Go Forth opportunities inspire them to put their faith into action, follow the example of Jesus and make a positive difference in the lives of others.
• At specific Liturgical points in the year, the children celebrate through performances of key scripture.

Personal Development: Preparing Children for Life Beyond School

• We want our children to leave St John Bosco as confident, responsible and compassionate individuals who are ready to contribute positively to society.
• Broadening horizons: Educational visits, visitors, clubs and links with the wider community provide valuable experiences that enrich learning and introduce children to new opportunities.
• Understanding our place in society: Learning about significant individuals, local history and British values helps children understand their rights, responsibilities and role within their community.
• Building strong communities: Working collaboratively with other schools and members of the wider community helps children develop relationships, celebrate shared experiences and appreciate the importance of community cohesion.
• Developing our Social Signature: Our Social Signature strengthens children's sense of belonging and encourages them to consider how they can contribute positively to society, make a difference to others and leave their own mark on the world.

Vocabulary and Oracy: Giving Children the Language to Understand and Explore the World

• At St John Bosco, we recognise that developing children's vocabulary and spoken language is essential to their learning, confidence and ability to engage with the world around them.
• Developing rich vocabulary: Our curriculum places a strong emphasis on the explicit teaching of rich, precise vocabulary. This gives children the powerful knowledge and language they need to understand concepts, express their ideas and engage in meaningful discussions across all subjects.
• Building confidence through talk: Structured discussions, debates and storytelling help children develop their communication skills, listen to others and express their thoughts and opinions with confidence.
• Strengthening spoken language: Opportunities for oral rehearsal, recitation and presentation help children develop clear articulation, expressive language and confidence in public speaking.
• Celebrating communication and performance: Enrichment opportunities, including Debate Academy, public speaking and performance, allow children to share their ideas with a variety of audiences and develop confidence in different settings.

Further Opportunities

• We provide many opportunities for our children to experience different aspects of life such as our den making area where we can teach the children about the outdoors, creating safe fires and forestry skills.
• First Aid skills are taught across the school through external providers showing the children how to perform CPR and keep people safe in an emergency.
• HSBC deliver age appropriate workshops teaching the children about how to manage money
• Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service come to our children to talk about road safety and water safety which is incredibly important as our school is so close to canals and of course the coastline.
• Continuing with safety, our children learn through Bikeability how to cycle safely on the roads.
• Many varying after school clubs such as multi-sports, dance, choir, netball, girls and boys football, dodgeball and during the winter games like curling and table tennis.
• Our choir also perform many times throughout the year, often going into the local community to perform, including at our high schools that we are connected to and singing to the elderly at Parkhaven Care Home at Christmas.
• Responsibilities are taught through our chapel cleaners who ensure that our beautiful outdoor chapel is kept tidy and ready for our outdoor services.
• Our school councillors are voted in through democracy for each class and regularly meet to discuss how the school can be improved as well as talking with school governors teaching them important oracy skills including British Values.
• Our year 6 children learn performance skills through their end of year production which is always a joy to watch how confident they have become over their time at St John Bosco.
• We celebrate European Day of Languages where the children will learn different sayings in a range of the 24 official European Languages to learn about music, culture and history of different European countries.
• The children are given responsibility throughout the year to fundraise for various charities. We host an annual coffee morning where we raise money for Macmillan. We have also raised money for other local charities through raffles such as: Claire House, Carla Lane Animal Shelter and Zoe’s place
• Our Year 5 children are provided with a wonderful experience where they go to Aintree Racecourse as part of the Racing to School programme where the children learn all about pony care, pony grooming, the responsibilities as a jockey as well as having the experience to ride a pony which is not something every child will get to experience in their life.

Our Commitment

Through all aspects of school life, we aim to provide children with meaningful opportunities to develop their knowledge, broaden their horizons and deepen their understanding of the world.

We want every child at St John Bosco to feel a strong sense of belonging, take pride in their identity and heritage, appreciate the experiences of others and develop the confidence, compassion and curiosity to make a positive contribution to the world around them.