Peer Support: Building healthy relationships

Peer support offers a unique opportunity to foster and support healthy peer relationships within a school community. Positive implications for students’ wellbeing, autonomy, motivation, and sense of belonging through the development of high-quality friendships (Deci & Ryan, 2000) are ultimately the goals of this programme.

In Summer Term, our Year 8 student leaders have worked with Year 11 mentors to prepare and deliver our Peer Support programme in the Middle School. It has provided insight into what leadership as service can look like, as well as emphasising the importance of positive role modelling. The maturity and open-minded approach of these older students has provided strong student voices as well as friendly faces for the younger boys to emulate.

The Pastoral Care Group (PCG) time at the start of each day has been used to deliver hands-on and engaging games and reflections with our Year 6 and 7 cohorts, led by our enthusiastic group of Year 8 and 11 students. Leaving the classrooms behind and moving out into the beautiful summer weather, each session was informed by a focus on shared experiences in a non-confrontational and casual setting. It was fantastic to see peers within and across year levels sharing stories and enjoying each other’s company. Most importantly, this has led to the boys knowing more about their classmates and better understanding themselves and others.

The opportunity to strengthen and further explore these links is something that students are looking forward to in the coming year. Having visited all Year 6 and 7 PCGs during Summer Term, opportunities for Year 8s to engage with the programme and to build upon links between year levels and across sub-schools is an exciting prospect. I congratulate the students leading this initiative – its impact is invaluable!

Mr Justin Shaw, Student Leadership and Turas Programme Co-ordinator, Middle School