The Best Of Friends® Program

About This Program

The Best of Friends® (BoF) is a social and emotional learning program that empowers children aged 7 to 13 with the knowledge, skills and confidence to understand and manage emotions and social situations.

Developed by Educational and Developmental psychologist Dr Kimberley O’Brien, The Best of Friends® draws on years of clinical and school-based experience and research to help students build their social and emotional skills.

Combining cutting-edge research and interactive activities, this program has been verified by the Be You Programs Directory and more than 650 children have participated in it  to date. Find out more about it on the program pages.

What we cover

The Best of Friends® covers several social and emotional skills, including:

• Making and maintaining positive friendships
• Developing empathy and communication skills
• Recognising, expressing and managing emotions
• Negotiating and resolving conflict
• Working independently and cooperatively
• Increasing resilience and assertiveness
• Appreciating diverse perspectives
• Developing teamwork and leadership skills

The program includes a comprehensive 278-page workbook that contains five chapters with engaging stories and activities such as role-playing, cooperation, crafts, knowledge acquisition and fieldwork. These activities are all carefully designed to facilitate social and emotional learning (SEL).

Program structure and inclusions

The program runs for 10 weeks and includes:

• 10 sessions that last one hour each
• Small, multi-age, mixed gender groups with a maximum of four to six participants.
• Two x 30-minute online parent consultations 1x before and 1x after the program
• A copy of our award-winning 264-page workbook featuring interactive activities, facts, fieldwork and stories
• Weekly email updates with key program content and suggestions for home and school