Schools are in a wonderful position to take the message of friendliness and its importance to so many people and to help introduce it to a new generation. 50 schools took an active part in the Permission to Smile campaign in Birmingham and Worcestershire, 150 schools participated, displaying a banner and in many cases using school assemblies to bring the message to life.
In Birmingham, research at participating primary schools found that the atmosphere at the school gate had significantly changed as a result of the banner promoting friendliness being prominently displayed, with parents – instead of standing silently or in small groups – responding to the ‘prompt’ by interacting much more, enjoying banter and learning each other’s names!
School assembly ideas, based around the As One themes of friendliness, smiling and being a good neighbour, have kindly been created for us by the Diocese of Worcester and the Diocese of Birmingham .
Please feel free to use and adapt as desired.
