Perfectly Norman - Tom Percival Assembly for Primary Schools
Updated: Sep 24
This Perfectly Norman assembly uses Tom Percival’s uplifting picture book to explore acceptance, uniqueness and feeling comfortable with the things that make us who we are.
Designed for EYFS and Key Stage 1, the assembly combines storytelling, discussion and reflection to help children recognise that everybody is different and that the things that make us unique are worth celebrating rather than hiding.
Assembly Theme: ACCEPTANCE
Suitable for: EYFS and Key Stage 1
This resource is part of our Tom Percival assemblies for primary schools and our wider collection of Books & Stories assemblies, using brilliant children’s literature as a starting point for exploring values, feelings and experiences.
What is Perfectly Norman about?
Perfectly Norman tells the story of Norman, who has always been perfectly ordinary until, one day, he suddenly grows a pair of wings.
At first Norman enjoys his wonderful new wings, but he soon begins to worry about what other people might think. He tries to hide them beneath a big coat and discovers that hiding an important part of himself makes life much less enjoyable.
Like many of the books featured in our Books & Stories assembly collection, Norman’s story provides a simple and engaging way for younger children to explore a much bigger idea.
How does the assembly explore acceptance?
Children are encouraged to think about the many different things that make each of us unique – from the things we enjoy and are good at to our personalities, interests and individual characteristics.
The assembly explores the idea that we do not all need to be the same and that accepting ourselves can mean recognising the things that make us different as positive parts of who we are.
Through Norman’s experience, children consider what can happen when we feel that we need to hide something about ourselves and why accepting our differences matters.
This makes Perfectly Norman a useful addition to our primary school assemblies about values, giving younger children an accessible way to explore acceptance and individuality.
Using books to explore big ideas
Picture books can help children explore quite complicated ideas through characters and situations they can understand.
Our Books & Stories assemblies for primary schools use carefully chosen children’s books to open up conversations about values, feelings, relationships and experiences that matter to children.
Perfectly Norman focuses on acceptance, while the other assemblies in our Tom Percival collection explore courage, honesty, friendship, self-control and belonging.
What is included?
The ready-to-use assembly includes a PowerPoint presentation and accompanying instructions, with key vocabulary, an introductory activity, opportunities for discussion, reflection questions and a final thought for children to take away.
As with all of our ready-to-use primary school assemblies, the planning is built into the presentation so teachers can quickly see what to do and adapt the assembly for their own children.
Optional Christian collective worship slides are also included and can simply remain hidden when they are not required.
Collective Worship
The optional collective worship section uses words from Psalm 139:
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”
Children consider what Christians might understand by being “wonderfully made” and explore the belief that every person is unique, valued and loved by God.
The Bible link connects naturally with Norman’s story and the idea that we do not need to hide the things that make us who we are.
The section also includes an opportunity for reflection and a simple prayer activity. Schools looking for further worship resources can explore our collective worship plans for primary schools.
Do I need a copy of Perfectly Norman?
Yes. This assembly has been designed to be used alongside a copy of Perfectly Norman by Tom Percival.
The presentation does not reproduce the book or replace the original story. Instead, the activities, questions and reflections help you build an assembly around it.
If you enjoy using children’s literature in this way, you can find more titles in our Books & Stories primary assembly collection.
About Tom Percival
Tom Percival is a British author and illustrator whose picture books often explore feelings, relationships and experiences children encounter as they grow up.
His stories approach important subjects in an accessible and child-friendly way, making them particularly useful as starting points for discussion and reflection with younger children.
Books including Ruby’s Worry, Perfectly Norman and Meesha Makes Friends explore themes such as worries, acceptance, friendship and belonging. We have brought six of his books together in our growing Tom Percival assembly collection, with each assembly focusing on a different value.
Explore more Tom Percival assemblies
Perfectly Norman is one of six Tom Percival books featured in this collection:
Each assembly can be used independently, or use the collection to explore six different values through the work of one author.
Looking for your next assembly?
Explore our Books & Stories assemblies for more resources using children’s literature to explore important themes and values.
Or browse all primary school assembly plans to discover ready-to-use resources across Books & Stories, Famous Faces, British Values, Faith Heroes and Times & Places.
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