Assemblies

Assemblies at Balksbury Federation

Assemblies are a time for the federation to be together and provide an opportunity to build a strong sense of community; they are a valuable experience for both children and adults regardless of their backgrounds and beliefs, and build on the federated culture, ethos, vision and values.

Assemblies are a time:

To celebrate shared commonalities
For reflection
To nurture our culture and ethos
To promote spiritual, moral and cultural development as well as our federation values

This year our assemblies will focus on what makes our federated community who we are. We will celebrate our shared commonalities and differences.

Each week, we celebrate our diverse community and choose entry music featuring a language from one of the 30 which are spoken at our federation.

How often are assemblies?

Children from across the federation attend assembly each day. Typically, assemblies follow the below weekly format:

How can I keep up with what is being covered in assemblies?

Celebration Assembly

Celebration Assembly is a chance to get together as a Balksbury family to celebrate the incredible achievements which have taken place in the federation over the week. Each Friday, we celebrate the accomplishments of all children in the federation by talking about the successes from that week. We might congratulate them on showing excellent mutual respect at playtime, for example.

Certificates are awarded for Achievement and Behaviour and Values. Achievement Awards are given when a child has achieved something exceptional in their learning to make themselves, their peers and their teaching team proud. Behaviour and Values Awards are given for demonstrating our learning values of Collaboration, Perseverance and Respect or being a Balksbury Citizen and following the Code of Conduct.

During celebration assembly, children are also kept informed of the most up to date house point and class token totals and are awarded their certificates and badges for bronze, silver, gold and platinum house point awards.

The children and staff love this opportunity to come together to celebrate and it truly is a highlight of the week at Balksbury – especially when Miss Thompson gets all the children singing and dancing their way back to class!

Our Prayer

At the end of each celebration assembly we finish with our federated end of the week prayer. This is a time where children are invited to reflect if they wish.

Dear God

Come be with us today

Fill our hearts with joy

Fill our minds with learning

Fill our classrooms with peace

Fill our lessons with fun

Fill our friendships with kindness

Fill our school with love for the following week

Amen

Visitors

Every half term, our newsletter – Across the Playground – contains ‘Assembly Corner’ which provides information on the theme of each week’s assemblies as well as key questions and stimuli.

Here are our assembly themes for Spring Term 2026:

New Year’s Resolution – How do we eat healthily following Christmas?

Food Miles – What are food miles and how does this affect what we eat?

All About Sugar – How much sugar is in what we eat?

British Food – What does the UK grow?

Antibullying Week – What should we do if we see bullying?

Celebrating with Food – How do different people celebrate with food?

Not Having Enough Food – How can we help the Andover Foodbank?

Family and Food – How do we celebrate food in our family?

Eat the Rainbow – How do we eat a good range of fruit and vegetables?

Climate Change and Food – How is this changing what we grow in the UK?

Talk Toolbox Week – As a Balksbury Citizen, how can we support children who join our federation community?

Balksbury Federation