In short...
Themes: Freedom; 'British Values'; rights and responsibilities; citizenship.
Summary: This assembly could be scheduled around local or national elections, the State Opening of Parliament or International Women's Day (8th March) or International Day of Democracy (15 September). 'Democracy', meaning 'the rule of the people', dates back to Ancient Greece; but the right to vote has been hard-won for many people. In the UK the right to vote was not extended to all women until 1928.
Resources: the framework to download / print (pdf) and an image of a ballot paper.
The video
Evie: In Britain, we decide who is in charge of the country in an election, when all of the people over the age of eighteen have a vote on who they think should be in charge. This system is called democracy.
Daniel: And we’ve come to The Museum of London, to find out more about how people fought for the right to vote. One of the groups was the Suffragettes, led by Emmeline Pankhurst.
Evie: Hello.
Helen Pankhurst: Hi. My name is Helen Pankhurst, and I’m Emmeline’s great granddaughter.
Daniel: Who is Emmeline Pankhurst?
Helen: Emmeline Pankhurst was the founder of the WSPU - The Women’s Social and Political Union - which most people know of now as the Suffragettes. Do you know who the suffragettes were?
Evie: We think maybe they were the women who protested for women’s rights.
Helen: That’s right. They were a group of women who fought for women to have the vote. There’s an exhibition of the Suffragettes here at the museum. Would you like to come and have a look?
Evie: Some women felt the only way they would be heard was to take more drastic action.
Daniel: Can I just ask what are these?
Helen: That was used to break windows. You can see a pane of glass over there and that was because they wanted to get that message out there - to get it into the media and really demand the vote.
Evie: What’s that poster over there?
Helen: That’s referencing the hunger strikes…that the Suffragettes started to do.
Evie: Is that banner the names of everybody who was in the Suffragettes?
Helen: It’s everybody who went to prison. There were more than a thousand women who were in prison.
Daniel: Do you know what these are?
Helen: So that belt was used by the Suffragettes to chain themselves to a railing and by doing that it was much more difficult for the police to move them away from these public meetings and events.
Daniel: These are just some of the ways that the Suffragettes struggled to achieve democracy. And in 1918 some of the women did get the vote.
Helen: So how would you feel Daniel if you were allowed to make decisions and Evie you were not allowed?
Daniel: If I could make decisions I would be happy. But if other people couldn’t, then I’d feel a little bit sad.
Evie: I would feel like I was trapped and being controlled. Like somebody is telling you can’t do something which is not their place to do that. And everybody is equal.
Helen: So I think democracy is saying we believe that it’s important that everybody should have a vote. Everybody should have a voice and everybody can therefore think about policies that affect everybody. And that starts at the school council for you, but it goes right up to Parliament and any decision in society.
Daniel: Because everyone’s as important as everyone else.
Evie: With the votes you’re sort of talking what you want. You’re saying what you want on a piece of paper.
Helen: So what you’re saying is we need people to vote. But then we need a government that will make some of the decisions based on the vote. And the other point I would say is we must never take our democracy for granted. Because it can go backwards. It’s not always the case that every country has become more and more democratic over time. And we live in a world where your individual voice, the individual voice of citizens, can be amplified so much better now, through social media. So you can take up any cause that you think is important. So do you think we’ve got to democracy - have we achieved it?
Evie: A little bit, but I think we could work on it a lot more.
Daniel: Yeah, I agree.
Helen: Yeah, so do I. Democracy ultimately is about fairness, it’s about having a voice and it’s about being able to continue to make the world a better place, for everybody.
Pupils Evie and Daniel visit the 'Votes for Women' Exhibition at the Museum of London where they meet Helen Pankhurst. Helen's great-grandmother, Emmeline Pankhurst, fought for women to have the right to vote. Items in the museum show how suffragettes like Emmeline struggled for that right: hammers used to smash windows during protests; belts used by protesters to chain themselves to railings; a newspaper proclaiming 'Let Them Starve' - a reference to the suffragettes' hunger strikes in prison. Helen, Daniel and Evie agree: 'We must never take our democracy for granted.'
Duration: 3' 40"
End of speech: '…to continue to make the world a better place for everybody.'
Video questions
- Who were the suffragettes? (A group of women who fought for all women to have the vote)
- Who can vote in an election in the UK? (Everyone over the age of 18)
- What does the word 'democracy' mean? ('Rule by the people')
- Who was the leader of the suffragettes? (Emmeline Pankhurst: 1858 - 1928)
- In what year did some of Britain's women finally get the vote? (1918)
Key links
Assembly framework (pdf) document
Download / print the assembly framework ready for use
Image: a ballot paper. image
Click to display the image full-size
Transcript
Download / print the video transcript
Suggested framework
1. Entry music
You might consider a song about protest, struggle and standing up for your rights: perhaps 'Something inside so strong' by Labi Siffre. 'We shall overcome' is a song often used by protest movements in the past.
2. Introduction
Ask 'Does anyone know what the word democracy means?' Gather the pupils' responses and establish that it means 'rule by the people'. Display the image of a ballot paper and describe the process of voting. 'On election day, adults over the age of 18 can cast their vote. They go to a polling station near their homes. Often, a school becomes a polling station for the day and the children get a day off. The voters are given a ballot paper like this one. They put a cross on their ballot paper next to the name of the person they want to vote for. Then they can fold the paper over - so no-one can see how they voted - and they put it into a ballot box. When the polling station shuts at the end of the day, all the papers are emptied out of the ballot box and counted. The person with the most crosses next to their name is elected to help make our laws and decide how our country is run.' You could go on to ask: 'Why do you think we do this?' Gather the children's responses, then ask: 'Would it be fair if only some people were allowed to vote?'
3. The video
Play the video. The duration is 3' 40" and the final words are: '… it's about being able to continue to make the world a better place for everybody.'
4. After the video
Ask pupils to spend a minute talking to the person next to them about what they have seen and heard.
5. Time to talk
Invite the pupils to share their thoughts about voting, democracy and what they saw in the video. Prompt them to develop their ideas with further questions such as: 'What if someone you don't like gets elected, do you have to accept it?' 'What if people don't want to vote - should we make them?' and 'How old do you think someone should be before they get to vote? Is 18 the right age?' You could also ask: 'If we want the right to vote, do we also have a responsibility to listen to the views of other people who don't think the same way as us?'
After the pupils have put forward their views you could invite the assembly to take a vote on each of these questions with a show of hands. Whatever the assembly decides, emphasise that this is a fair way to make decisions, since it takes account of everyone's views and gives the largest number possible the outcome they want.
You could end by pointing out: 'Voting is a way to take important decisions fairly. Democracy allows us to settle arguments without fighting or wars.'
6. Opportunity to sing
An opportunity to sing your chosen song. Suggestions from BBC collections below.
7. Opportunity to reflect
Ask the pupils to sit quietly and think about fairness. You could prompt them with:
We can only be truly fair if we listen to other people's opinions, thoughts and feelings. Voting only works if everyone has a voice. Make time to listen to other people today and think about what they want too.
8. Opportunity for prayer
Use your standard form of address ('Dear God', etc) and:
We thank you for the rights and freedoms that come with voting.
Help us to remember we have a responsibility too to listen to the views of other people and to treat them fairly.
Amen.
Suggested songs
Song: 'Down by the riverside' (Come and Praise, no 142. Vocal version)
1. I’m gonna lay down my sword and shield,
Down by the riverside,
Down by the riverside,
Down by the riverside,
I’m gonna lay down my sword and shield,
Down by the riverside,
Down by the riverside.
I ain’t gonna study war no more,
I ain’t gonna study war no more,
I ain’t gonna study war no more.
(Repeat)
- I’m gonna talk with the Prince of peace,
Down by the riverside,
Down by the riverside,
Down by the riverside,
I’m gonna talk with the Prince of peace,
Down by the riverside,
Down by the riverside.
Chorus
- I’m gonna shake hands with everyone,
Down by the riverside,
Down by the riverside,
Down by the riverside,
I’m gonna shake hands with everyone,
Down by the riverside,
Down by the riverside.
Chorus
- I’m gonna walk with my friends in peace,
Down by the riverside,
Down by the riverside,
Down by the riverside,
I’m gonna walk with my friends in peace,
Down by the riverside,
Down by the riverside.
Chorus