Experience of Circle of Friends at school

[Dottedts]

I was wondering if anyone had experience of this and what this looks like for the friends in particular?

We've had a note from school asking us to agree for DD to be in a circle of friends for one of her peers, but no more information (and what I find online is limited).

I can and will of course ask the teacher but I was mostly interested in details of what that looks like for the friends. Does it get included seamlessly in the day?

As much as DD appears happy and confident at school, we do have some anxiety issues and she can get easily unsettled by anything new, so I want to make sure she'd be OK with it.

Thank you!

It was on DS EHCP but his school didn't know what is was and apparently didn't know how to Google either
It involves other children talking about what they like to do with the target child/their good qualities. I think they talk without the child first and then the teacher checks all is well and nobody says "I like Mark because he wees in the playground" and then they get together with the child.
I would Google if I were you for more details though - it's been a while since I read up on it.

My ds had a circle of friends. It was good in that it helped him identify what things people liked about him and some things they found irritating. They stopped it relatively quickly though as it can have a tendency to turn into a moaning shop!

www.edplace.com/blog/send/how-to-create-a-circle-of-friendship

Thank you! I did Google but could find very little. The edplace link was the most comprehensive but it was still just one paragraph. "Help with problem solving" sounds very vague! I was wondering what the children get told about what it is so we could reinforce and explain to DD at home.

https://doverstls.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Circle-of-Friends-Guide.pdf
This explains the process clearly, OP

Yes that’s the handout I was given by school-I couldn’t easily find it.

That's the most helpful document, thank you!

I realised that the letter says that DD had volunteered to be a part of it. But then when I talked to DD about it this morning she said she didn't know what it was.

I can see in the handout they explain a lot about confidentiality so I'm wondering whether that's why she's saying she doesn't know?

Or I'm wondering if what we received is the first letter described in the handout, which gets sent to the whole class so parents can opt out, before it gets discussed and friends are chosen.

But it is worded like the second letter and did have DD's name on the envelope so who knows!!

I've just read that and I would be very interested in hearing of successes as it sounds absolutely dreadful. I'm sure there's theory behind it but the way it's about the child being a problem to solve is horrible.

My dd was part of a circle of friends for a little boy in her class with SEND. She got a lot out of it. Taught her to think of others and empathy. It was managed well and she was proud to have been part of it.

That's really good to know, I imagine it helps them develop their emotional intelligence which can only be positive.

Hi, I just wanted to ask whether this went ahead and if it was a success? The Circle of Friends approach has been suggested for my son who has SEND and just trying to understand it a bit better before giving permission. Thank you!

Unfortunately it didn't end up going ahead as they never got permission from the child's parent so I don't have any feedback. I hope you find the information you need and it helps your DS.