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Guidelines for tutor groups

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These guidelines have been prepared to help Tutor Groups fulfil the legal requirement of a daily act of worship for each child. You should find these guidelines useful for Form assemblies as well as Main or Key Stage assemblies.

Content

The content must be appropriate in relation to the theme, and language;
Music, if used, must be relevant to the theme and should not be ‘pop’ music, unless it is exceptionally appropriate. It is far better to have reflective or contemplative music. Speak to a teacher from the Music department if you want some ideas;
Resources could include poems, bible readings, short stories, modern news articles, drama, or speeches. The English department might be able to help you with some of these;
Any role play must be scripted and checked by Mr Barker or your Head of Year;
The length should be approximately 5 minutes;
Your Tutor has the final say in what is included in your assembly and you should see Mr Barker if there is a concern;
You need to provide a synopsis of your assembly to the Senior Teacher who is fronting the assembly so that they can relate what they are going to say to your assembly;
You should include an introduction to your assembly which relates it to the theme;
You should end with either a prayer and not “Thank you for listening to our assembly”!

Presentation

Your assembly must be rehearsed in advance with your tutor, not just on the morning as by this time it is too late to change anything;
You do not need to include the whole form in your assembly – often three of four readers are better. Remember that you get to prepare two assemblies for the school each year so you don’t have to take part in both;
You must speak clearly and slowly. If you are using the microphones, rehearse with them before. Mr Barker will be willing to help sort out the microphones if you ask him;
Your assembly needs to be able to be presented in front of the stage curtains;
You should sit in the front row and go up to the stage at the beginning of the presentation – not wait behind the curtains;
It may sound obvious, but make sure that every reader has her part written down;
If a mistake occurs, be professional about it and either stop and re-read or continue. There should be no giggling or comments made.

Extra notes for Form Assemblies

A form assembly must have the same elements as any other assembly in order to meet the legal requirements. These requirements cannot be met simply with a thought for the day;
Form assemblies could relate to something topical;
Form assemblies must be done before you leave for the Isaac Newton Building, or the legal requirements are not being met.

SBR July 2001, revised July 2002

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