Global recognition for Zippy’s Friends: new OECD review
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has recently published a review examining international best practices in mental health promotion and prevention for children. The report, OECD (2025), Mental Health Promotion and Prevention: Best Practices in Public Health, explored evidence-based approaches from around the world to identify programmes that make a measurable difference to children’s wellbeing and can be successfully adapted across different cultural and educational settings.
Zippy’s Friends was featured as a strong example of an effective, scalable social and emotional learning programme. The review highlights how the programme helps children aged 5–7 recognise and express feelings, manage conflict, ask for help, and build resilience - key life skills that support both wellbeing and learning.
The report’s key observations about Zippy’s Friends include:
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Evidence of impact: Children who take part in Zippy’s Friends show measurable improvements in emotional literacy, coping skills, and positive classroom relationships.
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Support for teachers: Educators report greater confidence in supporting children’s emotional wellbeing and embedding social and emotional learning in daily teaching.
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International adaptability: The programme’s structure allows it to be delivered successfully across diverse countries, languages, and education systems.
This recognition from the OECD reinforces Zippy’s Friends as a global best practice in promoting children’s emotional wellbeing and resilience. It provides further evidence of the programme’s lasting impact and its relevance to schools and communities worldwide.
Read the full observations about Zippy’s Friends here: Zippy’s Friends: Mental Health Promotion and Prevention | OECD
Full report here: OECD (2025), Mental Health Promotion and Prevention: Best Practices in Public Health, OECD Publishing, Paris.
