Promoting Positive Friendships
Supporting neurodivergent children at break and lunchtime

Two children sit on the same bench every lunchtime, both reading, barely a word between them. That’s a friendship, and it’s the kind we routinely miss, because we’re looking for chatter and eye contact and a group. This session is about recognising neurodivergent friendship in the shapes it actually takes, and about break and lunchtime, which is the hardest part of the day for a lot of children and also the only part when they get to choose who they’re with. It covers what to notice, what to do when a friendship goes wrong, how to tell an ordinary fall-out from something that needs passing on, and how the adults on a playground quietly set what a whole group of children thinks is normal. Everything in it is small enough to try the next day.

What you’ll take away

• How to spot the friendships a child already has, in the shapes they actually take
• Why break and lunchtime can be the hardest part of the day, and the best chance a child gets
• What to do when a friendship goes wrong, and how to help a child repair one
• How to tell an ordinary fall-out from something that needs passing on
• What builds belonging between children, and how much of it comes from watching you