Side by Side is designed for shared reading with lower primary students to promote values understanding and discussion of intercultural and community relationships. It is a story about neighbours who visit each other, play together, help each other, and learn and grow together. And even though things change and different people come and go, shared values remain constant and ensure that these neighbours live happily 'side by side'.

The teacher notes offer questions and activities to support student learning and explicitly address the values that underpin a civil and friendly community: respect, tolerance, care and compassion, honesty and understanding. The teacher notes are supplemented with further materials delivered in PDF format online via the Values Education website.

Side by Side is part of the Values for Australian Schooling series of resources supporting schools in implementing the National Framework for Values Education in Australian Schools. It aims to:

- assist schools to provide values education in a planned, explicit and systematic way

- be inclusive of the whole school and wider community life

- establish safe and supportive teaching and learning environments

- support quality teaching congruent with curriculum outcomes with links to English, Studies of Society and Environment/Humanities, and Civics and Citizenship education

- build student understandings and social skills through exploration of cultural diversity.