Enrichment and Personal Development

ENRICHMENT, CULTURAL CAPITAL AND EXTRA CURRICULAR PROVISION

Our curriculum extends beyond the National Curriculum and includes a wide range of enriching experiences and opportunities both within and beyond the school day. This includes an extensive programme of after-school clubs, that support the core curriculum offer, as well as those which develop specialist skill. This is whilst also extending the range of children’s experiences (Cultural Capital).  A primary focus of our curriculum is to raise aspirations, engender a sense of personal pride in achievement, and provide a purpose and relevance for learning. Our school motto of Let Every Light Shone runs through all that we offer at St. Lawrence and the children talk about this with pride and determination.

The school takes pride in providing a highly inclusive environment, where learners demonstrate high levels of enjoyment in their education and make very good progress across the curriculum. Children at all levels are helped to achieve their potential. Those who are most able are challenged and supported through being offered tasks which provide opportunities for greater depth and those who can struggle are encouraged and given targeted support to embed skills, to develop at their own pace or simply to learn in a style that best suits their individual needs.

 What does Cultural Capital Mean to us?

Every child and family who joins 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.

Research shows that when children and families’ cultures are valued, both the child’s experience of learning and progress can benefit (Husain et al., 2018, p. 4 and Gazzard, E. 2018 in Chalmers, H. and Crisfield, E. 2019)

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.

Ofsted define cultural capital as…

“As part of making the judgement about the quality of education, inspectors will consider the extent to which schools are equipping pupils with the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life.

Our understanding of ‘knowledge and cultural capital’ is derived from the following wording in the national curriculum: ‘It is 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."

At St.Lawrence, children benefit from a broad, balanced and flexible curriculum that builds on what they understand and know already. We believe that exposure, not only to culture but also to situations in which the children might not have previous experiences of, is of paramount importance to their ongoing successes.

Gradually widening children’s experiences as they progress through school is an important step in providing rich and engaging learning across the curriculum. These include trips to the local area and visits to places of worship, museums, sports and music venues just to name a few. 

Cultural Capital and Extra Curricular Offer – January 2026

This is underpinned by our ’50 Things to do before you leave St. Lawrence’ which has been written in conjunction with our School Council

Our pupils at St. Lawrence are more than a set of academic results – they are humans who we love and want to prepare for life in the real world.

Our approach revolves around building resilience, confidence and independence

Extra Curricular Provision and Analysis – January 2026

Numbers of Children Taking Part in Extra Curricular Activities

Number and Type of Clubs on Offer – January 2026