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Healthy and happy friendships

TOPIC OVERVIEW

Getting along and understanding changing friendships.

This topic explores friendships: their importance, what being a good friend means, and how to keep friendships positive and healthy. Pupils investigate their own values and identity (including their online identity), and develop skills to resolve difficulties within friendships, including maintaining and respecting personal boundaries and safe touch, managing peer pressure and the effects on friendships of change.

Each year group has a starter video, followed by three lessons. A lesson contains a lesson plan, presentation and worksheet(s) for classroom activities. Download the progression grid »
Year 1: Making friends and getting along
  • Friends
  • Kindness
  • Getting along, sharing and turn-taking
Year 2: What makes a happy friendship
  • What makes a happy friendship?
  • Personal boundaries
  • Worries
Year 3: Being a good friend
  • What makes a good friend?
  • Personal space
  • Resilience
Year 4: Solving friendship difficulties
  • Qualities of a good friend
  • Solving friendship difficulties
  • Personal boundaries and permission
Year 5: Changing friendships
  • Identity
  • Peer pressure
  • Emotional health and well-being
Year 6: Relationships and feelings
  • Personal safety
  • Relationships and change
  • Wider emotions
Lessons are designed to take approximately 30 minutes to one hour of teaching time, but teachers can extend or develop learning across more lessons if this is appropriate. It is recommended that schools timetable at least one lesson a week for each year group.

Changing friendships, Year 5 video sample. Archie’s advice addresses how to cope when friendships change.

View sample lesson plan »

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