Queen's Park Primary School

Message from the Head

Dear Queen's Park Families,

It has been another vibrant week at Queen’s Park Primary, with so much to celebrate across our school community.

Our Spring Art Competition has been a real highlight, showcasing the creativity, care and individuality of our children. The standard of entries has been exceptional, and it has been wonderful to see pupils taking such pride in their work. A special thank you to the artists who joined us to deliver inspiring speeches—these opportunities are invaluable in helping our children see what is possible. We are also incredibly proud to include our very own Ms. Manley, who is a truly fabulous artist and a constant source of inspiration to our pupils.

If you haven’t yet had the chance, our artwork is still on display at Jubilee Library until the end of April—do pop into the children’s section to take a look. It is well worth a visit and a fantastic opportunity to celebrate our pupils’ achievements beyond the school.

The sunshine has also made a welcome return, bringing an extra sense of energy and joy to our break times. The playground has been full of laughter, positive play and children making the most of being together outdoors—these moments of connection are so important and reflect our strong sense of community.

Our Year 6 pupils have been proudly wearing their leavers’ hoodies, marking the beginning of their final term with us. They continue to show maturity and leadership, setting a fantastic example for younger pupils as they approach this important milestone.

Today, we also celebrated our hot chocolate winners—always such a special moment to recognise those children who consistently demonstrate our values of kindness, integrity, collaboration and excellence. We were also especially proud to celebrate Albie in Year 1, who was awarded the Spring Art Competition trophy as the overall winner across six schools—an incredible achievement and a testament to his creativity and effort.

We were delighted to welcome our governors into school this week as part of their monitoring work. It was a highly successful visit, with governors commenting on how engaged our pupils are in lessons and how proud they feel to be part of the Queen’s Park community. They particularly enjoyed hearing children talk so enthusiastically about their learning and seeing the pride they take in their books. We are very grateful to our staff and pupils for making the visit so positive, and to our governors for their ongoing support and challenge. They will be returning for their next monitoring day in July. If you think you would like to join our governning body, please chat to me on the gate one morning - we would welcome further members.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support.

Mrs. Gale

attendance of the week

stars of the week

hot choc

Art at Queen's Park

Across the school, it has been a busy and creative time! Children at Queen’s Park love art and there have been some fantastic learning journeys across the school, with some irresistible art being produced.

Year 6 have been designing and printing effective motifs. Year 5 produced some vibrant drawings inspired by Yayoi Kusama and South American vegetables! Most recently, Year 4 have stunned us with their Greek-inspired clay pots and are gearing up for Pop Art. We loved Year 3’s exploration of Grayson Perry’s artwork and Year 2 really harnessed the energy of Brighton’s very own secret Postman artistic duo. Year 1 have recently started their Barbara Hepworth inspired landscapes and we are looking forward to their final sculptures.

The children in reception are making and exploring art every day with chalks and mixed media!

This year’s ‘Spring Art Competition’ was a huge success! As part of an alliance of schools (Queen's Park, Varndean, Mile Oak, Balfour, Brackenbury, The Hive and Hill Park), Queen’s Park led and hosted the event. This involved each school judging a large number of submitted artworks and selecting 8 pieces to go forward into the inter-school competition. The shortlisted pieces were beautifully displayed at Jubilee Library and the final judging took place last week, with Albie in Year 1 receiving a winning trophy.

We were amazed at all the entries we received and we are incredibly proud of all the pupils that took part.

Well done and thank you to all the staff and children that participated in this joyful event!

Exciting Opportunity - New Equalities Leaders

We are excited to introduce an important new role within our school community: Equalities Leaders.

An Equalities Leader is someone who helps make sure that everyone in our school is treated fairly, kindly, and with respect. These pupils play a key role in helping us celebrate differences, include everyone, and stand up against unkind or unfair behaviour.

Equalities Leaders will work closely with staff and pupils to help create a welcoming and inclusive environment. They will be positive role models, showing kindness and respect to others, and offering support to anyone who may feel left out or treated unfairly. They will also help share ideas about fairness, celebrate different cultures, religions, families and abilities, and support assemblies or events that promote equality across the school.

To be an Equalities Leader, pupils need to be kind, respectful, and responsible. They should be good listeners, treat everyone fairly, and have the confidence to speak up when something isn’t right. Most importantly, they should take pride in celebrating the differences that make our school community so special.

All Equalities Leaders will make a promise to:
• Treat everyone fairly
Include those who may feel left out
• Listen carefully to others
• Speak up for kindness and respect
• Help make our school a place where everyone feels they belong

We are proud to empower our pupils to take on this role and help make our school an even more inclusive, supportive, and respectful place for all.

coffee morning for parents - thurdsay 30th april

Governor's Day

On Tuesday 21 April, Queens Park governors visited staff and children - forming part of our monitoring responsibilities - and it turned out to be a very enjoyable visit. Collectively, we were impressed by how engaged the pupils were in classrooms and how proud they are to be part of the QP community. It was a real treat to hear children talk so enthusiastically about what they’re learning and show great pride when showing us their books.

A BIG THANK YOU to all the staff at Queen’s Park for making us feel so welcome in your classrooms and to the pupils for being so responsive and respectful throughout the day. The visit gave us a great snapshot of how the school runs day to day and we left feeling very positive. We will be returning for our next monitoring day in July.

If you would like to find out more about becoming a school governor, please get in touch with our clerk to governors via the e-mail address below:

charlotterose@queenspark.brighton-hove.sch.uk

Queen's Park Governing Body’

Scrapbook challenge

pre teaching maths sessions

This term, we have introduced pre-teaching maths sessions across the school. These may also be used in other areas of the curriculum.

What are pre-teaching sessions? Pre-teaching sessions are short, small-group interventions that take place before the main maths lesson, usually the day before. They are designed to give some children an introduction to a new learning concept prior to the main maths lesson.

Why do we use them to support learning? These sessions help children feel more confident and prepared when they come into the maths lesson. Instead of catching up afterwards, children have the chance to look at new ideas in advance, in a supportive, positive setting.

During pre-teaching sessions, children will:

· Explore new concepts

· Practise key skills ahead of the lesson

· Be able to ask questions and receive extra support

· Build confidence before learning with the whole class

This means that when they join the main lesson, they are more engaged, contribute ideas more readily, and see themselves as confident mathematicians. Children often feel proud to share what they already know and can even help others, which boosts their confidence further.

Overall, pre-teaching sessions help children to feel more successful, motivated, and engaged in their maths learning.

“It is about preparing the children to engage in the struggle of the mathematics in the lesson by removing any additional barriers” (Dr Ruth Trundley- Primary Mathematics Advisor).

If you have any questions, please contact Miss Holliday or Mr Conboy.

Move nights this half term - QPSA

Years 2 & 3 - Friday 1st May - PUSS IN BOOTS

Please book tickets using the link below:

https://www.zeffy.com/en-GB/ticketing/queens-park-school-movie-night-may-2026-years-2-and-3-puss-in-boots

Years 4, 5 & 6 - 8th May - SHREK