In connection with our Artsmark status we are working in partnership with Artswork to support other schools as a Creativity and Arts Champion school in the South East.

Reaching out to the wider community

We are very proud of all the creative work that we; the children and our community take part in at Queen’s Park and are excited to be given this opportunity to extend our advocacy in the South East by sharing our knowledge and expertise with the wider community.

Our Creative Ethos

At Queen’s Park School, we have always had a strong focus on the Arts and have had Artsmark Gold accreditation for many years. We strongly believe that the Arts are a tool to help our pupils develop holistically. It builds self-confidence and self-esteem, as it is a vehicle for children to express themselves. Working in the arts helps our learners to develop creative problem-solving skills and using the arts can present difficult concepts visually, making them easier to understand.

We also have an appointed Art Governor who is key in supporting and promoting creativity through our SIDP.

We hold regular ‘Arts weeks’ as we recognise that this is a means to bring our community together, and in addition, the process of producing art work is often a mechanism that we provide to help calm and regulate children with complex needs and emotional, social and behavioural issues.

We have designed a creative curriculum so that our pupils can explore and express their wishes and feelings and to acknowledge that we all have different strengths and abilities. Studying arts subjects also help to develop critical thinking and the ability to interpret the world around us.

Art also helps children with the development of motor skills, language skills, social skills, decision-making, risk-taking, and inventiveness. Visual arts teach learners about colour, layout, perspective, and balance, which are all techniques that are necessary in presentations of academic work.

Children track their progression through their sketchbooks. They will experience a wide range of creative art skills including drawing, painting, sculpture, printing, photography and collage. These skills are then realised in a final piece of artwork. Children also take time to reflect and critique artwork they are inspired by as well as their own and their peers.

Pupil Voice

At Queen’s Park we pride ourselves on Pupil Voice. We have Art Council, consisting of children from year 2 onwards. These children meet regularly to discuss creative strategy across the school. They initiate such things as competitions; our ‘anything’ art-board, themes for murals etc.

We also have year 5 and 6 Art Ambassadors, these children learn new skills at Art Club, and then share their art skills through CPD with other pupils, staff and even head teachers and teachers from across Brighton and Hove. As well as this they take responsibility of younger children by facilitating the year 2 Zines Club.

Authentic Experiences

The children at Queen’s Park are exposed to authentic art experiences such as ‘Let’s Play’ with the National Theatre; Dance at the Dome; BREMF music festival and the Children’s Parade these projects give children the chance to experience creativity in a real life context, meeting adults from creative professions and seeing all aspects of the creative experience. In every year group there is a large-scale creative project, which ensures a wide range of experiences for our children. The year 6 children have taken part in drama collaborations with Varndean Secondary School during their enrichment week, giving them an incredible transition experience and so boosting their confidence.

All in all we strive to give our children the best and most well rounded creative learning experience to build self-esteem and confidence in all that they wish to achieve.