🤝 Poems About Friendship Problems KS2 | Falling Out and Making Up Through Poetry
Friendship isn’t always easy.
Sometimes friends fall out, feelings get hurt, and things don’t go to plan — but those moments can make powerful poetry.
Poems about friendship problems KS2 help pupils explore emotions like anger, jealousy, and forgiveness in a creative, reflective way. They encourage empathy, teamwork and emotional intelligence — key skills in PSHE and everyday life.
Through this topic, pupils can:
💬 Talk about emotions safely through rhyme and story
📝 Write poems that show different viewpoints
🎭 Perform verses that promote understanding and kindness
🌈 Build empathy and vocabulary around friendship
👉 In my Poetry Days in primary schools across the UK I work hard to get the children excited about writing and performing their own poems. I visit over 100 schools every year and I’d love to work with your children and teachers.
📅 You can book me for:
-
In-person Poetry Days across the UK
-
Online Poetry Workshops (affordable and flexible)
➡ Secure your date here: Poets in Schools – Ian Bland
💔 If — by Ian Bland
This poem explores what it means to be a true friend, even when things go wrong.
If
If you can give me the answers
When I just don’t have a clue
If you could help me out
When I don’t know what to do
If you can make me grin
When it’s work we should be doing
If you could do my cutting out
My folding and my gluing
If you can make me laugh until
The tears run down my face
If you could let me use the rubber
In your pencil case
If you could fight the bullies
When they come to spoil our game
If you could take the heat off me
If you could take the blame
If you could have a sleepover
And always let me come
If you will always be my friend
No matter what I’ve done,
Then, and only then,
You can sit next to me in class my son.
👉 Homeschool Poetry KS2 👉 Poems About School Rules
💡 Activity ideas:
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Discuss how this poem shows loyalty and forgiveness.
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Pupils can write their own version of “If,” describing what a real friend does when things go wrong. 👉 Download: ‘If’ Poem Writing Framework
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Turn the final two lines into a class performance ending.
🔗 Related: Friendship Poems KS2 | Anti-Bullying Poems KS2
👉 Friendship Acrostic Poem Writing Framework
👉 Friendship Cinquain Poem Writing Framework
👉Friendship Haiku Poem Writing Framework
👉 Friendship Mesostic Poem Writing Framework
👉 FriendshipTelestich Poem Writing Framework
😔 I’ll Be Your Friend and I’ll Be There — by Ian Bland
A poem about sticking together when times are tough — ideal for circle time or assembly performance.
I’ll Be Your Friend and I’ll Be There
When you tell a joke and no one laughs
When you slip and fall in the swimming baths
When you trip in the hall and spill your food
When you get told off for being rude
When you lean too far and fall off your chair
I’ll be your friend and I’ll be there
When your test comes back with nought out of ten
When you smudge your work with your fountain pen
When you slide and fall down in the mud
When the teacher tells you you’re no good
When the whole class giggles at your new style of hair
I’ll be your friend and I’ll be there
When the bullies chase you in the yard
When the maths you’re given is far too hard
When you’re feeling blue and all alone
When others leave you on your own
When all you feel inside is doubt
I’ll be your friend and help you out.
💡 Activity ideas:
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Pupils create choral performances, with one voice reading the problem and the whole class replying, “I’ll be your friend and I’ll be there.”
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Link to PSHE: discuss what makes a supportive friend.
🔗 Related: Kindness Poems KS2 | Performance Poetry KS2
Get yourself a signed book!
😡 The Falling-Out Poem — New Poem by Ian Bland
The Falling-Out Poem
We used to sit together
And laugh the whole day through,
But now we’ve had a silly row
And I don’t know what to do.
It started over nothing much —
A football, or a game —
But now we’re both ignoring
And both of us to blame.
I want to say I’m sorry,
But pride gets in the way,
I’ll probably just text him first —
I don’t know what to say.
We’ll probably make up tomorrow,
And both pretend we’re fine,
But next time that we argue —
I’ll try to draw the line.
💡 Activity ideas:
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Pupils brainstorm real friendship problems they’ve seen or experienced (keep it light and safe).
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Write short “making up” poems showing how small gestures can repair friendships.
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Role-play reconciliation as part of an assembly.
🔗 Related: Feelings and Emotions Poems KS2 | Growth Mindset Poems KS2
💬 Two Sides to Every Story — New Poem by Ian Bland
A perfect way to explore different viewpoints in a friendship fall-out.
Two Sides to Every Story
He said I pushed him first,
But that is not quite true,
I only nudged his elbow,
He pushed me — wouldn’t you?
He said I called him names,
But that was just for fun,
He shouted back much louder,
And then the tears begun.
Now everyone has taken sides,
The playground’s split in two,
But deep down we both know the truth —
We’ve got some making up to do.
💡 Activity ideas:
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Write a poem from two perspectives of the same event.
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PSHE link: empathy and conflict resolution.
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Performance idea: two readers alternate verses like a dialogue.
🔗 Related: Dialogue Poems KS2 | PSHE Poems KS2
🧩 Writing Your Own Friendship Problem Poem
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Choose a situation — a misunderstanding, argument or lonely moment.
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Write from one person’s point of view, then switch perspectives.
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Use rhyme or free verse — whatever fits the emotion.
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Include a resolution — how can it be fixed?
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Perform the poem with two voices or a class chorus.
🔗 Related: Friendship Poems KS2 | Feelings and Emotions KS2
👩🏫 Teacher Pedagogy Notes
Curriculum links:
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English: narrative poetry, figurative language, empathy in writing
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PSHE: friendship, relationships, anti-bullying, teamwork
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Drama: performance and role-play
Differentiation:
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Support: use writing frames with sentence starters.
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Challenge: write from multiple viewpoints or include internal monologue.
Engagement:
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Ideal for circle time, Anti-Bullying Week, or PSHE display poems.
🌟 Final Thoughts
Friendship isn’t always perfect — and that’s what makes it interesting to write about!
These poems about friendship problems KS2 help pupils explore conflict, emotion and forgiveness in creative ways.
👉 In my Poetry Days in primary schools across the UK I work hard to get the children excited about writing and performing their own poems. I visit over 100 schools every year and I’d love to work with your children and teachers.
📅 You can book me for:
-
In-person Poetry Days across the UK
-
Online Poetry Workshops (affordable and flexible)
