DEEDEE: Hi, my name is Deedee. Your child is starting or has started a new school. You and they might be a little worried about what school will be like. You both are probably most worried about meeting new friends.

They might also have a lot of questions. What are some of the things they might be worrying about?

FLETCHER: Hi, my name is Fletcher. I have lots of questions. But I'm looking forward to meeting up with Deedee and talking in person. My first question: what will the school be like? I expect it to be really scary and big. And I'm not sure if I'm going to be accepted as a new student.

Will the other children be nice? I hope they're nice to me. I am unsure of that, because I've never met them. Maybe they have their own groups. Maybe it's going to be hard to join them. But I hope they're nice.

Will they like me? Well, I hope they like me. I hope they include me in their learnings and groups. And I hope they enjoy my company.

How will it be when I'm the youngest all over again? It's going to be kind of scary. Because it's like a fresh slate. And you have to do everything over again. But I can take it in, as a new start. And I can work on it.

Will the teachers be nice to me? The teachers, I hope they're nice to me, because I'm going to be with them almost every day of the year.

What if the children aren't nice to me what should I do? What I should do is probably talk to the teachers or an adult and get to know how, and what to do, to relate and get level with the other kids.

DEEDEE: A lot of children and their parents worry that transition means the end to many existing friendships. But some friendships will continue even though you're going to different schools. It is also an exciting time for children to make new friends. Hi, I'm Deedee.

FLETCHER: I'm Fletcher. There are a number of things that you can do to help your child make new friends. This includes doing things that build their self-esteem, confidence, resilience, and communication skills.

DEEDEE: Support your child to make new friends and remind them of the things that make them special.

FLETCHER: What do you think makes you special?

DEEDEE: What makes me special is, I feel like it's my personality and my confidence. Just because nobody ever has the same personality. It's always unique and individual. So I think that's what makes me and everyone else special.

FLETCHER: Yeah, I agree.

DEEDEE: What about you? What makes you special?

FLETCHER: I think that my personality, yeah and my unique ability range makes me special, and how I can make any situation into a funny situation.

DEEDEE: There is a booklet called "What Makes Me Special?" in the classroom activities pack. Your child might do this at school. But you can use it at home too if you wish. This, as well as some of the other resources in the school transitions resource pack, can help you and your child to identify things that make them great.

FLETCHER: You can work through this booklet with your child. Think about what you like about your child. Do you tell them what you like about them and how often?

DEEDEE: Now it is time to find out what your child likes most about themselves. This may be hard for some young people. So it is really important that you have some backup ideas to help them.

FLETCHER: So what do you like most about yourself, Deedee?

DEEDEE: The thing that I like most about myself is probably my sense of humor. Because I love cracking a good joke and breaking the tension. And I'm never afraid to make people laugh.

FLETCHER: Yeah. Feeling confident and good about ourselves helps us make good friendship choices.

DEEDEE: So what are you good at?

FLETCHER: I'm good at basketball. And I love to do magic. And I play lots of video games.

DEEDEE: Feeling confident also helps us say no to peer pressure and not wanting to hang out with people who make us feel bad about ourselves. Knowing who you are and what you have to offer--

FLETCHER: --is the first step in making and keeping good friends in a new school.