How do schools use peer support?

Key statement

There are many different ways in which schools can use peers to support and even to help prevent bullying. Some of the main approaches involve older children acting as befrienders, mentors or counsellors.

A Cautionary Note About Using Peer Mediation
Mediation can be a very useful way of helping people to solve disputes or relationship problems. However, bullying involves a serious imbalance of power and in such circumstances the mediation process may be exploited by a bully and used as another opportunity to upset the victim.
(Andrew Mellor)

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Comment

Schools are increasingly seeing peer support methods of various types as being central to their anti-bullying policies.

At present, the best source of information about this is a book by Helen Cowie and Patti Wallace - 'Peer Support in Action: from bystanding to standing by' which was published by Sage in 2000.
(Andrew Mellor)
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Do you want to find out more?

More 1 - peer partnering
More 2 - peer mentoring
More 3 - Italian befriending scheme
More 4 - British study involving 51 schools
More 1 - 4 on one page!
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