Healthy relationships education - it’s not all about sex! A commentary on the importance of children’s friendships within the pastoral curriculum

In this commentary we reflect on the recently introduced statutory framework for Relationships Education in primary education in England and welcome the inclusion of friendships on the curriculum. We suggest that the attention on some of the more controversial aspects of the framework has perhaps meant that there has been less critical consideration of the teaching of caring friendships.
Here we discuss evidence showing the importance of children’s friendships for their school experience, wellbeing and later development and argue that sufficient time and effort should be incorporated into pastoral provision to attend to these topics. We outline some recommendations for practice based on using story-based material to engage children with the intricacies of friendship and equip them with the skills to manage these relationships effectively.