Parent Resources

SchoolTV: Friendship and Belonging

Making and maintaining friendships is one of the most frequent reasons students seek out support at school.  It is not always easy for teenagers to always know how to manage friendships. Learning how to make new friends and keep them involves a number of skills every young person needs to understand and develop. For some, these skills will come very naturally, allowing them to easily move between different friendship groups, share their experiences and open up to new people. For others, this can be much harder to navigate. Times of transition, such as starting at a new school or joining a new class, can present new challenges even for young people who are skilled at making friends. Belonging to a group that is like-minded with similar interests is highly beneficial to a young person’s wellbeing. Friendships are full of ups and downs and it is helpful for young people to learn how to build and manage their own friendships. 

Carers often feel helpless when their young person is struggling to connect or is coping with a friendship conflict or change. This edition of School TV answers questions that families ask about friendships.