Looking for advice - Y3 girls friendships

[SnottyLittleMango]

I'm feeling at a bit of a loss as all IRL friends / family have younger kids or boys, so could really use some advice.

DD7 has always had a nice friendship group since starting school, and one 'best' friend in particular. This year however there have been lots of tensions within the group which DD, who is quite sensitive, has found difficult to cope with and has led her to withdraw a bit from the group. Her closest friend has also started playing more with another girl, neither seem to be deliberately leaving DD out exactly but they are hanging out a lot more both in and out of school, and DD isn't invited. At recent parents evening their teacher commented that DD seems a bit isolated and that she's worried it's affecting her social skills, so she and the other teachers have been gently encouraging her to play with a different group of kids.

The issue is that the new best friend of DD's former closest friend has recently left for a long holiday, and the friend has now been approaching DD asking for play dates etc. again. I'm a bit reluctant to agree to this as I feel like it would be setting DD up for disappointment when girl 2 comes back from holiday - so I'm really not sure if I should be backing the teachers and encouraging new friendships or helping her try to reconnect with her old best friend.

Thanks for reading if you got this far- any advice would be really welcome!

I'd be encouraging new friendships, especially if the teachers have picked up and suggested on it. The holidays are a great time to encourage playdates with new friends etc.

When my DD was in year 3 she was also in a "threesome" which could be tricky at times. I would definitely encourage other friendships but that doesn't mean she has to step away completely from her old best friend, as long as she's not actively being mean (which it sounds like she isn't). Does DD want to go on the play date?

She's not really sure - part of the problem is as they get older they are developing different interests, so last time they did have a playdate they ended up falling out massively over what to do and DD was in tears. I'm thinking I won't actively discourage her from spending time with friend 1 but will try and encourage other friendships. Thanks for the advice xx