Learning through Friendship – Message from the Headteacher 31.01.25

Our assembly and theme for this week focused on relationships, friendships and the impact of feeling lonely. We seek ways to remind our whole school, not just the children, that friendships require hard work and things don’t always go smoothly, pretty much like any aspect of life. That’s ok – it’s how we react and what we learn from these moments that counts. We acknowledge and even celebrate that making mistakes is how we learn when we think of skills or academic practices, but we very rarely afford the same forgiveness when we make mistakes in friendships or relationships.  I am sure this is because feelings and emotions play a much bigger part, but perhaps it is useful to consider that this aspect of life, particularly when we are young, is a very difficult thing to manage and is probably the most fundamental of everything we learn!  We should apply the same approach, the same patience and tolerance as any time we don’t get something right. These are learning opportunities and should always be considered through the eyes of the child and not with the experience and feelings of an adult.

During the assembly we read a book about a girl who felt lonely. She compared this to feeling invisible and we stopped to reflect on what this might feel like, how certain actions can contribute to this and importantly what we can do to get and give help and support. Feeling lonely is not always about solitude, it can also happen when we feel different or misunderstood, something that can happen to us all at different times. We shared examples from all aspects of our life in school from feeling different because of how we learn or understand, how we might sometimes feel we are not being heard, to feeling excluded from a game or activity. These moments can occur as part of everyday life – we cannot always control our own feelings or how we react and interpret, and so often we are unaware of the impact of our actions and words on others.  We can impact the way other people feel without any intention or deliberate unkindness, it’s why we need to be able to talk through our feelings and learn to say sorry!

I shared the following reminders to hopefully help us all navigate those moments where our relationships need some care:

  • It is ok to have lots of friends
  • We sometimes have to work hard in our friendships
  • Try to notice and seek to understand other people’s feelings
  • It’s good to talk, tell people how you are feeling
  • Take responsibility for your friendships, they are important, look after them, give them respect.

Our approach to everything at BPS is about progress vs perfection. We understand and respect that we are human, and we won’t always get things right. We know these moments are learning opportunities and that every situation can be approached with empathy and kindness.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend, Happy Lunar New Year to families celebrating and welcome back the 6 Nations! No prizes for guessing how I intend to spend my weekend.

Open Morning Thursday 27 February

Our next Open Morning on Thursday 27 February.  You can tour the school on a normal working day and Headteacher Jon Chesworth will share Banstead Prep’s ethos, and vision for the future.

Book a place online now