Our Year 5 & 6 pupils from across the federation enjoyed taking part in an informative workshop about friendship, led by lifestyle coach Naomi.
The session began with the children being asked to think about differences. They were asked, "Does the person next to you look like you? Why are we all different". They then had to reflect upon 'why they are like they are'; for example, why they look like they do, behave like they do, and why they have a certain belief set. They learnt that much of this comes from our parents and our own life experiences.
Children were encouraged to view differences as a positive thing and to use difference as a way of understanding why some friendships experience difficult times, and discussed how they might deal with these.
One of the activities caused much laughter when the children were asked to 'discuss', in a calm and respectful manner, a topic of opposing views. For example, one person would argue 'for' Mexican food being delicious' while the other argued 'against' this. The children agreed upon the way in which they would control this discussion, ensuring they remained respectful at all times!
The workshop concluded with the children outlining the qualities they look for in a friend. They were challenged to list at least 30 between them. Naomi reassured them that they can't possibly be all 30 of these things at once (as this would be perfection, and no one is perfect) but that there is always room for improvement. Finally, they were asked to consider one thing they might change to become a better friend to others.
An afternoon of reflection, fun and important messages for us all to take away.
