When we refer to cultural capital in early years what do we mean? Put very simply a child’s cultural capital is the sum of what they know and have experienced. This may include things like the sorts of activities or experiences they have taken part in, such as visiting a library or museum, the sorts of books or songs they have been exposed to and the sorts of ideas they have explored with adults, doing things like helping with the gardening or getting involved in baking a cake.

A big art of a child’s cultural capital is the amount of speech they have been exposed to. A child with a wide range of experiences is much more likely to have a larger vocabulary than a more disadvantaged child who has not had the same experiences. By simply doing things like reading children lots of different stories and texts, sharing different nursery rhymes and songs and talking to them as you work and play, you are helping add to their cultural capital and vocabulary.

Of course, there are many ways to help children increase their cultural capital. Click on the links below for resources and ideas to help you do so: