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Best of Friends

Quirky Kid Pty Ltd

Best of Friends is a social emotional learning program that helps children develop self-awareness, social skills, empathy, and conflict resolution abilities.

  • Online

Pricing: Paid

Origin: Developed in Australia for Australian schooling contexts

Affiliations: Approved elsewhere: Be You, SA

Product type: Program

Contact details

Quirky Kid Pty Ltd
ABN: 60 606 832 606

https://www.childpsychologist.com.au/for-schools/the-best-of-friends-program

support@quirkykid.com.au

Focus areas

  • Positive relationships

  • Belonging and inclusion

  • Bullying and cyber-bullying

  • Mental health literacy and life skills

  • Self-regulation and engagement

  • Self-esteem and body image

  • Respectful relationships and consent education

Curriculum alignment

  • Health and PE

  • English

  • Humanities and Social Science

Prospective users

Audience: Whole class universal (Tier 1), Targeted small group early intervention (Tier 2), Intensive individualised approach (Tier 3)

Communities: Neurodiversity or disability, Rainbow and LGBTQIA+

Context: School or centre-based, Outside School Hours Care (OSHC)

Main beneficiaries: Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, Year 5, Year 6

Delivery style: Classroom teacher is trained; Delivered by program staff

Aims & approach

The Best of Friends® (BoF) program follows a developmental sequence beginning with foundational skills and advancing to more complex social interactions. The program targets children aged 7-11 years and provides a structured approach to developing essential life skills through:

  • Engaging Storytelling: Features relatable narratives about four primary school students navigating common social and emotional challenges
  • Beautiful Illustrations: Visually appealing design elements that capture children's attention and enhance engagement
  • Interactive Workbooks: Individual student workbooks combining stories with practical activities
  • Comprehensive Teacher Resources: Includes program manual, activities manual, and age-appropriate lesson plans

The BoF program employs evidence-based techniques to build social and emotional competencies. This includes direct instructional methods such as modelling, behavioural rehearsal, coaching, and social problem-solving, and performance enhancement activities such as peer-mediated learning, performance feedback, rewards systems, and home-school communication.

The ultimate aim is to equip children with the knowledge, skills and confidence to understand their emotions, develop positive relationships, make responsible decisions, and contribute positively to their school community and beyond. By providing a complete set of materials with extensive implementation support, the BoF program offers schools an effective, curriculum-aligned solution for fostering students' social and emotional wellbeing.

Implementation support

  • Access to professional facilitator, instructor or mentor
  • Implementation training webinars or modules
  • Ongoing helpdesk, email or phone support

Evidence

The Best of Friends® (BoF) program is grounded in child psychology theory, aligned with the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) core competencies.

The program is designed specifically to align with the Australian Curriculum. Developed by Educational and Developmental Psychologist Dr. Kimberley O'Brien and the Quirky Kid team, the program draws on extensive clinical experience and academic research to support children's social and emotional development.