Relationships and Friendships — Year 2 Lesson Plan
National Curriculum: PSHE/RSE — Families and relationships: the characteristics of friendships, including mutual respect, truthfulness, trustworthiness, loyalty, kindness, generosity, sharing interests and experiences, and support with problems and difficulties (KS1 statutory guidance).
Overview
Pupils deepen their understanding of friendship by exploring what makes relationships positive and what can make them feel difficult or unhealthy. They practise conflict resolution skills and develop the language needed to talk about friendships honestly and assertively. The lesson affirms that all pupils deserve to have friendships in which they feel safe, respected and valued.
Learning Objectives
- Identify the key characteristics of a positive friendship.
- Recognise when a friendship does not feel right and name what is wrong.
- Practise at least one strategy for resolving a conflict calmly and fairly.
- Develop confidence in talking about friendship difficulties with a trusted adult.
Key Vocabulary
Suggested Lesson Structure
Read aloud a short story or show a short animation involving two friends falling out over something small. Pause at the moment of conflict and ask: what happened here? How do you think each character is feeling? What could they do? Establish that even good friends sometimes disagree.
Introduce a simple framework for healthy friendships: kind, honest, fair, caring and respectful. Show pairs of scenario cards — one positive and one negative version of the same friendship interaction — and ask pupils to identify which quality is present or missing. Discuss how it feels to be on the receiving end of kind versus unkind treatment.
Introduce a four-step conflict resolution process: 1. Stop and calm down. 2. Take turns to say how you feel using I-statements. 3. Listen to the other person without interrupting. 4. Together, come up with a solution that is fair for both. Model the steps with a puppet or two volunteers, then practise with a simple scenario in pairs.
In pairs, pupils role-play a friendship disagreement scenario from a card set (e.g. one person keeps leaving the other out of a game). They practise the four-step conflict resolution process, then swap roles. Circulate to support, prompting the use of I-statements: 'I feel... when... because...'
Invite one or two pairs to share how their role-play went. Ask the class: what was hardest about the four steps? What helped? Remind pupils that if a friendship consistently makes them feel bad, it is important to talk to a trusted adult. Close with the affirmation that everyone deserves friendships in which they feel safe and valued.
Common Misconceptions
- Pupils sometimes think that a good friend must always do what they want or always agree with them. Clarify that healthy friendships involve taking turns, compromising and sometimes doing things you did not choose — and that this is a sign of care, not weakness.
- Some pupils confuse conflict with bullying. It is important to explain that conflict is normal in any relationship; bullying is when one person repeatedly hurts or upsets another on purpose and there is a power imbalance.
Prior Knowledge
Pupils should already be able to:
- Awareness of the qualities of friendship from Year 1 and some experience of friendship difficulties.
- Some ability to identify and name emotions in self and others.
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