In order for students to feel connected and engage with school, they need to feel “personally accepted, respected, included and supported by others, especially teachers and other adults in the school environment” (Goodenow and Grady, 1993)
Meaningful Relationships (teacher/student relationships and student/student relationships)
Spending time and attention on the development of meaningful relationships is crucial because these connections are associated with wellbeing and academic engagement. This is also an important emphasis in the Relationships Education statutory guidance from the Department for Education that comes into effect in September 2026. This care package is designed to support you in thinking about, planning, teaching and strategising around building meaningful relationships.
Microlearing with 7 TAPS
- Meaningful Relationships (for teachers) for when you have limited time and want to quickly find out about supporting the development of meaningful relationships
- Daily Quick Habits, Strategies, Connection Games for Belonging – includes exploration of ways to build connection with students
- Healthy friendships (for students) a resource to share with secondary students (check it works for your school context first)
CPD for Teachers
- Building Meaningful Relationships Relationships Between Staff and Students: acknowledging the challenges, what works, research backed suggestions and resources (CANVA VERSION)
- Building Meaningful Relationships Between Staff and Students: acknowledging the challenges, what works , research backed suggestions and resources (PDF VERSION)
Want to get a larger group of people on board thinking collectively about meaningful relationships between staff and students? Here is an adaptable interactive staff meeting for all staff which will be delivered by mental health/pastoral/SEND lead or anyone that feels confident guiding this material safely. Take time to read it through and digest before facilitating. Guidance for the facilitator is on page 2 of the presentation. Timing is approx 1.5 hours depending on what parts you want to leave out or extras you want to include.
In the Classroom (Breathe activity ideas / Lesson Plans)
- 5 Minute games, Check Ins/ Ideas for the Start of a Lesson – before rushing into lesson content, having time to build meaningful relationships with your students can set a more connected and upbeat tone for your lesson. Here are some tried and tested but secondary students could also create their own once they get the idea. Having some autonomy might be supportive in building trusted relationships with staff. Tried and tested new ideas could be shared throughout the school.
- Meaningful Relationships Lesson Plans adaptable lesson plans for KS3 that work towards statutory RSE objectives (sept 26) including; respectful relationships, different relationship styles/ ways of connecting and boundaries. This is designed to support thinking around both teacher/students and student/student relationships.
- 10 minute self- kindness audio practice for teachers -sometimes if we are stressed or disconnected from ourselves it is more challenging to be present and connect with others. This practice has been developed as an exploration tool to find out what might help you in stressful moments. What you discover can be applied to the classroom. Read the instructions first to check if this is right for you, find a comfy space and press play. This is not a tool to be forced on anyone by others but should be a choice.
