Cultural Capital

Cultural capital is the essential knowledge that children need to prepare them for their future success. At The Beacon we think of this as giving our children and young people the best possible range of experiences in education and as extra-curricular opportunities that we can. We aim to give them a rich and varied range of opportunities that help develop social skills, knowledge, behaviours and resilience. We want them to be valued and valuable members of society and to fulfil their considerable potential on an individual basis and as members of the wider Beacon community. The following pages give you a flavour of the range of activities and experiences on offer at The Beacon .

Understanding the World

The theme for our third curriculum day was ‘Understanding the World’. The whole school on this day explored topics in History, Geography, Ethics, Art, Design Technology and Science. We looked at how all of these subjects help us better understand the world we live in and make a valued and valuable contribution to our communities. You will see from the images to follow that we learned a lot and we had fun along the way.

Our next curriculum theme day is ‘Healthy lifestyles’ and we cannot wait!

P1030233 — **The flag of St Kitts made by our pupils**.

Let the Adventure begin!

warmer41 — Our pupils learnt lots of facts about this Boa!

Beacon Folkestone Radio

The radio equipment gifted by Folkestone Academy FM enables the children to grow in confidence and develop their language and communication skills.

Children were invited to take part in a workshop with Dave Sharp. They were shown the equipment and learnt how a radio station operates as well as the various job roles therein. They had the opportunity to record their own radio segment. Listening to their recorded voices was a new and enjoyable experience for most of them.

We are hopeful that more children will be given the opportunity to use this equipment with the potential to produce our own radio programmes and podcasts.

Folkestone Radio pic 3 — **Folkestone Radio**

Folkestone Radio pic 5 — **Folkestone Radio**

Block 67

Several classes from The Beacon have been given the chance to attend workshops lead by Block 67 part of Creative Folkestone.

These workshops have been on themes such as architecture and the design of buildings as well as Fashion Design thinking about form and function.

At each session children were encouraged to consider the types of job roles involved in both these industries.

Turner Contemporary pic 4 — **The Turner Contemporary**

The Turner Contemporary

Children from across The Beacon entered a competition held by the Turner Contemporary to produce art based on the theme of Climate Change.

These works were chosen for display in the gallery and children were excited to see their piece in an art gallery for all to see.

It was a rich experience for all to see their names and work alongside professional artists.

Turner Contemporary pic 3 — **The Turner Contemporary**

Turner Contemporary pic 1 — **The Turner Contemporary**

Strange Cargo pic 3 — **Strange Cargo Gallery**

Strange Cargo pic 4 — **Strange Cargo Gallery**

Strange Cargo pic 5 — **Strange Cargo Gallery**

Strange Cargo pic 2 — **Strange Cargo Gallery**

Strange Cargo pic 7 — **Strange Cargo Gallery**

Strange Cargo pic 6 — **Strange Cargo Gallery**

Strange Cargo/ Leas Lift Renovation project

Children from across the zones at The Beacon have been part of an ongoing project with the Leas Lift renovation project in connection with Folkestone Museum.

Many children were lucky to share their thoughts about what the new Leas Lift experience should be like and as part of this they created art pieces.

These pieces were then displayed in Strange Cargo Gallery as part of a public Exhibition to promote the Leas Lift Renovation.

Strange Cargo Gallery

Children and staff from The Beacon are also supporting both Folkestone Museum and the Leas Lift in the provision of Sensory resources for visitors. These are being trialled over the next few weeks and we are invited to provide feedback.

The Leas Lift project have utilised already many of the children’s ideas in their plans and continue to make The Beacon at the centre of their plans for the entire renovation project including the interactive museum and coffee shop.

The Folkestone Bookshop

Margate class have made links with The Folkestone Bookshop. They have attended Author readings and interviewed the author to find out about what inspired her to write.

This is an ongoing relationship between The Folkestone Book Shop and The Beacon and they are looking forward to working with the Beacon on future projects.

Folkestone Bookshop pic 1 — **Folkestone Bookshop**

Folkestone Bookshop pic 2 — **Folkestone Bookshop**

L&B Restaurant pic 1 — **L&B restaurant**

L&B Restaurant pic 2 — **L&B restaurant**

L&B Restaurant pic 3 — **L&B restaurant**

L&B Restaurant pic 4 — **L&B restaurant**

Corner Cafe

Walmer pupils visit the Corner Cafe each week, our pupils have enjoyed being part of the community and have gained vital skills and gained understanding on the expectations of being in a new environment. Our pupils have the opportunity to order and pay for food as well as converse with others around them. Our pupils have become more independent and have improved their social skills.

Forest School at Parochial School

The Beacon Walmer have made links with Parochial Primary School. We have been using their forest school and welcoming some of their pupils into our sessions. We wanted to make our visits inclusive to support with social skills, resilience and independence for all pupils involved. We are really excited how this community link will develop over time.

Race for Life

Pupils and staff from all areas of our Beacon community have taken part in the Cancer Research UK Race for Life event since the school’s inception in 2016. This annual event is an opportunity for all pupils and staff to come together with a common aim of raising as much money as possible for one of our school’s nominated charities. There is a clear sense of pride and togetherness on this day, which is usually the only day in the school year when all pupils and staff are together for one event. It is now a well-known highlight on the school calendar, and one that is very well supported by parents, carers and family friends, with everyone who can do so, making an effort to ‘wear pink’ for the day.

Over the years The Beacon has raised approximately £13,000 (as of 2023), adding to the amounts each of our predecessor federated schools had accumulated since first taking part in 2012. Indeed, the first event the two federated schools held together was a joint Race for Life at the local sports ground during the summer of 2016.

8f4d9b95-89d6-4882-8ee0-2a49489831be — **Beaconfest 2023**

67f4d9e9-8a7e-4a03-9761-63f15762bc86 — **Beaconfest 2023**