Cultural Capital at Kells Lane
At Kells Lane, we believe that every child deserves the experiences, knowledge and encounters that open doors — not just in school, but in life. Cultural capital is the knowledge, experiences, skills and relationships that give children an advantage in navigating the wider world. At Kells Lane, we are deliberate and ambitious about building it — ensuring that no child’s horizon is limited by their postcode, background or starting point. Our cultural capital offer is woven through every year group and every area of school life. It is not a bolt-on — it is part of what it means to receive a Kells Lane education.
Music
Music is a strength at Kells Lane. Every child has the opportunity to sing, perform and listen to live music throughout their time at school.
• School choir - our choir performs regularly throughout the year, to families, at community events and at external venues.
• Year 4 - The Big Sing at the Glasshouse: Year 4 children take part in the Big Sing — a large-scale choral event at the Glasshouse, one of the North East’s premier cultural venues. Children perform alongside schools from across Gateshead in a shared celebration of music, developing confidence, musicianship and a sense of belonging to a wider artistic community.
• Year 5 - Northern Sinfonia at the Glasshouse: Year 5 children attend a live performance by the Northern Sinfonia — the resident orchestra of the Glasshouse and one of the finest chamber orchestras in the UK. Experiencing world-class live orchestral music in a professional concert hall is a transformative cultural moment that many of our children remember for years.
• Instrumental tuition — all children in KS2 receive instrumental tuition; Y3 & Y4 learning the ukulele and Y5 & Y6 learning the guitar. Our orchestra and guitar club extend musical opportunity beyond the curriculum. We work with Mr Dunn from the Gateshead and South Tyneside Music Hub, ensuring children benefit from professional musical expertise and the wider regional music education network.
Dance
• Year 5 — Dance Festival at the Glasshouse: Year 5 children take part in a whole year group Dance Festival — performing on the Glasshouse stage in front of a live audience. This is not a classroom performance. It is a professional experience at a world-class venue, giving children the genuine feeling of what it means to prepare, perform and share something they have created with an audience.
Dance clubs run throughout the school year, including creative dance for younger children and cheerleading for KS2.
Drama and Theatre
• KS2 pantomime — every child in Key Stage 2 attends a live pantomime at a local theatre each year, experiencing professional theatre as an audience member and developing the cultural literacy and love of storytelling that underpins all great drama.
• Reception - children in reception take part in a Christmas Nativity performance in front of parents and carers• Year 2 — end of year show in which children take part in a performance in front of their parents carers and the rest of the school
• Year 6 — full show at the Little Theatre: Year 6 children write, rehearse and perform a full production at the Little Theatre in Low Fell — a professional performance venue opposite Saltwell Park. A real stage, a real audience, and the genuine sense of achievement that comes from bringing a full show to life. It is one of the most memorable experiences of a child’s time at Kells Lane.
Art and Visual Culture
• Shipley Art Gallery: children visit the Shipley Art Gallery — a world-class gallery just down the road from Low Fell — connecting children to the visual arts and to the cultural life of their own community. The Shipley is treated as Kells Lane’s local gallery: not a distant destination but a regular cultural reference point woven into the art curriculum.
• Made in the North East Week: every July, during Transition Week, the whole school takes part in a full week of creative activities celebrating local and regional artists, craftspeople and makers. Children work in the styles and traditions of North East artists, developing a deep pride in the creative heritage of their region. This is not a single lesson or day trip — it is a sustained, whole-school immersion in regional culture.
Our art curriculum draws meaningfully on local heritage — including the Blaydon Races and remembrance traditions rooted in Saltwell Park — connecting children to the visual and cultural life of their own community.
Literary and Storytelling Culture
• Gateshead Author Events: Kells Lane takes part in the Gateshead Author Events programme, where authors visit school to share their books and stories directly with children. Meeting a real author — hearing how they found their ideas, how they write, and why stories matter to them — brings literacy alive in a way that no classroom lesson alone can replicate.
A love of reading and storytelling is at the heart of the Kells Lane curriculum. Our oracy programme, delivered through Voice 21, ensures children can also tell their own stories with confidence, clarity and power.
Faith, Worldviews and Cultural Diversity
At Kells Lane, children do not just read about different faiths and worldviews — they encounter them in person. Our sequenced programme of visits and visitors across Key Stage 2 gives every child direct, meaningful contact with the diversity of beliefs and cultures that make up modern Britain and the wider world.
• Year 3 — Durham Cathedral: children visit one of the most magnificent Norman cathedrals in Europe, exploring Christian worship, architecture and the spiritual significance of sacred spaces.
• Year 4 — Synagogue visit: children visit a local synagogue, learning about Jewish faith, tradition and community life from members of the congregation.
• Year 5 — Hindu temple visit: children visit a Hindu temple, experiencing Hindu worship and culture first-hand.
• Year 5 — Humanist visitor: a humanist speaker delivers a workshop directly with Year 5 children, helping them understand non-religious worldviews and the values that guide the lives of those without religious belief.
• Year 6 — Mosque visit: children visit a local mosque, learning about Islamic faith, practice and community from members of the Muslim community.
By the time children leave Kells Lane, they will have encountered Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam and Humanism through the people who actually live them. This is cultural education at its most powerful.
Residential experiences
Children in Year 4 and Year 6 have the opportunity to take part in a residential experience — an overnight or multi-day trip away from home that builds independence, resilience, friendship and memories that children carry for life. We are committed to ensuring that no child misses a residential because of cost. Our Pupil Premium funding actively supports families for whom financial barriers would otherwise prevent their child from taking part.
Educational visits and real-world learning
Learning comes alive when children experience it in the real world. Across every year group, children take part in carefully planned educational visits linked to their curriculum — bringing knowledge to life and creating experiences that deepen understanding in ways the classroom alone cannot. Recent visits have included:
• Local fieldwork and heritage sites, including places of significance to our Gateshead community
• Museum and gallery trips
• Theatre and arts visits
• Careers workshops and workplace experiences
• Sporting competitions and events across Gateshead
We also regularly welcome visitors into school — from local historians and community figures to artists, authors and performers — bringing inspiration and real-world relevance directly into the classroom.
Local heritage and community connection
Our Heritage Schools Award — awarded in recognition of the strength and impact of our history curriculum — reflects the centrality of local heritage to everything we do at Kells Lane. Children learn about Gateshead, the North East and their own community, and understand how local history connects to national and global events. Landmarks, people and stories from Low Fell and the wider region feature across subjects — giving children a deep sense of place, identity and pride in where they come from.
This is not history for its own sake. It is cultural capital — the lived knowledge of who we are, where we come from and how we are connected to the wider world.
Sport, competition and physical achievement
Sport is a valued and celebrated part of life at Kells Lane. Children regularly represent the school in fixtures, tournaments and competitions across Gateshead — developing teamwork, sportsmanship, resilience and competitive experience. We are proud holders of the School Games Mark Gold Award — recognition of the breadth and inclusivity of our sporting offer and the genuine opportunities we create for every child to excel. Our clubs include football, futsal, cheerleading, dance, karate, Korean martial arts and more — many of which introduce children to activities they would not otherwise encounter.
Oracy, debate and civic life
Children at Kells Lane learn not just what to think, but how to speak. Our oracy curriculum, delivered through Voice 21, ensures every child develops the confidence and skill to articulate their ideas, engage in debate and make their voice heard. Through School Council, Rights Respecting School work, and curriculum activities focused on civic life and democracy, children understand their role in the community and the world — and develop the belief that they can shape it.
Clubs, enrichment and extra-curricular life
Our before and after school clubs extend and deepen learning beyond the school day. Current clubs include Little Kickers, creative dance, karate, choir, futsal, girls football, cheerleading, orchestra, Korean and more. Clubs change each term — details are shared with families at the start of each term.
Remarkable people and aspiration-raising
Our curriculum brings children into contact with the lives of remarkable people — scientists, activists, artists, explorers and leaders who changed the world. Figures such as Elizabeth Blackwell, the first female doctor, and Walter Tull, known for his dedication to the British Army, are studied not as distant historical figures but as sources of inspiration and possibility. Through our Competency Units — which explore Creativity, Commitment, Courage and Community — children develop the belief that remarkable things are possible and that they too, can Find Their Remarkable.
Family enrichment
We know that the best learning happens when school and home work together. Throughout the year we provide regular opportunities for parents and carers to come into school and take part in enrichment activities alongside their children — from curriculum showcases and Crafternoons to productions and performances. These events strengthen the partnership between home and school and give families a real window into their child’s school life.
Curriculum Enrichment Overview
Cultural Capital and Inclusion
We are deliberate about ensuring that cultural capital is genuinely universal at Kells Lane — not reserved for some children and unavailable to others. Our Pupil Premium strategy specifically targets cultural capital barriers, ensuring that every child — regardless of family income or circumstance — can access residentials, visits, clubs and enrichment activities.
Cultural capital is not a luxury at Kells Lane. It is a right. We track participation to ensure that no child is consistently missing out, and we take positive action where barriers exist.