Best Way to Plan a Successful Assembly

Assemblies can be scary things, whether you have to organize them, speak in them or just patrol them: if something goes wrong it can be a terrible place to be when the entire school is watching you.

Assemblies don’t have to be religious: in fact, a lot of schools have moved away from religion-orientated assemblies in order to cater for the diverse ethnic cultures found in many schools today. Rather than focus on collective worship, many schools now use assemblies to tackle contemporary issues.

Most assemblies only last for roughly 15 minutes, so there is not much scope to go into detail about a topic. Assemblies should be focused, topical, interesting, informative and educational.

Successful assemblies should be planned as carefully as lessons. When planning an assembly, always consider the following questions:

•  What is the assembly about?
•  What age group of students will you be addressing?
•  What message do you want to give to your students?
•  How will you convey that message?
• How will you make sure the assembly is relevant and accessible to your students?
•  What kind of visual/musical/spoken aids will you use?

Remember: one of the best ways to get inspiration for assemblies is to keep a close eye on current affairs and the news. Try to use real issues that students will be able to identify with, and help them begin to take more inter­est in the world around them.

Top ten ideas for school assembly topics

• Have a ‘thought for the day’ and read a story connected to this thought.
• Ask students to read a poem and put on a small drama piece to accompany it.
• Put on a puppet show to tell an important story.
• Use comedy to make talking about a difficult topic much easier.
• Ask a teacher to show off one of their ‘hidden talents’ (magic show, memory skills, origami, etc.)
• Copy a television quiz show like The Weakest Link or Who Wants to be a Millionaire – this is not only fun, it can be used to present ethical issues such as bullying and gambling.

• Show a short piece of film to highlight a moral or ethical dilemma, and discuss it.
• Read an article from a national newspaper and discuss the con­tents.
• Get everyone involved in singing and/or making music.
• Interview a “celebrity’ (a student or member of staff dressed up!).