There's been a murder! This exciting, engaging investigation activity allows students to control the direction of their own learning, through speaking, listening, discussing, and reasoning. I initially created these resources to provide something interesting for the students to engage with for their Functional Skills Speaking and Listening discussions, but it has since been used across Citizenship and PSHE departments, as well as by form groups, as a catalyst for social and moral discussions. Students play detectives aiming to solve the case of a death of an old lady. Using a range of evidence, from video clips, to interviews with key suspects, to positioning events on maps, students work in teams to try and solve the case. They must use skills of communication, to decide which leads to prioritise, and which evidence to discount. They also need to use their skills of literacy, to read and understand key evidence, and skills of numeracy to ensure that they keep their case within budget! Included in this resource pack are: - Full PowerPoint lesson talking students through the case; - A range of 'Exhibits' - evidence that the students use to build a case, including video clips; - A map of the local area, to help visualise the events leading up to the death; - Budgetting and recording sheets to track their progress; - A prime supsects list; - Clue cards containing interviews with prime supsects; - Full teacher guidance. Considering the time and effort that it took to create these resources, I think that they offer exceptional value. Whenever I have used this activity before, it has taken at least 2-3 lessons, including the introduction, investigation, conclusions, and evaluation. I orignally have used this with lower ability Year 8,9, and 10 groups, but colleagues have adapted it easily for students of all key stages. All images have been cited at the end of the PowerPoint presentation and are licensed for commercial use.

This fun and original assembly aids children in understanding the value of being creative in all of their endeavours, through: Understanding what creativity is, and recognising why it is such an important skill; Understanding that creativity is a trait within everyone (including themselves) that should be encouraged and harnessed; Observing some amazing examples of what creativity can result in; Learning strategies to demonstrate creativity in their own lives. This assembly is tried and tested, and has always been really well received in the past. The slides are visually engaging and well-presented, and the subject matter is tailored to the interests and needs of young people. The session also includes a fun role-play task to demonstrate how everyone can be creative and the internet link to a beautiful, thought-provoking video demonstrating the power of creativity. There are also various discussion prompts to enable children to understand how they can be creative in different areas of their own lives. The slides are fairly self-explanatory, but I’ve included guidance notes to assist the speaker. Hope that you find this useful!

This fun and original assembly is designed to teach children all about Black History Month, including: -What Black History Month is; -Why we have Black History Month; -What life has been like for Black British people in the past and what it is like today; -Providing examples of influential Black British people and what they have achieved; -How Black History Month is celebrated. The slides are visually-engaging and well-presented, and the subject matter is tailored to the interests and needs of young people. It includes links to well-chosen videos to emphasise/ reinforce key points, in addition to song suggestions. There is enough here for a 30-35 minute assembly (it is 21 slides long), but of course you can cut bits out/ tailor to your own individual needs. No further resources are required, everything that you need to present the assembly is included. I would say that the assembly is ideally pitched at KS2, but both KS3 and KS1 would be able to access it with only minor vocabulary/ language adaptations. The slides are fairly self-explanatory, but I’ve included guidance notes to assist the speaker. Hope that you find this useful!

This resource is perfect for enabling students to build both their persuasive writing and their speaking and listening skills. Based upon the popular BBC series 'Dragons' Den', students have the opportunity to research, design, pitch, and evaluate arguments for their own inventions, whilst simultaneously analysing persuasive pitches, revising persuasive techniques, structuring arguments and articulating convincingly. Included is a 16 page booklet (I would say at least 4-5 hour lessons of tasks) that lead students to: - Introduce themselves and their interests; - Watch persuasive pitches (links included) and identify persuasive devices; - Analyse why persuasive devices are effective; - Structure an analysis appropriately; - Brainstorm ideas for an invention using imagination and helpful aiding questions; - Formulate an argument by considering key questions and counter arguments; - Write and present a persuasive pitch; - Peer-evaluate and self-evaluate persuasive pitches. I have also provided some examples of news stories featuring the worst and best pitches from the den, in order to provoke discussion about what makes a strong pitch. All images are licensed for commercial use and are cited throughout.

This fun and original assembly aims to assist children in celebrating the differences between themselves and others, through: -Understanding how diversity is needed in the world; -Recognising and valuing the differences in their own school; -Considering how kind words can help us to unite together. I love leading this assembly, because I feel that the key message within it is so vital, especially in the present climate. More importantly, wherever I have presented this (to a wide-range of students from a wide-range of contexts) it has always gone down extremely well, with students being extremely engaged and informing me of the different ways in which they have celebrated differences in the months that follow! The slides are visually engaging and well-presented, and the subject matter is tailored to the interests and needs of young people. For example, there are references to Prince Harry, Emma Watson, and others in popular culture, to help engage the children in the idea that each individual has their own strengths, weaknesses, like and dislikes, no matter who they are or how successful they appear. There is also an exciting ‘toothpaste challenge’ included, which demonstrates the importance of ensuring that our words to others are kind and respectful. The challenge includes a hyperlink to a countdown clock. In addition to this, all other resources that you will need are provided in the pack. The slides are fairly self-explanatory, but I’ve included guidance notes to assist the speaker. Hope that you find this useful!

This fun and original assembly aims to inspire children to be aspirational, through: -Understanding what aspiration is and recognising why it is important; -Finding out about successful and inspirational people who have been aspirational, gone on inspiring journeys and reached their goals (examples include Ed Sheeran, Beth Mead and Malala Yousafzai); -Demonstrating the power of aspiration through a powerful video - followed by discussion questions; -Looking at their own lives and considering how they can apply aspiration strategies (e.g. setting SMART targets, etc.) -Ending with reflection and a well-linked song. This assembly is tried and tested, and has always been really well received in the past. It is comprehensive (20 slides in total - there is enough material for a 30-40 minute assembly or two 20-minute assemblies). The slides are visually engaging and well-presented, and the subject matter is tailored to the interests and needs of young people. For example, there are references to scenarios and dilemmas that they themselves might find themselves in order to help them to make the right choices in their own lives. No further resources are required - everything that you need to present the assembly is included. The assembly presentation is fairly self-explanatory, but I’ve included guidance notes to assist the speaker just in case. Hope that you find this useful!

A Russian billionaire, Asman Veryrich, has approached you about setting up a new football club! This exciting, engaging investigation activity allows students to control the direction of their own learning, through speaking, listening, discussing, and reasoning. I initially created these resources to provide something interesting for the students to engage with for their English Speaking and Listening discussions, but it has since been used across Maths, Art and Design, and PSHE departments, as well as by form groups and holiday activity groups, to build teamwork and collaboration skills. Students get involved in all of the fun aspects of designing and setting up a new football club, including selecting a team of players, a manager, a stadium, and a training ground. They also design the team's club badge and football kits. They also need to use their skills of literacy to read and understand key evidence, and skills of numeracy to ensure that they keep their expenses within budget! What is more, groups can compete against one another to create the most successful team in the league, as all of the resources that they choose can help them to acquire valuable league table points! Included in this resource pack are: - Full PowerPoint lesson talking students through the process; - An 8 page team booklet, used to create their designs and calculate their budgets; - A pack of 96 player cards and 12 manager cards to select from (a combination of new and classic footballers are included, to ensure that this will never be outdated); - Budget and recording sheets to track their progress; - An A3 football pitch to strategise and select their team. Considering the time and effort that it took to create these resources, I think that they offer exceptional value. Whenever I have used this activity before, it has taken at least 3-4 lessons, including the introduction, design process, presentations, and evaluation. I originally have used this with mixed ability Year 9 and 10 groups, but colleagues have adapted it easily for students of all key stages. All images have been cited at the end of the PowerPoint presentation and are licensed for commercial use.

This fun and original assembly aims to assist children in understanding the value of being compassionate, through: Understanding what compassion is, and recognising why it is important; Looking at examples of behaviour that is compassionate and not compassionate (including through role play activities and videos), and noting its effect on people in need; Learning strategies to demonstrate compassion in their own lives. This assembly is tried and tested, and has always been really well received in the past. The slides are visually engaging and well-presented, and the subject matter is tailored to the interests and needs of young people. For example, there are references to scenarios and dilemmas that they themselves might find themselves in (for example how they might act towards those in need both within and out of school) in order to help them to make the right choices in their own lives. The session also includes a fun role-play task, a beautiful, thought-provoking video about the importance of compassion, and various discussion activities regarding how to show compassion in different areas of their own lives. No further resources are required, everything that you need to present the assembly is included. The slides are fairly self-explanatory, but I’ve included guidance notes to assist the speaker. Hope that you find this useful!

This fun and original assembly aims to assist children in understanding the value of honesty, through: Understanding what honesty is, and recognising why it is important; Looking at examples of behaviour that is honest or dishonest, and noting the effect that it has on different people; Learning strategies to demonstrate honesty in their own lives. This assembly is tried and tested, and has always been really well received in the past. The slides are visually engaging and well-presented, and the subject matter is tailored to the interests and needs of young people. For example, there are references to scenarios and dilemmas that they themselves might find themselves in (for example how they might react in different situations in which their honesty is tested), in order to help them to make the right choices in their own lives. The session also includes a fun role-play task, a beautiful, thought-provoking video about the importance of honesty, and top tips for being honest information slide. No further resources are required, everything that you need to present the assembly is included. The slides are fairly self-explanatory, but I’ve included guidance notes to assist the speaker. Hope that you find this useful!

This assembly aims to assist children in becoming resilient learners who are more willing to approach tasks, keep trying when tasks become difficult, and learn from their mistakes. I love giving this assembly because I feel that the key message within it is so vital. More importantly, wherever I have given this assembly (to a wide-range of students from a wide-range of contexts) it has always gone down extremely well, with students being extremely engaged and informing me of their increased resilience in the months that follow! The slides are visually engaging and well-presented, and the subject matter is tailored to the interests and needs of young people. For example, there are references to Justin Bieber, Beyonce, Andy Murray, JK Rowling and a host of other successful people in the public eye who have needed to overcome difficulties. There is also a hyperlink to a music video which utilises a ‘Rude Goldberg Machine’ which has been painstakingly set up, through months of set-backs and sticking points, to achieve an extraordinary result. The slides are fairly self-explanatory, but I’ve included guidance notes to assist the speaker. Hope that you find this useful!

This fun and original assembly aims to assist children in understanding the value of remaining humble, through: Understanding what humility is, and recognising why it is important; Looking at examples of behaviour that is proud/arrogant or humble, and noting the effect that it has; Learning strategies to demonstrate humility in their own lives. This assembly is tried and tested, and has always been really well received in the past. The slides are visually engaging and well-presented, and the subject matter is tailored to the interests and needs of young people. For example, there are references to scenarios and dilemmas that they themselves might find themselves in (for example how to show humility after winning at a sports match, or when they are becoming very skilled at something), in order to help them to make the right choices in their own lives. The session also includes a fun role-play task, a beautiful, thought-provoking video about the importance of humility, and a top ten tips for remaining humble information slide. All other resources that you will need (for example the story readings) are provided in the pack. The slides are fairly self-explanatory, but I’ve included guidance notes to assist the speaker. Hope that you find this useful!

This fun and original assembly aims to assist children in understanding the value of effective teamwork, through: -Understanding what teamwork is and recognising why it is important (with the help of a funny, purposeful video, which is hyperlinked into the presentation); -Looking at everyday activities and considering which require effective teamwork skills; -Demonstrating the power of teamwork through an engaging and powerful ‘hula hoop challenge’ game; -Understanding how and why teamwork can be important in school, and thinking about how they would use teamwork in different scenarios; -Finding out about how teamwork has contributed to some of humankind’s greatest achievements; -Ending with a song about using our individual talents as a part of a team. This assembly is tried and tested, and has always been really well received in the past. It is comprehensive (24 slides in total) and the slides are visually engaging and well-presented, and the subject matter is tailored to the interests and needs of young people. For example, there are references to scenarios and dilemmas that they themselves might find themselves in order to help them to make the right choices in their own lives. No further resources are required except a single hoop for the challenge activity - everything else that you need to present the assembly is included. The assembly presentation is fairly self-explanatory, but I’ve included guidance notes to assist the speaker just in case. Hope that you find this useful!

This original assembly aims to assist children in understanding the value of showing forgiveness, through: -Understanding what forgiveness is, and recognising why it is important; -Looking at examples of times when they may need to forgive others or seek forgiveness, through stories and scenarios; -Learning strategies to demonstrate forgiveness in their own lives. It has been tried and tested, and has always been really well received in the past. The slides are visually engaging and well-presented, and the subject matter is tailored to the interests and needs of young people. For example, there are references to scenarios and dilemmas that they themselves might find themselves in (for example how they might act during and after conflicts) in order to help them to make the right choices in their own lives. The session also includes an enduring real-life story of Nelson Mandela’s forgiveness of others and various discussion activities regarding how to show forgiveness in different areas of their own lives. No further resources are required, everything that you need to present the assembly is included. The slides are fairly self-explanatory, but I’ve included two pages of notes to assist the speaker. Hope that you find this useful!

This fun and original collective worship session assists children in understanding the value of being creative in all of their endeavours, through: Understanding what creativity is, and recognising why it is such an important skill; Recognising God’s creativity and understanding how creativity is a trait within everyone (including themselves); Observing some amazing examples of the successes that creativity can catalyse; Learning strategies to demonstrate creativity in their own lives. This worship session is tried and tested, and has always been really well received in the past. The slides are visually engaging and well-presented, and the subject matter is tailored to the interests and needs of young people. The session also includes a short video and discussion focusing on the Genesis section of the bible detailing God’s creation of the world and its creatures. The session also includes a fun interactive activity, a wonderful, thought-provoking video about the importance of creation, and various discussion activities regarding how to show creation in different areas of their own lives. The slides are fairly self-explanatory, but I’ve included two pages of notes to assist the speaker. Hope that you find this useful!

This fun and original assembly aims to assist children in understanding the value of effective leadership, through: -Understanding what leadership is and recognising why it is important (with the help of a funny, purposeful video, which is hyperlinked into the presentation); -Finding out about great leaders and their achievements from across history and in the modern day; -Demonstrating the power of leadership through an engaging and powerful ‘blindfold challenge’ game; -Looking at everyday activities and considering which require effective leadership skills; -Understanding how and why leadership can be important in school, and thinking about how they would use teamwork in different scenarios; -Ending with a hymn about leadership. This assembly is tried and tested, and has always been really well received in the past. It is comprehensive (26 slides in total) and the slides are visually engaging and well-presented, and the subject matter is tailored to the interests and needs of young people. For example, there are references to scenarios and dilemmas that they themselves might find themselves in order to help them to make the right choices in their own lives. No further resources are required except a blindfold for the challenge activity - everything else that you need to present the assembly is included. The assembly presentation is fairly self-explanatory, but I’ve included guidance notes to assist the speaker just in case. Hope that you find this useful!

This engaging and informative lesson helps students to understand one of the key themes running throughout Robert Swindells’ Stone Cold: Homelessness. Students use key information, research skills, and extracts from the text to understand how and why homelessness happens and who it can affect, before composing their own arguments about how they believe homelessness should be tackled. The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through: - Considering their own views towards homeless people, and thinking about how these were formed; - Researching how and why people become homeless, and who it affects ; - Reading an extract from ‘Stone Cold’ in which Link describes a night on the streets, to better empathise with those who are sleeping rough; - Answering comprehension questions about the extract, considering the writer’s use of language and retrieving textual information to back up their ideas; - Forming their own arguments about how homelessness should be tackled, using their own research and the information gathered throughout the lesson; - Peer assessing each other’s learning attempts; Included is: - Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive; - Research Template; - Selected extracts - Stone Cold - Link’s description of a night on the streets; - Writing to Argue Helpsheet; - Comprehensive lesson plan. There are also opportunities for group learning, speaking and listening, peer assessment, and whole class discussion. I originally used these resources with a year 8 class, however colleagues have used them for between years 5 and 9 with minimal adaptations. Please note that internet access/ use of research mechanisms is required for the introduction task. All images are licensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.

This fun and original assembly assists children in understanding the value of peace, through: Understanding what peace is, and recognising why it is important; Looking at examples of behaviour that is peaceful and not peaceful and considering what can be done to promote peace; Learning strategies to demonstrate peacefulness in their own lives. This session is tried and tested, and has always been really well received in the past. The slides are visually engaging and well-presented, and the subject matter is tailored to the interests and needs of young people. The session also includes a link to a powerful and engaging video, showing children how their small input can help to create peace in the world. Furthermore, there are interesting scenarios (with scripts provided) that enable children to consider how to act peacefully in different situations. Various discussion prompts are also presented, to enable children to understand how peace can be a force for good in their own lives. The slides are fairly self-explanatory, but I’ve included to pages of notes to assist the speaker. Hope that you find this useful!