Time To Move Along

Time To Move Along by Peter O'Hare - 7 to 11 yrs - KS2

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Theme  -  Moving to a new school, from secure to unknown
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Story  -  by John Kenward  (approx 7 mins)

Extract:
The Year Six children were heading towards the hall.   They were going to a meeting about the ‘taster days’ they were to experience at their new schools the following day. 

Kate was worried.  ‘Well,’  she explained,  ‘my cousin said if you get in the way of the older kids they might push your head down the toilet!’

‘That’s rubbish,’ replied Anya. ‘I’ve got two sisters and a brother at St. Richard’s, and nothing like that happened to them.’ Kate sighed. This didn’t reassure her much: she wasn’t going to St. Richard’s.

‘Do you know,' Simon was telling Marley, 'that if you don’t get your homework done in time, you get detention after school for three hours – even if you’ve got a football match or something!’  ‘What exactly is detention?’ asked Marley, who instantly wished he hadn’t, when Simon gave him a withering look of disbelief.  ‘I can’t believe you just asked that!’ he said.

Rubina (who seemed to know everything there was to know) chipped in to answer Marley’s question. ‘It’s like a sort of prison in the school,’  she explained,  ‘where you sit chained to a desk in silence until you finish your work.’  

‘Oh...’ said Marley, weakly. The children had reached the hall by this time, so the conversation stopped. Mrs. Brinson, the Head Teacher, waited for everyone to sit and settle down before she addressed them. 

‘Tomorrow is an important stepping stone in your lives,’  she began. ’When you visit your new schools...

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Song  -  by Peter O'Hare 

A great leavers’ song, with a laid back reggae style. The focus is on the hopes and fears of moving to a brand new school, as well as appreciation of the friends and shared experiences at the current school.  Perfect for the end of Year 6.  (Sample on the audio player above.)

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Reflection Points  -  samples

1.  Why do you think Kate was so terrified of going to her new school?

2.  Do you think that Simon and Rubina’s ideas about detention were right?

3.  What advice do you think Kate would give people at our school about moving on?
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This assembly is from 'Assemblies Alive KS2'. There is a parallel assembly for KS1 'First Day' with the same theme in 'Assemblies Alive KS1'.