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 Peer Mediation Programme

Peer Mediation Scheme is a whole-school approach where older pupils are trained to help younger children resolve conflicts without adult involvement. Twenty selected Year 5-6 students complete a 9-hour mediation training and then take turns mediating playground disputes during break times. Peer mediators handle low-level conflicts only, and refer more complex issues to school staff.

This programme is an initiative of Wandsworth Mediation Service, a London charity with over two decades of expertise in dispute resolution. For more information, please get in touch.

Introducing peer mediation leads to:

      4 reasons to introduce peer mediation in your school:

      • Proven success record: We are a Civil Mediation Council-recognised peer mediation provider. Our programme has been successfully implemented in several London schools since 2020. It has recently been modernised with support of educational specialists.
      • Saves staff time: By empowering pupils to manage conflicts independently, peer mediation saves valuable staff time, enabling teachers to focus more on teaching and less on resolving arguments.
      • Enhances PSHE curriculum: The scheme aligns with key PSHE objectives, helping children understand and regulate emotions, develop negotiation and assertiveness skills, and maintain positive relationships both in and out of school.
      • Long-term support: We will supply a comprehensive resource pack, including rotas and records, and stay in regular contact for smooth implementation. After the first term, we will host a supervision session to help the peer mediators refine their skills.

      Participants

      A minimum of 10 and a maximum of 20 students can enrol in each course, typically from Year 5 or 6. Participants are chosen based on an application process. Pupils keen to participate submit a form to their teachers, and the school then selects those they believe will benefit most from the programme.

      Outcomes for the peer mediators:

      • Increased emotional awareness: developed understanding of what conflict is, how it can escalate, and ways to manage it effectively through recognising underlying thoughts, feelings, and needs.
      • Developing mediation skills: such as empathetic listening and win/win solutions. Learning about peer mediators’ ethical standards, including impartiality and confidentiality. Practising various mediation scenarios and recognising when and how to ask adults to intervene.
      • Increased assertiveness: through exercises that focus on identifying and eliminating blame talk, using body language effectively to build rapport, and navigating conflict situations with emotional regulation techniques and a focus on facts and feelings.
      Close up hands with pen writing on notebook.

      Peer mediation costs and timing:

      The programme is usually funded by the school or through grants and donations. When we have sufficient funding, we offer it to state schools at no cost.

      The scheme is implemented through:

      • 1-hour workshops: Each Year 5 class participates in a workshop that introduces the programme and invites students to apply.
      • 9-hour training for mediators: Delivered in three 3-hour sessions (typically weekly), concluding with a 30-minute launch event to present the programme to the entire school.
      • 1-hour staff training: For all teaching and support staff, to cover the practical aspects of the scheme.
      • 2-hour supervision session: Held a few months after the training, this session allows mediators to reflect on their practice and identify areas for improvement.

      All sessions are delivered through a range of highly interactive activities, role plays and games, with very little writing.

      Check-list for schools

      • Choose champion. To ensure successful implementation, the scheme needs support from the entire school community, including teaching and support staff, pupils, and parents. Please appoint a ‘Peer Mediation Champion’ who will engage staff, ensure mediators follow their rotas, and act as our main point of contact.
      • Find a suitable rom. We ask the school to provide for each session a quiet room with space for participants to move around, plus a projector or interactive whiteboard for presentations.
      • Complete impact forms. This courses is grant-funded and provided at no cost to state schools. To fulfil our reporting obligations, we ask that the Peer Mediation Champion promptly completes our pre- and post-implementation evaluation forms.