dd2 is 6, year 1.
She has always been really sociable, life and soul of the party, friends with everyone, type of child. She was invited to all the parties and secure in a good gang of friends.
The group of friends have mostly known each other since pre-school, and they are all in the same working group in class too. One particular girl, we will call her A was a particular friend although neither of them were exclusively best friends if you see what I mean.
Before Christmas dd started to not want to go to school, wouldn't get dressed, clung to me in the playground, and I had to peel her off and hand her over to the teacher. Once she was in the door she seemed to be fine.
When I tried to get to the bottom of it, she said she doesn't like school, it is boring and that was it.
In November there was an incident in school. I don't know what the spark was, but dd got very angry and upset and pushed one child and bit another - her friend A. I was very supportive of school, told dd off, consequences etc etc and it seems to have passed and no sign of it again (she used to occasionally bite her older brother and sister when she was small and got frustrated, but hadn't done t for a long time).
Over Christmas she finally told me how she felt about school. Since the biting incident, A won't play with her. The others are a bit more paired up, so without A it is harder to find someone to play with. Not only that, but the group around A who she used to play with, won't play with her either, because they want to play with A and A won't let her join the group. This means that at playtime she is excluded from the group that she has been friends with since age 3. She told me that at playtime she plays with a year 5 girl. I help out in class and I have noticed that now she goes and does her work with kids form another group as her group don't make he welcome. (I work on other side of class with different kids, I just observed out of corner of my eye)
I don't really know what to do. One of the things I said to her (gently) was that A didn't want to play with her because she had bitten her, and who would want to play with someone if they were afraid that they would bite them again? Dd understands that, but she (and I) don't know how to repair the damage, and help her rejoin her friendship group. A doesn't want to come round for a playdate.
I thought that over Christmas it might pass and get resolved, but by day 3, she was clinging and crying at drop off again.
It was really brought home to me last night how excluded she is, one of the group had a party. Only a small party and A and 3 others from the group were invited, but not dd. The party boy lives a few doors down, and dd has been to every party since we moved here.
Don't flame me, I know it is her fault, I just am at a loss as to know how to solve it. No-one can be forced to be friends, but can I do anything?
Just to add A is a really nice girl, and I am friends with her mum. I haven't said anything to mum as I have only just realised that this is the root.