The Educator Magazine U.K. Jan-April 2023. - Magazine - Page 45
Like many schools, Greystones and
Bacon’s include pupils from conflict
zones with 10,000 Ukrainian refugee
children currently attending British
schools, along with 5,400 from
Afghanistan.
Schools utilizing peer mediation say
it gives pupils more confidence and
better communication skills as well as
creating a more peaceful environment
within the school.
Bacon’s and Greystones were chosen
for their innovative approach to school
mediation, ability to deal with conflicts
at school and the promotion of
mediation at school.
The judges found it impossible to
choose between the sixth formers of
Bacon’s College and the Year 6 students
from Sheffield, so the two schools share
the award. All Saints CE Primary School
and Five Acre Wood SEN School were
also shortlisted.
Greystones has been involved with peer
mediation on and off for 25 years,
originally as part of a pilot project
which led to the formation, by local
Quakers, of CRESST, the Sheffield-based
conflict resolution charity. CRESST
supports the school by training up new
peer mediators each year.
Their Year Six peer mediation scheme
is oversubscribed, with many of the
children having used its services
themselves in the past.
Headteacher Chris Jennings said of peer
mediation: “The personal development
of the children is at the forefront, but
also their ability to deal with some of
the complex situations and demands of
the world that they’re moving into.
“And that idea of being able to resolve
the conflict, to mediate for others, is
a really strong aspect of the whole
process.”
Children appreciate the confidentiality
of the scheme, rather than being
embarrassed in front of classmates,
and that peer mediators do not shout
or give punishments. They also feel that
unlike adults, peers support both sides
and take time to listen.
Some of those first peer mediators from
Greystones Primary are now young
adults who have carried their peer
mediation skills into adult life.
“I try to keep an open mind and will
often seek out an alternate opinion to
my own to try to better understand
something,” said one.
Another said: “Peer mediation taught
me about the rules of perspective and
how one chain of events can be
experienced so differently by each
individual involved.”
The peer mediation award was one of
16 presented at the event celebrating
excellence in mediation organized
by the Civil Mediation Council,
Family Mediation Council and College
of Mediators.