The whole-school approach your staff can actually implement
Eight evidence-based components. Three delivery pillars: surveys, modules, coaching. From a $20 diagnostic to multi-year facilitated rollout — built on 25+ years of Australian research and seven randomised controlled trials.
23 research projects
7 randomised controlled trials
Hundreds of Australian schools
Friendly Schools shares the same evidence base as the NSW framework — the research that shaped both has come from the same program of work since 1999. The result: schools using Friendly Schools meet the framework’s requirements through their existing practice, not by retrofitting after the fact.
Three things, working together
Friendly Schools is delivered in three concrete pillars: a survey to benchmark where you’re at, modules to teach the curriculum, and coaching to embed the framework. Every pillar was validated in the OASIS research project (2021–2025) at The Kids Research Institute Australia — we’re scaling what the research showed works.
1 · Surveys
Map the Gap
A 30-minute digital review across the eight whole-school components. Your wellbeing team gets a benchmarked practice review and ranked recommendations the same day.
2 · Modules
The Library
The full Friendly Schools curriculum — year-level lessons, posters, family booklets, the Evidence for Practice guidebook — digitised and indexed to your Map the Gap priorities.
3 · Coaching
Embed it well
Optional one-on-one support: a wellbeing coach helps you sequence the rollout, train your staff, and work through the trickier conversations. Light-touch, on your timeline.
What 25 years of Australian research has shown
Friendly Schools is one of the most extensively researched school wellbeing programs in the world. Six numbers schools quote when making the case to their boards.
Australian students experience bullying
Year 4–9 students reporting being bullied at school. The problem is widespread and the evidence-based response cannot wait.
of bullying interactions have peer onlookers
Peer bystanders interrupt bullying within 10 seconds when they intervene. Friendly Schools teaches the bystander skills that work.
RCT to reduce cyberbullying anywhere in the world
The Cyber Friendly Schools trial (2008–2012) showed sustained reduction in cyberbullying victimisation through Year 9 across 35 Australian secondary schools.
academic-percentile gain from SEL programs
Meta-analysis of 213 SEL studies: students in evidence-based SEL programs out-performed peers by 11 percentile points academically, on top of wellbeing gains.
research projects since 1999
Every recommendation in Friendly Schools traces to a published, peer-reviewed Australian study. The body of work is open and inspectable.
Australian children, families & staff studied
From foundational primary trials in WA through national cyberbullying research, the evidence base spans schools, sectors, year levels and remoteness.
The product your school actually opens every week
Real screenshots from inside Friendly Schools. Click any tile to view full-size.
friendlyschools.com.au · Map the Gap Practice Review
The diagnostic dashboard
Score the school across 6 evidence-based components in 30 minutes. The platform ranks priority areas, analyses staff responses, and routes you straight into Insights, Recommendations, Action Plan and Compare views.
Run the $20 diagnostic →friendlyschools.com.au · Recommendations & Action Plan
Every recommendation routes to a real resource
The platform matches each of your school’s lowest-scoring components to specific Friendly Schools toolkits, family communication sheets and training modules — with one-click access to start each one.
See the full resource library →friendlyschools.com.au · Team Results
Track school progress — through student and staff voices
Segment tabs for each of the 8 whole-school components. Staff and students check in via the iyarn wheel — capturing both voices, weekly. Longitudinal charts show exactly where things are trending up, flat, or down — per segment, per week.
See weekly tracking in action →iyarn Pulse digitises existing Friendly Schools student voice activities. The same prompts from the FS curriculum, delivered as short weekly tap-responses rather than paper worksheets. Dashboards aggregate class and year-level trends against the 8 whole-school components. This is a school-wide progress-tracking tool, not an individual psychometric instrument.
The full Friendly Schools catalogue, online
Year-level lesson plans (K–9), the Evidence for Practice guidebook, Family Book, Cyber Leaders, Posters and 10-pack assemblies — digitised, searchable, and indexed to your Map the Gap priorities.
Browse the full catalogue →The $20 pilot shows you exactly this.
No sales call, no onboarding wait. Pay $20, log in, run Map the Gap with your wellbeing team, download the leadership report the same day.
Pick the depth that suits your school
Four subscription plans to scale with your school’s readiness — plus two standalone options if you’d rather build your own stack.
Map the Gap
A 30-minute digital review of your school’s current practice. Your wellbeing team scores across 8 evidence-based components and gets a benchmarked report with resource recommendations.
- 8 Whole-School Components assessed
- 48+ evidence-based strategies reviewed
- Benchmarked leadership-ready report
- Recommendations per priority area
- Completes in 30 minutes, team of 3–6
Digital Resource Library
The full Friendly Schools curriculum online. Year-level lesson plans, poster, parent booklet, and staff guide — indexed to your Map the Gap priorities.
- Small schools under 300 students: $400/yr
- Mid-sized 300–800: $600/yr
- Large schools 800+: $900/yr
- All year levels, all classroom resources
- Existing PDF purchasers receive $100 credit
Whole-School Approach
The complete Friendly Schools package — digitised curriculum, student voice check-ins, plus optional coordinated implementation support.
- Self-Guided $2K–5K/yr: Map the Gap, Digital Library, Teacher PD, Student Voice, email support
- Facilitated $8K–15K/yr: Everything above plus scheduled implementation coaching
- Tiered by school size
Student Voice Check-ins
Short, regular tap-check-ins that digitise existing Friendly Schools student voice activities. Dashboards aggregate responses by class or year level, showing where SEL themes trend up or down over time.
- Existing Friendly Schools activities, delivered digitally
- Mapped to Friendly Schools SEL areas
- Class and year-level trends, not individual assessments
- Completion tracking + certificates
Teacher Professional Development
Online modules for whole-school staff. TQI-eligible, progress tracked, and completion certificates for your teaching team.
- Covers the core Friendly Schools framework
- Understanding Social-Emotional Learning
- Responding to bullying effectively
- Building positive classroom culture
- New for 2026: how to use Map the Gap
Classroom Resource Packs
The original Friendly Schools classroom books, posters, and family booklets. Year-level coverage from Early Childhood through Year 9.
- Year-level books K–9 ($29.95 each)
- Evidence for Practice guidebook ($65)
- Primary Complete Pack bundle ($350)
- Secondary Complete Pack ($200)
What you get at each level
| Feature | Map the Gap $20 one-off | Digital Library $400–$900/yr | WSA Self-Guided $2K–$5K/yr | WSA Facilitated $8K–$15K/yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8-component diagnostic | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Benchmarked report with recommendations | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Full digitised classroom curriculum | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Teacher PD modules + tracking | — | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Student Voice check-ins + dashboards | — | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Email support + 1hr onboarding | — | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| 4-hour whole-staff training (on-site or virtual) | — | — | — | ✓ |
| Facilitated Map the Gap session | — | — | — | ✓ |
| Wellbeing team implementation coaching | — | — | — | ✓ |
| Quarterly check-ins with facilitator | — | — | — | ✓ |
Classroom Resource Packs (PDFs) and Teacher PD can also be purchased standalone via the shop.
What schools told researchers in the SSSK study
The Strong Schools Safe Kids project (2011–2014) ran a multi-year independent evaluation of Friendly Schools across 21 Australian schools. These verbatim quotes are from the published case studies. Schools are anonymised at their request; full case studies available on enquiry.
It gave us honest, open data from our students. Otherwise we would have been basing it on the assumptions we’ve got about our students — and they’re not always on the money.
To have someone who is independent and external touching base with you is a real motivator and makes you feel accountable, therefore things get done.
The most useful action has probably been the implementation of the Friendly Schools initiative within the primary sector. All of our teachers have run with it — that’s made a big difference with the bullying issues in the primary school.
Things schools ask before they buy
If your question isn’t here, get in touch — we reply to every enquiry within two business days.
What does the NSW Term 1 2027 mandate actually require?
From Term 1 2027, every NSW public school must operate under the new NSW Anti-Bullying Framework, which has four components: Responding, Preventing, Implementing and Partnering. Independent and Catholic schools are being asked to follow. The framework follows the federal Anti-Bullying Rapid Review delivered in 2025 — expect other states to issue similar mandates.
Friendly Schools is structured around the same evidence base as the NSW framework, so schools using FS already align by construction rather than retrofitting after the fact.
Can we start mid-year, or do we have to wait for Term 1?
You can start at any point in the year. Map the Gap (the $20 diagnostic) takes 30 minutes; the resulting practice review and recommendations are immediately actionable.
Most schools begin with diagnostic + planning in one term, then layer curriculum + student voice from the following term onward.
We already use Be You / a wellbeing program. Does FS replace it?
No. Friendly Schools is complementary to Be You, Berry Street, Resilient Youth, KidsMatter and most existing wellbeing frameworks. The 8 whole-school components and ACARA-aligned curriculum slot alongside what you already do.
Schools typically use FS to give their existing wellbeing work a measurable, evidence-based spine — not to start over.
How long does onboarding take?
For Map the Gap: a 30-minute diagnostic; reports back same day.
For Digital Library + WSA: typically two to four weeks from sign-off to staff being live in the platform, including a kickoff call and tenant setup. Whole-School Approach (Facilitated) includes scheduled coaching across the school year.
Can a school self-implement, or do we need facilitation?
Most schools self-implement using the Digital Library + WSA Self-Guided. The platform walks staff through each whole-school component, with classroom resources, planning tools and progress tracking built in.
WSA Facilitated adds scheduled coaching from the iyarn team, useful for schools without a dedicated wellbeing lead or schools tackling complex psychosocial-safety challenges.
Who actually owns the program inside the school?
Most successful schools have a wellbeing coordinator or deputy principal as the owner, supported by a small implementation team (3–5 staff across primary/secondary). The platform is designed for that ownership model: dashboards for the lead, modules for the team, classroom resources for every teacher.
Is Friendly Schools eligible for NSW Anti-Bullying funding?
Friendly Schools is being assessed for inclusion in the NSW Department of Education’s funded program list. We can provide compliance documentation and alignment statements on request to support school funding applications.
Why is Map the Gap only $20?
Because the diagnostic is only useful if every school can run it. We cover the cost of the platform; the $20 is administrative. There’s no upsell mechanism in the diagnostic itself — you get the full report regardless of whether you go further.
Schools that find gaps and want to act typically move to the Digital Library or WSA tiers. Schools that don’t still get a defensible practice review for their leadership team.
Aligned to the frameworks your school is already accountable to
NSW Anti-Bullying Framework MANDATORY 2027
The NSW framework’s four components — Responding, Preventing, Implementing and Partnering — align with the same body of evidence that has shaped Friendly Schools since 1999. Compliance is mandatory for NSW public schools from Term 1, 2027; Independent and Catholic schools are being asked to follow.
Australian Curriculum (ACARA)
Every Friendly Schools lesson maps to the Personal & Social Capability General Capability. The 5 SEL skill areas — Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, and Social Decision-Making — cover ACARA’s four elements (Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, Social Management).
National Safe Schools Framework
Friendly Schools maps to all 9 elements of the Australian National Safe Schools Framework — from leadership commitment through partnerships with families and community (Evidence for Practice, Fig 1, p.5).
Most schools begin with Map the Gap.
Thirty minutes with your wellbeing team. Eight whole-school components benchmarked. A leadership-ready report and a ranked list of priority areas the same day.
Self-serve · 30-day platform access · no sales call required
Evidence-based wellbeing for Australian schools. Built on 25+ years of research at The Kids Research Institute Australia.
Friendly Schools acknowledges the Whadjuk Noongar people as the traditional custodians of the land on which our work began, and pays respect to Elders past and present.
