Student Inclusion 

Inclusion update

This week in Inclusion, the focus is friendship.

We’ve been thinking about the following questions;

• What makes a good friend? 

• Are you a good friend? 

• What makes you a good friend?

By asking these questions, we are examining not only what we look for in friends, but what we bring to a friendship. We’ve been exploring how to listen, show kindness and also how to be flexible with our friendships. 

Social connections are fundamental to a child's wellbeing at school. Children are not always given the opportunity to really look at the working parts of a friendship. Playing with our friends is the fun part, but we also need to be able to problem solve, turn-take and apologise. When conflict does arise in friendships it can be challenging if we don’t have the strategies or emotional understanding to resolve and regulate. When we are unable to resolve conflict by actions or words like saying sorry, our friends can seem like enemies.  

Feelings of anger and frustration are normal and healthy in all types of relationships. How a child manages and responds to these feelings and how they approach conflict resolution is key to learning resilience and building trust in friendships.

We are hardwired to be in relationships, both with family and friends. Yet 5-10% of children experience chronic peer relationship difficulties which can lead to depression, anxiety and school refusal which is becoming an increasingly concerning problem in schools. 

The ability to communicate is essential in the development of reasoning and higher cognitive function, both contributing to the development of friendships skills. 

Over the next few weeks we will be examining the fundamentals of a friendship, how to listen and communicate, how to resolve conflict and what coping strategies can we use to navigate our way through the various problems that can arise. As children’s interests and developmental needs change, their friendship patterns may also change. And this is Ok.