Assemblies Programme

Our Assembly programme is a planned initiative that contributes towards our strong SMSC, PSHE and Citizenship provision whilst also fostering an appreciation of human creativity and achievement through a whole school approach.

The children here at Libra School wear a uniform which signifies they are part of the Libra community yet where they sit within the local community and within the rest of the world is an area to be developed. Our assembly programme is about empowering our children to want to be educated citizens and to make a positive contribution within our school, local community, nationally and even globally.

Through our assembly programme there are opportunities to raise awareness of:

• Our school motto and what that means to us as a community
• Key values that we all strive to achieve thoughtfulness, honesty, respect, humility, responsibility, tolerance, co-operation, courage, fairness, caring, empathy and self-awareness.
• Keeping ourselves safe, looking at internet safety and positive relationships for example
• British Values: Tolerance, Rule of Law, Democracy, Mutual Respect and Individual Liberty and what these means to us as individuals, as a community and as a wider local and overseas community
• Local news and events such as our involvement in the Appledore book festival and our work with the local hospice.
• National news and events and significant dates such as Sports Relief, Children in Need, Remembrance Day and Black History Month for example
• International news and events to encourage awareness of the world around us
• Individual successes and achievements through school star awards and attendance awards

The assembly programme is the framework under which our tutor groups structure their time. Within tutor groups children focus on the assembly topics through planned age-appropriate activities maintaining a whole school approach across all year groups. The challenge when working with children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties is to support them to appreciate that they are part of a local, national and international community and that we all have a responsibility to contribute to these communities in a positive way.

This is further achieved by the planning and undertaking of fundraising events (by engaging the older children as ambassadors for these events we are able to offer leadership opportunities) for local, national and international charities. Such work is useful in supporting our children to develop a sense of understanding and empathy for others who are experiencing hardship.

Our weekly Star Awards recognise children’s special achievements in terms of the school motto, Dream, Drive, Duty and Dazzle, across all aspects of school and out of school life and is a useful platform to showcase any particularly outstanding fundraising and leadership roles undertaken by our older cohort of children.

Our assembly programme also encompasses our Behaviour Charter through constant reinforcement that:

We are ready to learn, we behave honestly, we keep ourselves safe, we listen to people and show respect, we look after property.