Run this whenever suits your calendar · no child is ever asked what they eat
Pick one. It changes the words on every slide, and which slides you get.
A clicker or the arrow keys. Nothing else. No printing, no props, no food in the hall.
Agree one before you start. "Hands up if you can hear me" — raise your own hand silently and say nothing. Works in any hall.
Brief your DSL and pastoral lead before you run this — food assemblies surface disclosures about hunger at home. Have a named adult free straight afterwards. Some children here will be hungry, some have eating difficulties. Never ask a child what they eat or what is in their lunchbox — no slide or aside should. Nothing is a "good" or "bad" food. Slide 8 says Marcus Rashford's family did not always have enough food.
Three beats come in two versions — slides 2, 5 and 7. EYFS/KS1 stand up and copy the actions. KS2 guess first, time it, and judge one volunteer instead — nobody mimes. Run the one for your hall, not both. And on slide 4, wait until the slow ones are up before you speak — every child can stand up for something.
Press → when the school is settled. The next slide is what they see.
You are standing in it. It needs four things every day to work properly.
This beat comes in two versions. Run the one for the hall you have, not both.
"Copy me. Food — hands to your tummy. Move — march on the spot. Sleep — hands under your head. Wash — rub your palms together." (do all four yourself, then again faster. The whole hall copies. Fifteen seconds.)
"nobody copies anything. Turn to the person next to you. Between the two of you, name four things a body needs every single day. Ten seconds, starting now. (time it — then hands up for quiet) Hands up if you got four. Hands up if you got three. (look round, then reveal) Food. Move. Sleep. Wash. Four."
"Food is the fuel. Move keeps the engine running. Sleep is the repair shop overnight. Wash keeps the parts clean."
"food is the fuel, move keeps the engine running, sleep is the overnight repair shop and washing keeps the parts clean. Miss any one of them and the machine starts to slow down."
"I am going to say five colours. Hands up when I say your favourite. Not your favourite food — your favourite colour. Red. Yellow. Green. Purple. Orange."
Say them slowly. Look round at each one. Then hands down.
"Every one of those colours grows on a plant somewhere in the world. All five. Food comes in every colour there is, and the trick is variety — lots of different colours across a week."
"variety is the whole idea. There are five food groups — carbohydrates, protein, fruit and vegetables, dairy, and healthy fats. No single food does everything. A mixture does."
"Stand up if you have tried something new lately. Anything at all — a new game, a new song, a new word, a new food. (wait — let the slow ones get up) Look around. Look how many of you. Sit down."
Offer it both ways as you ask — anyone who would rather stay sitting puts a hand up instead. Sitting down counts exactly the same.
"Trying something new is a brave thing, and you do not have to like it. You are allowed to try it and say 'not for me'. Then try something else."
"Your tastes change as you grow. Something you did not like last year, you might like now."
"tastes really do change as you get older, so a food you were sure about at five can taste completely different at ten. That is why trying again is worth it."
This beat comes in two versions. Run the one for the hall you have, not both.
"Everybody stand up. March on the spot with me — twenty seconds. Go. (march with them, count it, don't guess) Sit down. That was twenty seconds of your sixty minutes." (anyone who cannot stand marches with their arms from their chair — arms only works just as well. Say it as you start, not as an offer to individuals.)
"stay sitting — hands up first. How many minutes of moving does a person your age need every day? Hands up for thirty. (pause) Hands up for sixty. (pause) Hands up for a hundred and twenty. (count the room by eye, then tell them: sixty) Now stand — this is a timed challenge, not a march. Twenty seconds, you stay on your own spot, and you keep moving however you like. March, step it out, shake your arms out — your choice, nobody has to look the same. Go. (time it on a watch, exactly twenty seconds) Sit down. That was twenty seconds of your sixty minutes."
"Our bodies were built to move. Running, dancing, climbing, walking to school — it all counts."
"sixty minutes of movement a day is the number for children your age, and it does not have to be sport. Walking, dancing and climbing all count. Movement is fuel for your brain as well — it makes you sharper at concentrating and remembering."
"How many hours of sleep does someone your age need? Hands up for six. (pause) Hands up for nine to eleven. (pause) Hands up for fourteen."
Count the room by eye. Don't tally. Then:
"Nine to eleven hours. While you are asleep your body is rebuilding and growing, and your brain is filing away everything you learned that day."
"screens make sleep harder to come by, so an hour without one before bed helps a lot if you can manage it. And growth hormone is released mostly while you sleep — sleeping really is when you grow."
This beat comes in two versions. Run the one for the hall you have, not both.
"Stand up. Pretend you have soap. Copy me and sing with me — two rounds of Happy Birthday is exactly twenty seconds." (mime and name each step as you sing: palms, backs of hands, between fingers, thumbs, fingertips, wrists. Two rounds, then sit. Anyone who cannot stand does the whole thing seated — it is all hands anyway.)
"nobody sings and nobody stands — except one volunteer. (pick one, bring them to the front) No soap, no water, just the actions: wash your hands properly, and I am timing you for twenty seconds. Everybody else, you are the inspectors. There are six places to get: palms, backs of hands, between the fingers, thumbs, fingertips, wrists. Count how many they miss. (time it — twenty seconds, on a watch) Hands up if they got all six. Hands up if they missed one. Two? (let the hall judge — then name the ones almost everybody forgets: thumbs and wrists)"
"That is the smallest action that makes the biggest difference. Done properly, washing your hands is one of the simplest ways to stop illness spreading round this school."
"Thumbs up if you think one person can change a rule for the whole country. Thumbs down if you think that is impossible. (pause — look round) Keep them there."
"Marcus Rashford plays as a striker for England. When he was growing up, his family did not always have enough food. He says it is why he became a campaigner."
"In 2020 he persuaded the UK government to give free school meals to thousands of children who needed them, and he has kept fighting for it ever since. His message is simple — children learn best when they are well fed. Thumbs up."
"a professional footballer's body needs exactly the same four things yours does. Food. Move. Sleep. Wash."
Press → to reveal. Then ask the next two aloud — no slide needed:
"Name one of the four things your body needs." (food, move, sleep or wash) · "What is the trick with food?" (variety — lots of different colours)
"How many hours of sleep at your age, and what is the screen rule?" (nine to eleven; an hour with no screens before bed) · "What did Marcus Rashford change?" (free school meals for thousands of children)
"All together, after me: Food. Move. Sleep. Wash. Four things. One amazing body."
Let the hall say it back. Twice if the first one is quiet. Then, quietly:
"Now think of one small thing you will do today. A glass of water. A walk at break. A proper twenty-second wash before lunch. Keep it to yourself — you do not have to tell anyone. Then go and do it."