We work with young people to develop crucial life skills and to explore concepts of peace and conflict.
We can help you set up a peer mediation scheme or introduce restorative approaches in the school. Support is also available for specific groups of young people who have difficulty dealing with conflict, to help resource them with alternative strategies for coping.
Whether its a drop-down day, workshops for a year group to complement PSHE and SMSC, or helping to refresh tutor-times, we can discuss support that will best meet your needs.
Positive Peace Groups
Positive Peace Groups run for 6 weeks, with small groups of approximately 6 young people who are at risk of being involved in youth violence or knife crime in particular. In these sessions we explore themes of peace and conflict within the young people’s lives and resource them to deal with conflict creatively and non violently.
Our Positive Peace Groups support young people who are seen as at risk of exclusion from school for social and emotional behaviour concerns, or at risk of becoming involved in violence or crime. We also work with groups of individuals who are at risk of violence towards themselves – such as self-harm or low self-esteem.
In Positive Peace sessions we explore themes of peace and conflict within the young people’s lives and help them to deal with conflict and peer pressure openly, creatively and non-violently.
Our approach is to focus on
- listening to young people’s experience,
- looking at what underlies violence and
- fostering a peacebuilding response in young people.
We listen to young people and their experiences and draw from our toolkit of peacebuilding and conflict resolution to offer strategies that can be discussed and examined by the young people.
These groups include one to one mentoring sessions alongside six weeks of working in a small group.
We have been running these courses in secondary schools in the West Midlands as part of wider projects to reduce youth violence and are now offering them as a stand-alone offer to schools. The pilot of our project Minus Violence Plus Peace (see links below) was extremely well received and successful, with positive feedback from the young people involved:
The groups aim to:
- Improve resilience amongst young people at risk or involved in life-threatening behaviour involving knives.
- Support at-risk young people and produce resources/campaign to raise awareness and share prevention messages.
Schools which would like to participate need to provide:
- The time for the interventions above to take place.
- One or two members of staff interested in the issue to support the work in school and to take forward any outcomes from these interventions.
Interested in finding our more? Please get in touch via email in the first instance to:
Peer Mediation in Secondary Schools
Increasing numbers of schools are establishing peer mediation schemes to build a safer, more peaceful environment for young people. Schools consistently report that mediation appreciably reduces the amount of staff-time responding to student conflicts, while the mediators themselves enjoy the responsibility.
We can help you set up a sustainable peer mediation scheme or refresh and maintain an existing scheme.
What’s Involved?
This is a typical pathway a school might take…
A SCHOOL GETS IN TOUCH
You might want to set up a new scheme in your school or refresh an existing scheme.
WE HAVE A MEETING
We’ll come into school and find out more about your school and share with you what’s involved in the training.
COSTS AGREED & APPLICATION PROCESS.
Bursaries discussed. Typically 24 pupils are selected by their peer group from those that apply.
A QUALITY 3 DAY TRAINING EXPERIENCE
Dynamic, experiential training course takes place for 24 trainees and lead staff member.
CROSS SCHOOL LEARNING
Support on ways to disseminate learning to the whole school community, including a staff briefing. Resource pack supplied.
EVALUATION AND FOLLOW UP
Course will be evaluated by the pupils, staff and trainer and a report shared with the school.
Get in touch to book Peer Mediation training for next term.
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.
- There is improved student behaviour and opportunities for classroom dialogue.
- Students develop confidence and social skills.
- Students develop stronger communication skills.
- Students experience support from a team.
- Students develop skills for life.
- Students experience the satisfaction of helping their peers.
- Students have an opportunity to resolve conflicts without involving adults.
- Students have the chance to have their point of view heard and understood and find a solution that works for them.
- There is a more peaceful school environment.
We are members of the Peer Mediation Network and adhere to its Best Practice Guidelines.
The course is interactive and engaging, using activities, drama, discussion, pair and group work to explore issues and build skills.
Professional Development
We offer staff training for teaching and non-teaching staff in schools.
