Schools Peer Mediation

Many people heard about us first in school!  We have been working in the schools of West Sussex since 2002 and since then we expanded to work in schools across the South East. To date, we have reached over 20,000 children, 600 school teachers, and partnered with 70 schools with the skills and message of peer mediation.

Peer mediation is a conflict resolution technique that trains school children as volunteer mediators to work with their peers. In each school we help staff and students set up a Peer Mediation Scheme through which the volunteer mediators work with their peers to help resolve low level conflicts, address bullying, and prevent fights. The curriculum-based scheme is supported by school staff who also receive mediation skills training.

Our Peer Mediation in Schools Programme has proved to be a powerful, positive initiative because it offers effective life skills, conflict resolution tools and support to anti-bullying strategies.  A key aspect of the schools programme is sustainability - we aim that all schools where we work for 18-30 months will be able sustain their peer mediation schemes with minimum support from us.  We use a whole school approach - we have discovered that these simple, transferable skills need to be practiced and lived by everyone in school if children are to catch their value.

At schools where PM has been introduced, staff report many positive changes, including:
- a more relaxed and positive learning environment
- reduced staff time in dealing with pupil conflicts
- a reduction in the incidence of behavioural problems and bullying
- a reduction in truancy