How do schools use peer support?

Peer partnering is a scheme in which a pupil (often older) offers friendship to a child who is vulnerable. This could be for example, a child who is new to the school, one who speaks a foreign language or one who has been bullied. A number of schools in New Zealand use peer partnering to help third formers settle into the school. In this case seventh formers are carefully chosen to offer temporary (perhaps for a term) companionship. The schools involved say it's a successful way of helping children to feel comfortable in the school and it helps counter anti-social behaviour such as bullying.
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Article details

K Sullivan (2000) 'The Anti-Bullying Handbook', Oxford and New Zealand: Oxford University Press. For order details go here.
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Author details

Dr Keith Sullivan is based at the School of Education at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. Over a number of years he has been involved in anti-bullying research in New Zealand, Australia and the UK.
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