We have been working with primary schools in the West Midlands for over 30 years and have worked with thousands of children in that time.
We know each school is different, so in addition to our established courses listed below, we can work in a more bespoke way, according to the needs of your school.
Learning for Peace Package
Putting peace at the heart of your PSHE curriculum to enrich SMSC throughout the school. This package of support for teachers and children will refresh your circle times, through a structured, but flexible approach.
Building a culture of peace
What’s included?
- A planning day with your SMSC/PSHE lead to help plan regular Peacemaker sessions into your curriculum from Reception to Yr 6. Together we will look at your existing plans and other whole school initiatives so that this work dovetails existing priorities. This includes Rights Respecting Schools, Global Learning, Growth Mindset and Values Education. We believe these initiatives can help each other rather than work against each other.
- A twilight or half day training to kickstart the project with all staff. This will introduce the theory and the approaches and demonstrate effective circle time for all pupils.
- Classroom modelling with pupils. Our trainers will come and run a circle with every class in your school to show how the sessions can be structured and facilitated.
- Classroom mentoring for staff. We will join in a circle with every class, facilitated by the class teacher, and give constructive feedback. We also give opportunities for staff to ask questions and reflect on their practice.
- Final twilight or half day training. This provides an opportunity to reflect on what has happened during the classroom sessions, and to give further training on particular themes of interest to staff [for example understanding conflict].
- A copy of the book for every year group.
What people say about learning for Peace
Peacemaker Courses
Eight, weekly sessions to help children learn peacebuilding skills through circle time.
Pupils develop social and communication skills, emotional literacy and techniques for responding to conflict.
Peacemaker courses can bring enhanced focus to a school’s PSHE and SMSC curriculum. The courses teach children skills for life, develop wellbeing and strengthen relationships in the classroom. One trainer works with a class for an afternoon a week. Our trainers are highly experienced and will develop a programme according to the needs of the class, drawing on tried and tested techniques and approaches. Courses are usually 8 weeks. Click on the links below for research to support the need for this work.
Becoming Peacebuilders
Y6 ~ Up You Go!
Peace Explorers~out and about
RESTORE
What people say about Peacemaker Courses
Click here for a teacher’s reflections on how the Becoming Peacebuilders course impacted two children in her class:
Today there was an incident and to see that he actually didn’t get cross, didn’t have a strop but got on with his work was fantastic.
We don’t get statements like ‘Sam can’t do that’ any more. He is actively participating both in and out of the circle. He is not sitting back.
Peer Mediation Training
Support and training to build a peer mediation service in your school.
Children are trained as mediators to help resolve conflicts on the playground.
What’s included?
- Support pack for the school to help prepare pupils and staff for mediation. Click the button below to download.
- Planning meeting to talk through the process and what is involved.
- Training for 24 pupils over 3 full days [this may be reduced to 2 days in schools where pupils have been involved in a Building Peacebuilders course at school].
- Peer Mediation Coordinator included in the whole training [more are welcome].
- Lunchtime supervisors invited to part of the training [usually an hour].
- Optional staff briefing to introduce the service to the wider staff team.
- Certificates for trained mediators.
- Follow up session plans for the Coordinator to support the mediation team once we leave.
What are the benefits?
- Staff spend less time responding to incidents during and after lunch.
- Staff have a greater understanding of students’ experiences and relationships.
- Improved student behaviour and opportunities for classroom dialogue.
- Children develop confidence, social and communication skills.
- Children develop skills for life.
- Children experience the satisfaction of helping their peers.
- Children have an opportunity to resolve conflicts without involving adults.
- Children have the chance to have their point of view heard and understood.
- Children get the chance to find a solution that works for them.
- There is a more peaceful school environment.
- Schools consistently report that mediation appreciably reduces the amount of staff-time responding to student conflicts, while the mediators themselves enjoy the responsibility.
What people say about Peer Mediation
Peer Mediation Plus Training
Peer Mediation Plus (PM+) trains the school staff as well as the pupils.
What’s included?
PM+ is a package of support for Peer Mediation which takes the work more deeply into the fabric of the school and is designed to maximise the chance of the scheme being sustainable in the longer term. PM+ seeks to address this need from the outset by offering a comprehensive package of support that includes:- A pupil workshop for the year group from which mediators will be selected. This allows those pupils to fully understand what peer mediation is and what they are volunteering for.
- 3 days of peer mediation training for up to 24 pupils.
- Training for Lunchtime supervisors [2 hours].
- Resources to support the Peer Mediation lead.
- Invitation to join a network of PM leads led by Peacemakers
If you’re interested in PM+ please contact the office to discuss costs/timings.
What are the long-term outcomes?
- Relationships [ie pupil-pupil, staff-staff, staff-pupils, staff-parents] are strengthened in school leading to improved levels of trust and confidence in each other. Relationship between Peacemakers and school is established so we can start the journey towards being a peaceful school.
- Skills – Children develop the skills of mediation and can apply them at school and in their lives. Staff develop a deeper understanding of non-punitive ways of managing conflict, and peace. A shared language is developed between pupils and adults.
- School culture – mediation is reflected in the school’s wider vision with an emphasis on relationships and the modelling of positive behaviour strategies by adults in school.
- Transfer of skills – children who use the mediation service to talk through their conflicts, acquire the language and attitudes modelled by the mediators and this impacts on the wider school community.
- Sustainability - mediation is valued as a key element of a thriving school, with necessary investments made to sustain the project beyond a change in school leadership and beyond our initial funded interventions.
Junior Peacemaker Workshops
Excite and motivate your pupils to build peace at school and/or the local community with a one day Junior Peacemakers workshop.
What are Junior Peacemaker Workshops?
Workshop Themes
What people say about Junior Peacemaker Workshops
Junior Peacemakers Workshop guide
This resource is available to help you run one of our workshops yourself.
Click here to download the resourceJunior Peacemaker Events
We sometimes offer Junior Peacemaker workshops at venues around the West Midlands. These events enable you to bring a small group of children together with children from other schools. This group are supported to become a team of Junior Peacemakers and take their learning back to school. Keep an eye on our events pages to see if we have one on offer.
Events