In short...
Themes: International Nurses Day (12 May each year); the life and work of Florence Nightingale; caring for others; significant individuals.
Summary: International Nurses Day is celebrated each year on 12 May - the anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birth. At the heart of the assembly is a short animation about the life and work of Florence Nightingale (1820 - 1910). The assembly would be most suitable in the days preceding International Nurses Day, or to support your work about Florence Nightingale at other times of year.
Resources: the framework to download / print (pdf); a map showing the location of the Crimea in relation to the UK; an illustration of Florence Nightingale with her famous lamp.
The video
Krish: Sammy, why do you think this ward is called Nightingale Ward?
Sammy: I don't know, Krish. A Nightingale is a type of bird, so maybe it's named after that.
Miriam: I've got some water for you two.
Krish: Thanks, Miriam.
Miriam: How's your leg feeling today?
Krish: Okay, it's still a bit achy.
Miriam: Well, a broken ankle takes a long time to heal, but you'll be back playing football soon, don't you worry.
Krish: Miriam, I was wondering why the ward we are on is called Nightingale Ward?
Miriam: Now, that is a very good question.
Krish: Sammy thought it might be named after the bird.
Miriam: A good guess, but not right. It's named after a very famous nurse from many years ago called Florence Nightingale.
Sammy: Can you tell us about her?
Miriam: Okay, I've got a few minutes. Florence Nightingale was born more than 200 years ago in Italy. She was British, but her parents were visiting the city of Florence at the time when she was born.
Krish: So she was named Florence after the city.
Miriam: Exactly. The family soon moved back to England, where Florence studied very hard. When she grew up, Florence travelled all over Europe, but she always wanted to care for others. She began her training as a nurse in Germany before she started working in London. Soon after a war began in a country a long way away. Many British soldiers were sent there to fight. Florence and a team of nurses made the long journey from the UK to help care for the wounded soldiers who were fighting in a place called Crimea.
Miriam: When she arrived at the Army Hospital, she found it in a terrible state. The doctors and nurses were struggling to look after all the patients. The hospital was very dirty and crowded and there wasn't enough medicine or bandages. So many of the soldiers became very ill. Florence cleaned up the hospital, set up a kitchen and made sure the soldiers were properly cared for by her team of nurses. They were bathed, bandaged and given clean water to drink and fresh healthier food.
Miriam: She became known as the lady with the lamp, as each night after all the doctors had gone to bed, Florence would walk around the hospital with a lamp, checking on all the soldiers. Remember, there were no electric lights for her to use, so she had to use an oil lamp instead. Florence became very famous for her work during the Crimean War. Back home in Britain, a big sum of money was given so that more nurses could be trained. After Florence returned to England, she continued to work hard to make hospitals better.
Miriam: She wrote over 13,000 letters to important people, soldiers, politicians, doctors to try to make hospitals everywhere cleaner and safer. She set up a nursing school called the Nightingale Training School for Nurses at a hospital in London, which taught nurses how to do all the things she had learnt about, while caring for soldiers. So, many hospital wards like this one are named after her.
Krish: Wow, she sounds like a pretty great nurse.
Miriam: She was. So many of the things she started are still really important today.
Sammy: No wonder the ward is named after her.
Miriam: And guess which day we celebrate International Nurses Day on?
Krish: Florence's birthday?
Miriam: Exactly. We celebrate it every year on 12 May. Right time for me to check on some of our other patients. See you later.
Florence Nightingale (1820 - 1910) was born in the city of Florence in Italy.
Florence determined from a young age to make a career in nursing, but had to overcome opposition from her family who felt it was not appropriate. She trained first in Germany before taking a position at a hospital in London.
When the Crimean War (1853 - 1856) broke out Florence was tasked with taking a group of nurses to care for the British soldiers, many of whom were dying from disease, rather than injury. Florence took control of the military hospital in Scutari (part of modern-day Istanbul) and was able to significantly reduce casualties by improving hygiene, sanitation and nutrition.
After the War Florence campaigned tirelessly for better recognition of the work of nurses and hospitals and established a school for nursing at St Thomas's hospital in London. The seven specially-built hospitals during the Covid pandemic were named 'Nightingale Hospitals' after Florence.
Duration: 3' 36"
Last words: '…See you later!'
Video questions
- Where was Florence Nightingale born? (The city of Florence in Italy - hence her name)
- Where did Florence train as a nurse? (Germany - before starting at a hospital in London)
- What is the name of the place where British soldiers were fighting? (Crimea)
- What did Florence do at the hospital during the war? (She cleaned it; set up a kitchen; made sure there was enough bandages and medicine; provided better food; made sure the patients were bathed)
- What name did Florence become known by? (The Lady with the Lamp)
- What did Florence do after the War? (Campaigned to make hospitals better; set up a training school for nurses)
Key links
Assembly framework (pdf) document
Download / print the assembly framework ready for use
Illustration: The Lady with the Lamp. image
Click to display the image full-size
Map: the location of Crimea. map
Click to display the image full-size
Suggested framework
1. Entry music
An opportunity to play your chosen entry music and display a focus image if you wish (see Key links, above).
2. Introduction
Ask pupils to think about a time when they might have met or been treated by a nurse. You could show them a picture of a modern-day nurse in uniform. Remind them of the nurses who have come in to school to give them vaccinations, as well as nurses in their local GP surgery and hospital. Perhaps take a few examples from pupils of times a nurse has looked after them. Show a picture of Florence Nightingale and ask pupils to name her. Explain that you're now going to watch a short video about Florence Nightingale and her importance.
3. The video
Play the video. The duration is 3' 36" and the final words are: '…See you later!'
4. After the video - Time to talk
Ask the children to spend a few moments thinking about Florence Nightingale and all the people she helped. You could go back over the key events in her life using the Video questions:
- Where was Florence Nightingale born? (The city of Florence in Italy - hence her name)
- Where did Florence train as a nurse? (Germany - before starting at a hospital in London)
- What is the name of the place where British soldiers were fighting? (Crimea)
- What did Florence do at the hospital during the war? (She cleaned it; set up a kitchen; made sure there was enough bandages and medicine; provided better food; made sure the patients were bathed)
- What name did Florence become known by? (The Lady with the Lamp)
- What did Florence do after the War? (Campaigned to make hospitals better; set up a training school for nurses)
Emphasise that Florence Nightingale created modern nursing. Without her we might not have the amazing nurses and hospitals we have today.
5. Opportunity to sing
Suggestions from BBC collections below.
6. Opportunity to reflect
Ask the children to close their eyes and imagine Florence Nightingale working hard in the military hospital. She must have found it very difficult but she didn’t give up because she knew how important it was to help the soldiers and she knew she was making a difference to their lives. How can we make a positive difference for others in our own lives? Who could we help?
7. Opportunity for prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for all those people who care for us when we are sick.
Thank you for people who spend their lives caring for others in hospital.
Help us to find ways to help and care for other people, so that we can make a difference - just as Florence Nightingale did.
Amen.
Suggested songs
Song: 'Give me oil in my lamp' (Come and Praise, no 43. Vocal version)
- Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning.
Give me oil in my lamp, I pray.
Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning,
Keep me burning till the break of day.
ChorusSing hosanna, sing hosanna,
Sing hosanna to the King of Kings!
Sing hosanna, sing hosanna,
Sing hosanna to the King!
- Give me joy in my heart, keep me singing.
Give me joy in my heart, I pray.
Give me joy in my heart, keep me singing,
Keep me singing till the break of day.
Chorus
- Give me love in my heart, keep me serving.
Give me love in my heart, I pray.
Give me love in my heart, keep me serving,
Keep me serving till the break of day.
Chorus
- Give me peace in my heart, keep me resting.
Give me peace in my heart, I pray.
Give me peace in my heart, keep me resting,
Keep me resting till the break of day.
Chorus
Song: 'Chain of love' (All about our school, no 14. Vocal version)
- For the children of tomorrow
We’ve got to make it a better place,
Fill the world with love and laughter,
Make a fresh start for the human race.
(Chorus)
Chain of love, chain of love,
Circle the world with a chain of love,
Chain of love, chain of love,
Circle the world with a chain of love.
- No more war and no more hunger,
No more jealousy and hate,
Say goodbye to greed and sadness,
Make a change now or it will be too late.
(Chorus)
(Middle eight)
Circle the world, circle the world,
Circle the world, circle the world.
- Doesn’t matter where you come from,
Doesn’t matter where you’ve been,
Different race or creed or colour,
We are the same underneath our skin.
(Chorus)
Chain of love, chain of love,
Circle the world with a chain of love,
Chain of love, chain of love,
Circle the world with a chain of love.
Circle the world with a chain of love.
'God is watching over you' (All about our school, no 7)
God is watching over you,
When you lay down to sleep,
When you wake he will keep
Always watching over you,
Now and forever more.God is watching over you,
When you lay down to sleep,
When you wake he will keep
Always watching over you,
Now and forever more.
Now and forever more.
