The Best of Friends’™ Program launched in Schools and Clinics

Leading Australian child psychologist Dr Kimberley O’Brienand the team at Quirky Kid Clinichave launched a social emotional learning (SEL) program for use in schools and clinics.

‘The Best of Friends’™ program was developed in response to increasing demand at schools and the Quirky Kid Clinics to address social and emotional challenges that children experience.

This manualised program has been running since October last year at the Quirky Kid Clinics and is soon to be rolled out at St Catherine’s School in Sydney. It is an innovative resource that helps children to gain the knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, show empathy for others, develop and maintain friendships and make good decisions.

Dr O’Brien said SEL opportunities in school settings significantly increase student outcomes both academically and in life.

The Best of Friends’™ program engages children with stories, illustrations and interactive activities to help children overcome social and emotional issues in a peer group setting,” said Dr O’Brien.

The program draws on decades of clinical and school experience and extensive research and is presented in a concise format to facilitate SEL for children aged 7 to 11 years.

Publisher of ‘The Best of Friends’™and co-founder of the Quirky Kid Clinic, Leonardo Rocker said the program integrates with the Australian Curriculum and was shortlisted for the Educational Publishing Awards Australia 2015 and received a special commendation.

The Quirky Kid Clinic has been offering workshops throughout Australia for over 8 years.

RESOURCES:

• Download the program summary: http://goo.gl/bPj9f0
• ‘The Best of Friends’™ website: http://BoF.QuirkyKid.com.au
• For more information on SEL visit: http://www.casel.org/
• Media pack: https://goo.gl/pAF7O7
     

See:

• ‘The Best of Friends’™ at Bridges for Learning
• ‘The Best of Friends’™ at St Catherine's School Sydney