Llanedeyrn primary school

Llanedeyrn Primary School
‘Together we can all succeed’
Policy for assemblies (collective worship)

Some thoughts on assemblies from the children:

We enjoy good stories in assemblies.
We enjoy taking part in assemblies rather than just sitting. We enjoy class assemblies. We enjoy assemblies with a good Powerpoint to illustrate the main points. We enjoy special visitors leading assemblies. We enjoy special presentation assemblies. We enjoy assemblies more when they are quite short. We would like some new modern songs to sing and listen to. We would prefer it if children did not interrupt our assemblies by walking through the hall. We like it when the classes are dismissed from the hall in order of age i.e. the youngest leave first.
Introduction
The school believes that assemblies are fundamental in promoting the ethos of the school and
providing students with an opportunity for collective reflection and the consideration of spiritual,
moral, social and cultural (SMSC) issues.

Definition
At Llanedeyrn Primary School we define assembly as a time when members of the school come together to give worth to promoting the aims of this policy as described below. Assemblies offer opportunities for our children and staff to come together to reflect on the meaning of beliefs and values held in the wider community, concerning matters of ethical and philosophical importance to people. It reflects the breadth of values and beliefs within our school and wider community. Assemblies and RE are very different. RE is a subject with a scheme of work that promotes pupils’ understanding of religions. Assemblies will often cover religious matters but the aim of assemblies is very different. Aims of assemblies at Llanedeyrn Primary School
2. To promote children’s sense of being a member of the community of Llanedeyrn 3. To develop children’s personal qualities including their self esteem, their sense of identity, their spiritual development, their appreciation of awe and wonder, their openness and tolerance, and their ability to reflect on these qualities and other aspects of life’s fundamental experiences. 4. To promote the school’s commitment to equality of opportunity by celebrating, giving value to and learning about different ethnic and faith groups, in particular those represented within the school community. 5. To promote children’s understanding of the cycle of the year and the annual cycle of religious and non-religious celebrations.
Principles of assemblies at Llanedeyrn Primary School

 An orderly entry and exit from the hall is essential for every assembly.  Specially selected music is played as the children enter the hall.  Children exit the hall singing the assembly song.  Present imaginative, well prepared and resourced sessions;  Relate to the interests and needs of the school;  Aim to be inclusive – all children should gain something from the experience;  Give opportunities for children to reflect on what was presented through discussion and  Involve the children by asking lots of questions and eliciting their views and ideas; Assembly organisation at Llanedeyrn Primary School

The majority of assemblies will begin at 1.10 and finish at 1.30. Nursery children may attend
some of the assemblies if their teacher feels that they would benefit.

Monday
Children will assemble in their classrooms where the class teacher will deliver an assembly based on the term’s SEAL work or one of the selected themes. Foundation Phase
Welsh themed assembly in the FP hall led by FP staff Key Stage 2
Welsh themed assembly in the KS2 hall led by KS2
Wednesday
Whole school assembly in the KS2 hall led by Mr James on the theme of the week
Thursday
Foundation Phase
An assembly to celebrate achievements and special Key Stage 2
An assembly to celebrate achievements and special Whole school assembly, led by Mr Hart. This will promote the school’s values, ethos and celebrate children’s achievements.
How are the themes of the week selected?

The Headteacher and assemblies co-ordinator select the themes of the week and seek to
choose a balance of themes that will promote the different aims of this policy. Sometimes the
themes have a narrow focus. Other themes are more open and we consider it a strength of our assemblies that individual members of staff are original and creative in how they interpret the themes.
Do children have to attend assemblies?
Parents have the right to withdraw their children form assemblies. If a parent is considering
exercising this right he or she should make an appointment to see the Headteacher. Staff may
also decide that it is inappropriate for an individual to attend if it is in the child’s best interest.
Roles and responsibilities
The Headteacher has overall responsibility for the assembly programme including mapping
assembly themes when appropriate. The assembly co-ordinator is responsible for organising
the rota for assemblies. Records of assemblies are kept to check quality and themes delivered.
Monitoring

The Headteacher will run a programme of quality assurance for the assemblies.
The Governing Body will review this policy every three years and will make it available to parents for inspection.
Resources
Our assemblies respond to themes and issues that inspire us. We use a range of resources from books, music, websites, artefacts and drama. There are some assembly books stored in the head teacher’s office; the Welsh co-ordinator has a selection of Welsh themed assemblies for use during Tuesday assemblies. In addition there are a number of useful websites: - this provides a religious calendar covering all of the main world faiths Themes (There is a separate Welsh programme provided by the Welsh co-ordinator)
The festival of Eid at the end of Ramadan will also be celebrated in school. The date of this
celebration will change each year.
SEAL
Additional

Source: http://www.llanedeyrnprimary.co.uk/phocadownload/assembly_policy.pdf