Tools for Schools
Provision and / or strategies:
- Use small group/nurture group activities to support personal, social and emotional development.
- Model appropriate emotional responses to disagreements or difficulties with e.g. sharing/turn taking.
- Think about who the child or young person can maintain a relationship with, for example, adults only, younger children. Try to understand the reasons for this and use the information to build their capacity to maintain relationships.
- Use and model a conflict resolution approach to help manage upsets and disagreements. Use restorative approaches when relationships break down.
- Try differentiated opportunities for social and emotional development, for example buddy system, paired learning activities, scaffolding group work.
- Use restorative approaches when relationships break down.
- Use a key worker to rehearse and replay more appropriate social communication methods, provide opportunities to practice the social communication skill.
- Discuss the use of dedicated and planned tome with your SENCO to support the child / young person when necessary, such as during unstructured break and lunch times.
- Do not use the schools / settings ‘SEND’ base purely as a reactive strategy when friendship issues arise.
- Consider using ‘Circles of Friends’ techniques or similar.
Last updated 3 November 2021