What is Cultural Capital?

At Little Beeches Nursery Cultural Capital is about widening children’s experiences and offering them opportunities that they would not have if they were not attending our setting. We get to know children and families so that we can enhance and extend the opportunities and experiences available for children, building strong foundations that will make a real difference to our children’s futures. We aim for all children to experience the awe and wonder of the natural world in which we live. We motivate and interest children by starting with real-life, first-hand activities and experiences so that they can improve their knowledge and skills across the EYFS curriculum.

How is Cultural Capital implemented?

At our nursery we aim to provide our children with experiences and opportunities to explore the world around them, ask questions and take part in engaging and stimulating experiences.

This can include:

• Learning about people in our community
• Being involved in charity fundraising
• Caring for animals
• Celebrating different cultures, traditions and faiths
• Showcasing talents
• Baking, hygiene and safety in the kitchen
• Learning about road safety
• Having fun and working as a team
• Learn new words and their meaning – through stories and knowledgeable practitioners building on children’s interests and ideas
• Listen to and participate in different types of music
• Look at many different types of books including fiction and non-fiction
• Hear and participate in a wide variety of rhymes, poems and stories
• Express and test their thoughts and ideas in different ways such as simple experiments, building structures, painting and modelling
• Manage their feelings and behaviour and understand how to behave in different situations
• Notice the detail in the our local and wider environment, such as looking at wildlife, flowers, patterns in buildings, paving and so on.

British Values at Little Beeches Nursery

The fundamental British Values of democracy, rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance for those with different faiths and beliefs are implicitly embedded within the Early Years Foundation Stage. As a nursery we promote learning opportunities which compliment these values especially in the area of personal social and emotional development. We also provide many opportunities for children to develop positive ‘Characteristics of Effective Learning’ which is essential for children’s well-being and sits within the principles of British Values.

Here are some examples of how we approach these values at our Nursery;

Democracy

Children are encouraged to share their views, value each other’s views and talk about their feelings, for example during key worker times, circle time or when they are discussing stories or experiences. Children are encouraged to share their interests and ideas which are built into the provision, as well as involving children in decision making by giving them a say in activities.

Rule of Law

We encourage children to take turns, share and collaborate with others, for example as they explore provision together or take turns on bicycles during outside play, when they play games in the hall. Expectations for children’s behaviour are appropriate to their age and children are encouraged to follow key instructions, especially those that will keep them safe, for example as they wash hands before eating. We have our own ‘Golden Rules’ to follow within the room, which children are reminded off and spoken about at key times of the day.

Individual Liberty

The nursery is a place where all questions are valued and children are encouraged to develop enquiring minds. Staff praise children for their efforts and value their work for example as they display or share children’s individual achievements or post photos for parents to see.
We encourage children to develop a positive sense of themselves for example by providing open ended challenges. We always praise children for ‘having a go.’

Mutual Respect and Tolerance

We are a fully inclusive nursery where diversity is recognised and celebrated. Children play with toys and resources that reflect a broad society. We also ensure that our books present positive images of gender, ethnicity, age, disability and cultures. We actively celebrate differences through children experiencing festivals such as Chinese New Year or Diwali. We also celebrate special times in the Christian calendar such as Easter and Christmas. The children are taught to treat others as they’d like to be treated, fostering empathy, kindness and acceptance