Welcome to today's lesson on the Importance of Friendship.

My name is Ms. Wittams-Howarth, and I'm gonna be with you today.

Some of today's lesson might feel a little bit difficult or you might find that you've got some concerns or worries as you go through, so it is recommended that you have an adult with you.

If at any point you feel uncomfortable out or you need to stop, pause the lesson and talk to the adult who's with you.

Let's get started.

So the outcome of today's lesson is, I can explain the importance of friendships and how friendships can change.

Before we get into the main body of the lesson, we're going to go through some ground rules to keep everybody safe.

Laura says, "Listen to others.

It's okay to disagree with each other, but we should listen properly before making assumptions or deciding how to respond.

When disagreeing, challenge the statement, not to the person." Andeep says, "Respect privacy.

We can discuss examples, but we don't use names or descriptions that identify anyone including ourselves." So that means that we might say my friend, and that means it could be anybody.

It could be someone we've seen on TV, it could be someone we know, it could be someone in our family, it could be even ourselves, but it keeps us safe because no names are mentioned.

Izzy says, "You can choose your level of participation.

Everyone has the right to choose not to answer a question or join in discussion.

We never put anyone on the spot." And that includes the adults who are with you.

And lastly, Jacob says, "There is no judgement.

We can explore beliefs and misunderstandings about a topic without the fear of being judged." And that means that if you've got a question that you really want answering, then ask it.

I can almost guarantee that there'll be other people in the room who've got exactly the same question too.

We've got two keywords for today's lesson, and you will find them highlighted in bold throughout so you can spot them more easily.

The first one is friendship, and that means a relationship between two or more people who care about and support each other.

And then next we've got the word evolve, which means to change or develop.

In today's lesson, we've got two parts.

The first part is why are friendships important? And then the second part is how can friendships evolve? Let's move on to the first part of the lesson.

Why are friendships important? Friendships are really important because they can provide support, so that means you look out for each other.

You support each other, maybe when things are difficult and one person needs a bit of encouragement, or maybe a listening ear, or a shoulder to cry on.

They provide a sense of belonging.

That means like you feel like you belong somewhere with a bunch of people.

They can provide personal growth.

We can learn things from our friends, not just how to play a game or whatever, but maybe we can learn from our friends qualities, maybe they're really patient or kind, and we can copy that.

And then last of all, enjoyment.

Friendships should be enjoyable.

We should feel good spending time with our friends.

Let's do a check.

How well were you listening? Which benefit that can come from friendship is missing from the list below.

So remember, there were four to start with on the previous slide, which ones missing? We've got personal growth, belonging and enjoyment.

Have a think.

See if you can remember.

We'll take feedback in a moment.

If you said support, you'd be right.

Really well done.

Great listening.

Let's have a think now.

Why does Andeep think friendships are important? He says, "An article I read suggested that healthy friendships are important because they provide you with practical and emotional support.

This can be really helpful if you're having a difficult time or even if you just need some simple encouragement or motivation." Really good point, Andeep.

Friends encouraging each other and motivating each other is really, really important.

I wonder if you can think of any friends who encourage and motivate you.

Andeep thinks friendships provide support and encouragement.

Why does Lucas think friendships are important? He says, "The friendships that I have made have been really important in helping me to understand who I am and giving me a real sense of belonging and connection.

My friends and I often share similar interests and goals, helping me to be really clear about my identity." Lucas thinks friendships provide identity and belonging.

Why does Laura think friendships are important? Laura says, "Friendships are really important because they bring fun and enjoyment to my life.

I love laughing together over shared memories, or having a person to watch a film with, or even just going for a walk together." Laura thinks friendships provide fun and enjoyment.

Why does Sam think friendships are important? Sam says, "I have been reflecting on what my friendships have taught me.

From my friends, I've learned about different cultures, viewpoints and ways of thinking.

This has helped me to think more deeply about my own ideas." Now that doesn't mean you need to agree with your friends, but it can mean that you can learn from them and use it to help shape or challenge or help you think more carefully about what you think.

Sam thinks friendships provide learning and connection.

Who is explaining how friendships provide identity and belonging? Let's do a check.

How well have you been listening? Aisha says, "One of my friendships has really helped me to enjoy my weekends more.

We play table tennis at our local youth group." Andeep says, "My friendships have helped me to understand who I am in relation to my wider community." And Izzy says, "My closest friend has encouraged me to join debate club to increase my confidence." So remember, you're thinking about which person is talking about how friendships provide identity and belonging.

Have a little think, we'll take feedback in a moment.

So if you said Andeep, you'd be right.

So he's thinking about how he belongs to his community.

Let's do a task.

Jacob is not sure why friendships are so important.

Aisha explains that one reason is because they can provide practical support when times are difficult.

Explain three other reasons why friendships are important to Jacob and Aisha.

What I'd like you to do now is to have a think.

You might wanna pause the screen while you do this task.

You might want to make some notes.

You might want to talk to someone with you as well to sort your ideas out.

So write some notes, explain three other reasons why friendships are important to Jacob and Aisha.

Off you go, we'll take feedback in a few minutes.

So I asked you to explain three other reasons why friendships are important to Jacob and Aisha.

Here's an example of something you might have said.

"In addition to practical support, friendships can also provide emotional support.

This could be as simple as encouraging you to participate in a class discussion or just giving you the opportunity to communicate your feelings.

Friendships can also be important in helping you to understand yourself.

This includes your likes and dislikes, as well as your values and beliefs.

Another reason that friendships are important is that they can help you find enjoyment and fun in life.

For example, by enjoying a shared interest in music or sport." There's plenty of other things that you could have said and other examples that you could have given but remembering to talk about emotional support, understanding yourself, and enjoyment and fun, that's some key points you might also have mentioned belonging to.

Really great work.

Very, very well done.

There's lots to think about there.

Now, let's move on to the second part of the lesson.

How can friendships evolve? All friendships change over time.

Some friendships last through different phases of life, over many years, perhaps, others can shift and even fade, and that's completely normal.

These changes are how a friendship might evolve, how a friendship might change over time.

It's really normal for friendships to evolve, especially if our interests change or we attend a new school or a new club.

Laura, Izzy and Jun are discussing how and why their friendships have evolved.

Laura says, "I don't really speak to most of my friends from primary schools anymore.

They don't live close to me, and our interests are really different now." And that's okay.

Izzy says, "I used to be really close to one of my friends, but now we speak a bit less.

It's not a problem because we are both enjoying spending time with other people." And that's completely okay too.

Our friendships change.

We spend time with different people and that's okay.

Jun says, "Someone I rarely spoke to at primary school has become a really good friend recently." That's great.

Let's do a check.

How well have you been listening? Which of the following is the correct definition of evolve in the context of friendship? So you could choose from A, having different interests and hobbies to your friends.

B, how a friendship changes or develops over time.

Or C, being at a different school to your primary school friends.

Have a little think.

Pick your answer.

We'll take feedback in a moment.

So if you said B, you'd be absolutely right.

The correct definition of evolve in the context of friendships is how a friendship changes or develops over time.

Let's do another check.

Complete the sentence with the missing word.

While some friendships last through different phases of life, it is normal for these friendships to something.

Have another think.

See if you can fill in the missing word and we'll take feedback in a moment.

So if you said evolve, you'd be absolutely right.

Very, very well done.

Let's have a think about how and why Jacob's friendship evolved? And have a think about how Jacob might feel about these changes.

Jacob says, "One of my friends told me I was spending too much time with them and not giving them enough space.

I tried to understand.

Now, we are less close and I tried to keep boundaries in mind with my new friends.

Being there for someone doesn't literally mean the whole time, it's just when you're needed." So that's a really important point.

Some people really feel like they want to be with their friends or feel like their friends might need them all the time, and that not might not necessarily be true.

The really important thing in a friendship is that you can talk about that.

If you feel like you need more space, then you need to be able to say that.

If you feel like you maybe need to see your friend a bit more, or hang out with them, then say that, and then you can work it out between you.

The hard thing is when you don't talk about it and then that becomes a bit of a problem.

Jacob's friendship has faded.

He might feel sad this has happened, but also glad that he has learned his lesson and is able to apply that to new friendships.

And that's really good.

Our friends teach us things and sometimes it can take a really long time to learn.

Let's think about how and why Andeep's friendships have evolved.

Let's think about how Andeep feels about these changes.

Andeep says, "I think the number of friends you have is less important than the quality of your friendship.

I used to be really good friends with a big group of people, but now I spend time with my two closest friends who understand and support me best." Andeep's friendship group has become smaller as he has recognised the importance of spending time with those who really understand what it means to be a good friend.

These changes have likely made Andeep feel more confident and happy.

So it doesn't matter whether you have loads of friends or whether you have a few.

It is what's right for you.

And think about what those friends mean to you and how you get on together.

It's totally fine, and that might change over time.

Sometimes you might have a big group of friends, sometimes you might have a smaller group of friends, and that's okay.

It's not a competition to see who's got the most friends.

Let's think about how and why Sofia's friendships have evolved and think about how Sofia feels these changes.

Sofia says, "Recently I've been drifting from one of my really good friends.

She's been so busy with drama club rehearsals while I've been spending more time at home.

This has happened a few times before and I'm fine with it as long as she's also happy." So Sofia tells us that she's spending less time with her friend as they're pursuing different interests and have different needs.

She recognises the importance of both people being happy, showing her maturity as the friendship evolves.

And that's a really good point.

Sometimes our friends are busy, sometimes they've got more time to hang out with us.

Knowing and seeing that we have different needs and we spend time doing different things is completely fine.

And again, it's really good if you can talk about it.

And then if one person's struggling a little bit, you can have a conversation, maybe reassure the other person, but it's completely fine to have times where you might spend more time together and times when you might spend less time together.

Let's do a check.

How well have you been listening? True or false? A friend is someone who is available always at all times.

True or false? Have a think.

We'll take feedback in a moment.

So if you said false, you'd be absolutely correct.

Let's find out why? It is important to respect a friend's personal boundaries and recognise that their needs may be different to what we might think they want.

So it's really good to check and to talk about it.

I've got another task for you now.

What I would like you to do is identify three ways in which Laura's friendships have evolved.

Here's what she says.

"At the start of secondary school, everything changed.

In primary school, I had the same best friend for years, but at our new school we were in different classes, and she joined art club while I started playing netball.

Sometimes we'd sit together at lunch, but it wasn't the same.

I also met a new friend on the netball team, and now we hang out almost every weekend.

I miss seeing my old friend, but I'm glad we can still talk and I'm lucky to have a new friend too.

I've also realised that I prefer a small group of friends to a large one.

It just works better for me." So have a think.

Read over again what Laura has just said, and I'd like you to identify three ways in which Laura's friendships have evolved.

I suggest while you do this, you pause the screen, and then we'll take some feedback in a few minutes time.

Off you go.

So I asked you to identify three ways in which Laura's friendships have evolved.

Here are some things you might have said.

"Laura's friendship with her best friend from primary school has faded since they started secondary school.

They spend less time together and have different interests.

Laura has also made a new friend with similar interests who she enjoys spending lots of time with.

Laura has also realised that she prefers hanging out with a small group of friends." Really well done.

If you spotted those three things.

Great work.

We've got a summary of our learning today.

Friendships are important in providing support, belonging, personal growth and enjoyment.

Friendships are fluid and evolve.

Some can get stronger whilst others fade.

It's normal for friendships to evolve.

This is especially true if our interests and hobbies change or we start attending a new school or club.

It is really important to respect a friend's personal boundaries and recognise that their needs may be different to what we might think they want.

It's really good to talk to our friends about our boundaries and what we want and what we need.

And on this last slide, where you can get some support.

So we've got Childline.

There's a website and phone line, and they can offer confidential advice and support.

And CEOP, which helps protect children from online abuse and exploitation.

Thank you ever so much for learning with me today.

Thank you for your hard work and all of your ideas.

I look forward to seeing you again soon for another lesson.

Take care of yourselves.