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How to use music in assemblies

As the head of a primary school I found assemblies tricky. Sometimes a subject would be obvious and I wouldn't have to spend too long preparing what I was going to talk about, but there were many occasions when the muse did not strike and it became a bit of a slog. 

I am aware of those '365 Assemblies' style of books, which certainly simplify things, but I always felt that it was important to make my assemblies personal and relevant to the children and our school, which you simply cannot do if you rely on a book. Trying to come up with something that is understandable and appropriate for the younger children whilst also having something in it for upper key stage two also added to the challenge. 

I understood the tremendous potential of assemblies and wanted to make the most of them as a time when we could be together as a school and reinforce the concepts and values that were important to us. Some training I went on several years ago really helped with the quality of my assemblies and I was reminded of it this morning on my drive to visit my parents for coffee and cake, as I do every Sunday. On a side note, Lidl Pain au Chocolate Suisse are incredible!

Anyway, I was around five minutes away from my destination when I heard a tune on the radio that I had not heard for probably 20 years, which reminded me of the training when the instructor talked about using music in assembly, not only to make points about school values but also to broaden the musical vocabulary of the children. The latter, if done properly, serves to cover a good portion of the national curriculum for music, which is guaranteed to make the teachers happy! Sharing music also gives you the chance to educate them about proper music, as an antidote to the rubbish they listen to on their own time.

Anyway, the tune I heard today made me think of assemblies straight away, and I am a little sad that I won't get to use it. It very much covers both aspects that came up in my training as it serves as a great teaching point, and it is also a bit of a classic in my view. The main refrain of the song is

Side by side, Hand in hand, we all stand together!

I am sure that no head teacher would baulk at using a song in their assemblies that espouses these values as a starting point to a discussion. As a final note for today, I probably should share a link to this classic with you, which came to us from Paul McCartney, with the help of a few friends...

https://youtu.be/A0fuVoSa3dc?si=6TnL9Yq2J08r8mMr

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