Cart

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/boy-dwarfism-personal-lunch-cart-b1951058.html

https://www.upworthy.com/boy-with-dwarfism-struggled-to-get-his-lunch-so-a-cafeteria-worker-made-him-a-souped-up-cart-ex1

What do you see in the picture, where was it taken, what are they doing, what do you think this story is about?

Julian is 6 years old and lives in America, He has lots of things in common with the other children in his class; he particularly loves Super Mario and taekwondo. All the children in his class also have differences ad one of the things that makes Julian different is that he has achondroplasia with is a common form of dwarfism. This means has a different height to most of the other children in his school.

In what ways are we different in our school?

Julian's Dad says, "Julian was born in to a world that just, in some ways, is not built for him." Julian goes to a school that wasn't built for his height.

What does this mean?

Can you think of daily challenges that Julian might face because of his different height?

What can be done about it? Should the school be rebuilt? Should Julian go to a different school?

One of the challenges for Julian was lunch time. Julian was struggling to transport his lunch on a tray  from the cafeteria to the benches. 

The school had an idea; they used an upside down milk crate and a trolley and made Julian a cart to wheel his lunch to his seat. Here is a picture of the cart.

What do you think if it?

Would you want to use this?

Is the school doing the right thing here?

 

One of the cooks at the school, Enedelia, saw Julian and his cart and thought she could make a better cart. She also realised that when Julian got to the cafeteria each day to choose his lunch, his head just came up to the counter; he couldn't see anything.

What could be a solution here?

Enedelia's husband, James, is a metal worker and that night they worked out a plan.

What is a metalworker?

What do you think was the plan?

Enedelia and her husband wanted to make Julian a cart that he would be proud to push around.

Why does Julian need a cart he can be proud of? It's only a cart to get lunch!

James and his team at work created a new cart for Julian with adjustable handlebars like a motorcycle and a stool inside so that he can see the countertop. It also had flame decorations and it's own licence plate with "Julian" on it.

Julian's parents couldn't believe people made this for free for their son. They were pleased that Julian was now independent and did not have to be helped by a member of staff. Julian loved it. 

Why do you think Enedilia and James made this for free?

Do you think Julian needed it?

Is independence important? Explain your answer.

Why can't someone else carry Julian's lunch for him?

Why is this about No Outsiders?

Which British Value is this about?

Do you want this assembly as a power point? To join the free mailing list and receive these assemblies as power points every week, email me on a.moffat@excelsiormat.org

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Trousers

 

https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=33531

What do you see in the picture, what is this person doing, can you guess what this story might be about? 

This girl has her hands in her pockets. Why is that a story?

8 year old Georgia is from Ipswich, UK and was shopping in Sainsbury's for trousers. She was shocked to find all the girls' trousers has fake pockets. But when Georgia went in to the boys section, the pockets were real. Georgia bought boys trousers instead.

Is it ok for Georgia to wear boys clothes?

Are clothes gendered?

This story follows a similar story from 2021 about a girl in America, Kamryn Gardner who wrote a letter about pockets on jeans. 

Kamryn wrote to Old Navy store about the girls jeans they were selling after she noticed the pockets were sewn shut. They were fake pockets! Kamryn realised that this was the case for a lot of pockets on clothes for girls. Meanwhile Kamryn had a 9 year old brother and noticed his trousers did have real pockets.

Why do you think stores in the UK and the USA sell clothes for girls without pockets? What is the assumption here?

Why do boys need pockets?

What is this an example of?

You could argue girls don't need pockets because they often carry a handbag or purse. Do you agree?

Kamryn remembered her learning in school about persuasive writing.

What is persuasive writing, when do you use this?

Kamryn wrote to Old Navy store:

"Dear Old Navy,

I do not like that the front pockets of the girls jeans are fake. I want front pockets because I want to put my hands in them. I also would like to put things in them. Would you consider making girls jeans with front pockets that are not fake, Thank you for considering my request.

Sincerely, 

Kamryn Gardner

What do you think of Kamryn's letter? Is it persuasive? What makes it persuasive?

Do you think Old Navy store replied?

What do you think they said?

Old Navy did reply and said,,

"The Old Navy Kids product team appreciate your information. It's great feedback for us as we develop new product."

What do you think of this reply? Are Old Navy store committing to changing their trousers for girls?

No change happened for Kamryn. In the UK, Georgia also received a reply which didn't really promise any change. Georgia started a petition at her school and sent it to Sainsburys.

This year when Georgia returned to Sainsburys, she found they had changed their trousers for girls, and they all now had real pockets.

Why do you think Sainsbury's changed their minds?

What can we learn from this story?

Why is is it about No Outsiders?

Which British Value is is about?

Do you want this assembly as a power point? To join the free mailing list and receive these assemblies as power points every week, email me on a.moffat@excelsiormat.org

No Outsiders: We belong here by Andrew Moffat  (scheme of work for primary schools) 

Register to be a No Outsiders school  (get access to members page with additional resources)

Watch CPD films showing schools teaching belonging

. 

Flags

What do you see in this picture? What do you think it is about, what does it mean, why did someone create this art?

This image was created by Fliss who is an artist at Fledgling Education. 

What do you notice about the patterns on the schools, what do you think Fliss was trying to show about a school?

Fliss used flags to make up the walls and windows in her schools. 

Why do you think she did that?

What do you think Fliss is trying to show about schools?

Why didn't Fliss just use one flag?

Fliss says, "I live my life in colour and this image is a celebration of that spirit. Can we continue to accept difference for the strength that it brings? It doesn’t have to divide us. Can we carry on shaping a future where every colour and culture has a place?”

What does Fliss mean?

How can difference divide us?

Do you recognise any of the flags? (the flags are Pakistan, Poland, Russia, GB, Romania, India, Germany, China)

Does it matter which flags Fliss used?

Are flags important? What are flags used for today? (mention the lionesses wining the Women's World Cup over summer and which flags you saw then)

If we were going to make our own picture like this to represent our own school, which flags could we use?

How many flags should we include?

What do we want to show about our school? (use this blank template to create your own)

What do we say at our school about people from different countries?

Why is this about No Outsiders?

Which British value is this about?

Thanks to Fledgling Education for designing this image. Fliss can be booked for school creative and emotional literacy workshops on insta @fledgling.education or via email felicity@fledglingeducation.co.uk>

Do you want this assembly as a power point? To join the free mailing list and receive these assemblies as power points every week, email me on a.moffat@excelsiormat.org

No Outsiders: We belong here by Andrew Moffat  (scheme of work for primary schools) 

Register to be a No Outsiders school  (get access to members page with additional resources)

Watch CPD films showing schools teaching belonging

Euros 2025

 

https://metro.co.uk/2025/07/29/lionesses-trophy-parade-live-england-celebrate-historic-euro-2025-victory-london-23777268/

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/soccer/karen-carney-fights-back-tears-over-women-s-football-backlash-at-euro-2025-final/ar-AA1Jo0uq?ocid=BingNewsVerp

What do you see in the picture, when was it taken, what is happening, why so many people?

The photo shows the victory parade in London to celebrate England wining the Euros final against Spain this summer. This is the second year running the the Lionesses won the competition.

We can't see the individual people in the photo, do you think they are all women?  

How might they be different?

Is women's football popular in England?

65,000 fans joined the victory parade to celebrate the Lionesses. This year Uefa announced that over 657,000 spectators attended the matches, which is almost 100,000 more than the last Euros in 2022.

What do those numbers suggest about women's football today?

Of course there were some people who had different opinions about women's football this year. 

Why do you think some people don't like women's football?

Where do those ideas come from, what is that an example of?

In an interview during the final, former England player Karen Carney talked about how she was laughed at when she started her career playing for a boys team.

Why did that happen?

Why didn't Karen play for a girls team?

Karen reflected on how things have changed; "There is a little girl and also a little boy that now knows that there is a place for everyone to play football."

Why does Karen say that?

Why does she mention a little boy too? 

In the msn link above you can see a one minute film of women's football history and Karen's reaction.

In the film we hear a commentator say, "There is a place for women in football; it's making the tea at half time."

Why would he say that?

What do we say at our school about sport and equality?

How can we make sure at our school no one feels they don't belong in any sport? 

Why is this about No Outsiders?

Which British value is this about?

To join the free mailing list and receive these assemblies as power points every Friday, email me on a.moffat@excelsiormat.org

No Outsiders: We belong here by Andrew Moffat  (scheme of work for primary schools) 

Register to be a No Outsiders school  (get access to members page with additional resources)

Watch CPD films showing schools teaching belonging

Van Gogh

 

https://www.upworthy.com/10-facts-about-vincent-van-gogh-and-his-famous-starry-night-painting

What do you see here, who is this? Do you recognise the painting, what do you think this story is about?

The portrait shows Vincent Van Gogh. 

Who was Vincent Van-Gogh?

What do you think these paintings are called?

Vincent Van Gogh was a Dutch painter who lived between 1853 and 1890. Today he is one of the most famous and influential painters in the history of art.

These paintings are called Self portrait and Starry night.

Starry night is today one of the most famous paintings in the world.

What does influential mean? 

How do you become influential?

Vincent Van Gogh didn't start painting till he was 27, but from age 27 till 37 (when he died) he painted over 900 paintings.

Why do you think Vincent Van Gogh waited till he was 27 to start painting seriously?

What does that show about growing up and your future?

Van Gogh struggled with his mental health.

What is mental health?

Van Gogh painted Starry night when he was in hospital. In the 1800s mental health was not understood and Van Gogh was living in a cell at the time with bars at the windows. He was allowed to paint to try and heal and he completed Starry night while gazing out of his barred window at the beautiful countryside.

How do you think painting helped Van Gogh with his mental health?

Van Gogh was inspired by other painters. He liked the Japanese artist Hokusai and particularly the famous painting "The great wave off Kanagawa". 

Can you see how Van Gogh was inspired by this painting?

What do you think Vincent Van Gogh felt when he painted Starry night, one of the most famous paintings in the world? 

Van Gogh felt Starry night was a failure.

He wrote to a friend at the time, "Once again I let myself go reaching for stars that are too big- a new failure - and I have had enough of it."

Why do you think Van Gogh felt like that?

How would you respond if Van Gogh wrote to you and said that?

Van Gogh never knew his paintings would become famous. He died before getting any recognition for his work. Just before he died, he wrote to another friend, "It is absolutely certain that I shall never do important things." Van Gogh died believing himself to be a failure.

150 years later Van Gogh's original paintings are very rarely available to be sold. But there have been some sales that we know about. 

Can you guess how much this original Van Gogh painting, "Fields near Les Alpilles"  sold for in 2022?

In 2022 it sold for $52million.

Labourer in a field sold in 2017 for $81million.

Starry night is estimated to be worth over a billion dollars.

Vincent Van Gogh never knew his paintings were going to be so loved. 

What can we learn from this story?

(Believe in yourself, also you never know what the future holds - when things get tough, hold on. No feeling lasts for ever.)

Why is this about No Outsiders? (Van Gogh definitely felt like an outsider in his life. What would we say to Van Gogh if he was at our school and believed he was a failure?)

Which British Value is this about?

To join the free mailing list and receive these assemblies as power points every Friday, email me on a.moffat@excelsiormat.org

No Outsiders: We belong here by Andrew Moffat  (scheme of work for primary schools) 

Register to be a No Outsiders school  (get access to members page with additional resources)

Watch CPD films showing schools teaching belonging

Racist graffiti

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/subway-riders-clean-swastikas_us_589728a8e4b0c1284f265adb

What do you see in the picture, where is it taken, what do you think is happening, what do you think this story is about?

Gregory Locke from NYC boarded a subway train at Manhattan to find swastikas and racist graffiti daubed on all of the advertisements. 

What are swastikas, what do they mean?

Why would someone write racist graffiti, what is their intention, how are they trying to make different people on the train feel?

Where does racism come from?

Gregory wrote on social media, "The train was silent as everyone stared at each other, uncomfortable and not sure what to do." 

Why was the train silent?

What do you think people were thinking?

Why didn't anyone speak up?

Gregory went on to say, "One guy got up and said, 'Hand sanitiser gets rid of sharpie. We need alcohol.' He found some tissues and got to work. I've never seen so many people simultaneously reach in to their bags and pockets looking for tissues. Within about 2 minutes all the swastikas were gone."

What happened, why did it happen?

Why do you think everyone got up to help?

Speaking to a news programme later, Gregory said, "Seeing a bunch of strangers stand up for, and come together to stand up for what everyone knows is right, was very heartening."

What does heartening mean?

Does everyone know something is right or wrong?

Why did strangers come together and do this?

The people could have chosen to ignore the graffiti. Why do you think they chose not to ignore it?
What were the consequences of their actions?

What would have been the consequences if everyone had carried on ignoring the graffiti?

You can ignore grafitti; why not just take no notice?
How do you think people felt when they left the train having cleaned it off?
What does this show us about people and what they think about racism?
What can we learn from the people in this story?
Why is this story about No Outsiders?

Which British value is this about?

To join the free mailing list and receive these assemblies as power points every Friday, email me on a.moffat@excelsiormat.org

No Outsiders: We belong here by Andrew Moffat  (scheme of work for primary schools) 

Register to be a No Outsiders school  (get access to members page with additional resources)

Watch CPD films showing schools teaching belonging

Pride march

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c23g02dl1z8o

What do you see in the picture, were is it, what do you think is happening, what do you think this story is about?

The picture shows a march; a protest crossing a bridge in Hungary last weeked.

What do you think the march could have been about? How many people do you think there are? What could they be marching for?

In Hungary, the prime minister Victor Orban has banned Pride marches this year. 

What is a Pride march?

Why do you think the government in Hungary has banned Pride marches?

Pride marches have been banned under a new "child protection" law restricting gatherings that are considered to be "promoting homosexuality".

 

What is your response to that idea?

What are the opinions on both sides of this debate?

Do you think you need protecting from Pride marches?

The Prime minister warned the people of Hungary that there would be "legal consequences" for anyone attending a Pride march.

What does that mean?

Organisers could face a year in prison and attendees could face a 500 Euro fine. Police would be using facial recognition technology to recognise and prosecute anyone attending a pride march.

What do you think the photo shows?

The photo shows a Pride march that happened in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, on Saturday afternoon. 200,000 people marched, more than ever before. 

Why did they march?

Are they all LGBT+?

If they are not LGBT, why attend a Pride march?

Some attendees spoke to the BBC; Luka and her mother said they wanted a country of diversity.

What does that mean?

"We have a law that bans people who are different from others to gather. This is why we are here. Because it's hurting our rights. That's why we came."

Luca says she is worried about her 4 year old daughter's future "living in a country where she can't love anyone she wants to."

Why does that worry Luca?

Why does Luca say it's about rights?

Many MPs from around Europe also attended.

Why did people attend who weren't from Hungary? 

Finnish MP Li Andersson said, "It's important to emphasise that the reason why we are here is not only Pride - this is about the fundamental human rights of all of us. It's a march that is fundamentally about equality and about equal rights for anyone - for everybody, about the right to love and live with whoever you choose. And I think that's a core value that any free and democratic society should respect."

What does this mean?

What is a free and democratic society and how is this related to being LGBT+?

Everyone on this march is breaking the law and has been told by the prime minister not to attend. Should they respect the law?

What does this photo suggest about attitudes towards LGBT+ equality?

What is the law in the UK about this? (Equality Act)

Who else is mentioned in that law?

Why is this about No Outsiders?

Which British value is this about?

To join the free mailing list and receive these assemblies as power points every Friday, email me on a.moffat@excelsiormat.org

No Outsiders: We belong here by Andrew Moffat  (scheme of work for primary schools) 

Register to be a No Outsiders school  (get access to members page with additional resources)

Watch CPD films showing schools teaching belonging

What does this mean?