A high quality school assembly is one of the most important aspects of a school's curriculum. Its potential to nurture a positive school ethos that stresses care for the self, others and the pursuit of all forms of excellence, should not be underestimated. It powerfully nurtures the development of intrapersonal intelligence.
What follows, illustrates how school assemblies, in all phases of schooling, can make a positive contribution to pupil self-development and therefore be at the heart of raising achievement and standards. In our institution, Class Assemblies are conducted for the very young students from grade I onward level.. Such assemblies prepare the little ones to participate confidently in the school assemblies in the later years. These assemblies are based upon a form of assembly that has been developed by planning to encourage pupils to reflect upon a set of universal values, such as love, peace, truth, co-operation and respect. This initial step by the little ones prepares them for the school assemblies in the future. These values act as the foundation not only for religious education but for the development of personal, social and health education, citizenship and the spiritual, moral, social and cultural aspects of the curriculum. In other words they underpin the school's institutional values and the whole of the curriculum!
While planning these Class Assemblies our teachers try to include the following:
- Valuing individuals and individuality.
- Celebrating the school community.
- Inspiring through stories/examples of faith.
- Valuing and exploring faith perspectives.
- A time of quiet for prayer or reflection.
- Some joint activity such as singing, or ‘join-in’ story.
- Inclusive use of language, particularly in relation to prayer or times of reflection.