Case Studies

• Greengate Lane Primary School, Sheffield
• Seven Hills Secondary School - Updated 2011
• Hunters Bar Junior School
• Shirecliffe Junior School (now Watercliffe Meadow)
• Carfield Primary School January 2012

Greengate Lane Primary School, Sheffield

The beginnings

The school was committed to a whole school approach and made sure that all stakeholders were aware and supportive of the activities.

CRESST and the staff at Greengate Lane worked together to identify a programme of activity that would address the problem and provide sustainable workable solutions.

This involved CRESST running their Conflict Resolution Education (CRE) programme, and training peer mediators to run a mediation service in school.

The training

A series of workshops and training sessions were run which included:

• CRE sessions with Y5 and 6
• Staff training on CRE
• Lunchtime supervisor training on CRE
• Peer Mediation training for Y5 and Y6

In the initial phase:

• 60 Children undertook the initial CRE training
• 40 Children undertook the Peer Mediation Training

The results

The Peer Mediation service is ongoing at Greengate Lane, and has become a permanent feature, with students in Y5 being trained to take on the Peer Mediation when they become Y6 students.

There are 10 active volunteers running the Peer Mediation service at any one time. The service is available to the 171 students of Greengate Lane, everyday. The 10 trained volunteers work in pairs on a rota basis, 1 pair per day.

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Seven Hills Secondary School - Updated 2011

The Beginnings

Seven Hills Secondary School (formerly East Hill Secondary School) works with youth with moderate and severe learning difficulties. The school learned about the CRESST training and was very eager to try and address many of the conflicts that arise between students during the day, particularly during the break times and playground activities.

According to Melanie Turner, teacher and PSHE coordinator, "Pupils struggle with resolving conflicts and problem solving, but this isn’t a reason to give up and not help them learn these important life skills."

All the staff at East Hill were eager to explore the CRESST training for themselves as well as for pupils in order to address some of the conflict issues that arise in school.

The Training

A series of workshops and training was arranged with the school

• Staff training on Conflict Resolution Education
• Staff Training on Peer Mediation
• CRE and Peer Mediation training for 20 students

The results

2007

14 students are now on the rota to deliver peer mediation during outdoor time, for the 120 students at East Hill. There are ten more students already volunteering for the next training.

For the past four or five weeks, peer mediators at East Hill have donned their bright red fleece jackets and watched for conflicts they may be able to help resolve.  All staff agree that fewer conflicts come to their attention than before.  Peer mediators are skilled in playing a role in successfully resolving conflicts that used to end up in offices of staff such as deputy head teacher Clive Rockliff

Some mediators expressed concern that this role would eat into their play time, but according to the East Hill Peer Mediator mentor, Tina Shirazi it is these same students that eagerly sign up for the next rota. This is in part due to East Hill's full support for the programme, the confidence and pride evident in the peer mediators, and the praise they get for their contribution.

UPDATE 2011

With a lot of changes taking place - a merger of two schools, a change of site planned for summer 2011 and a new head teacher - ongoing training from CRESST has been very important. Mrs Scott, the new Head Teacher, has been supportive of extending the excellent work of the school’s Peer Mediator Mentor, Tina Shirazi. Tina has worked closely with CRESST to include training for new teachers and pupils at the school.

 

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Hunters Bar Junior School

Hunters Bar Junior School wanted to extend their existing peer support,
Playground Friends have been a feature in the Junior School yard for some time.

In spring term 2007 the staff at Hunters Bar invited CRESST to school to train their existing Y6’s to become Peer Mediators.

The school took on a whole school approach to conflict resolution education with teaching staff and support staff being offered training. Parents were also invited to participate in a series of workshops.

CRESST returned in December 2007 to offer top up training to the Peer Mediators and staff. In the summer term of 2008 staff at Hunters Bar undertook the training of the next wave of volunteers. This time the existing Peer Mediators were involved to give the new volunteers a true taste of what it’s like to mediate amongst your class mates.

Here are some of the questions the Y5’s asked us after their training

Q: What if you don’t get your mediation finished by the end of playtime?
A: You can carry on next break or the next day.

Q: What if one person wants mediation but the other doesn’t?
A: You can’t force anyone to have mediation, but you can persuade them.

Q: What if the mediation doesn’t work?
A: Mediations don’t always work, sometimes it’s best to agree to disagree.

This year we had great success being Peer Mediators, and we all hope next year will be as successful. We would like to tell you all about the job and try to encourage others to take it up.

When we started training we were all excited and nervous knowing we were going to be Peer Mediators. The training paid off and all of us enjoyed it. We have used the training to help with our own problems and situations we get into and we hope we can carry on in secondary school and use the skills for the rest of our lives. We can admit that at the beginning of the year we needed lots of advice.

Being a Peer Mediator makes you feel important and you feel really good when the mediation goes right and you gain the trust of the disputants. You are recognised by staff and seen as a better person to them. It has been good working in pairs and has given us chance to get to know other people on duty as well as people in other year groups. When we are not on duty talking to the people we have mediated has helped keep our trust and help them continue to solve their problems.  As a Mediator you feel much more grown up and important as you are sorting problems and are talked to like an adult. We have learnt how to listen really well and people have opened up to us. We feel proud for helping friends and setting examples to younger children. Friends are now sorting out their own problems, so now we don’t get as many arguments and that’s what we were after.

Below are some vital pieces of advice:

Always keep calm. If you get stressed or frustrated the disputants will probably get stressed too.
Don’t take sides. Even if you know one of the disputants.
Never force anyone into mediation
Never gossip at the mediation. It will give you a bad reputation.
Never tell the disputant off. They will feel intimidated and not want to come back.
Always carry a pen and paper with you when you are on duty
Always be ready for an unexpected mediation. You will be thanked, and importantly may be asked to do more in the future

Although it may seem like fun being a Peer Mediator can have some down points like when mediation goes wrong and the disputants get angry with each other, or when you can’t gain their trust and they won’t tell you properly about the incident.

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Shirecliffe Junior School (now Watercliffe Meadow)

In January 2008 Shirecliffe Junior School was preparing to amalgamate with Busk Meadow Nursery and Infant School and Watermead Nursery and Infant School to become Watercliffe Meadow.

Linda Kingdon (Headteacher) and her team have worked hard to develop the culture of the school community: encouraging pupils to be caring, tolerant and understanding of others and developing a sense of responsibility.

As part of this work CRESST worked with staff and students over the spring term, introducing Conflict Resolution Education and Peer Mediation to their then Y5’s.

With the support of learning mentor, Kath Brailsford, and other key staff the peer mediators at Shirecliffe were already helping fellow pupils sort out problems on the yard during playtimes by summer term.

“The training has increased levels of confidence. They have successfully resolved many fall outs which might otherwise have developed into a more major incident. I’m very proud of our team,” says Kath.

The Peer Mediators themselves have told us what they think.

“Peer mediation is cool like a cat. Since we’ve been here the fishes have calmed down a bit. I would love to do it for the rest of my life.” Jay

“It is great being a mediator because I like to see smiles on everyone’s face” Liam

“Peer mediation is a great experience because it can help people with their problems and you learn things that will stay with you all your life” Lucy

“Peer Mediation is really good. You get a lot of respect and it is fun helping lots of different people with their problems” Amber

“Peer Mediation is cool. It solves a lot of problems and it ensures kids are safe” Ibrahim

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Carfield Primary School January 2012

Carfield Primary School agreed to take a whole school approach to Conflict Resolution and became a CRESST project school in March 2009. Work in the school started in the autumn term.

The school is delighted with the results and intends to continue their programme of peer mediation training with years 5 and 6.

School background

Carfield is one of the larger primary schools in Sheffield. The admission number in each year group is 75. There are slightly more girls than boys and 26% of the pupils (slightly above national average) are BME of mainly African heritage and this number is increasing as is the number of children who do not speak English as their first language. It lies in a suburb of Sheffield with mainly owner-occupied houses but includes an area of social deprivation. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is slightly below the national average, as is the proportion with special educational needs and/or disabilities. SATs results are good and usually above the city and national averages. 

Objective

CRESST’s aim was to help the school become a place where conflict resolution skills were learned and taken into the wider world. CRESST worked in partnership with the school, tailoring support to meet its needs but on the understanding that a whole school approach would be the most effective way to deliver the project’s ambitions. The school’s aim is to provide a good quality, creative and challenging environment in which every child enjoys and achieves and has the opportunity to reach their full potential. It was understood that pupils at Carfield already had a basic understanding of conflict resolution from the PSHE curriculum which used aspects of SEAL, Dorothy Dot Com and Circle Time.

Process

Julie Petty supported by Adrian Digby, the Deputy Head, and the PSHE Coordinator, Jo Beatson were key champions of the scheme.

The CRESST trainer and consultant was Cheryl Smart. The staff and other interested adults, including the community police officer, received a whole days training in Conflict Resolution Education on the 4^th September 2009.

All pupils attended an assembly delivered by Cheryl on Monday 14^th September following which year 5 and6 pupils were invited to make an application to receive training in peer mediation and take on a role as volunteer Peer Mediator in the school.

The peer mediation training took place over five afternoons week beginning 28^th September. Kay Johnson, teaching assistant, took on the responsibility of being the peer mediators’ daily mentor and coordinator and attended all the training sessions. Kay and Adrian have been central to keeping the project alive and sustainable. 

      "Since we introduced the peer mediation scheme, thenumber of incidents which adults have had to intervene in has dropped dramatically.       Each year we have more children who want tobe mediators and each year the mediators become increasingly effective."

      Adrian Digby, June 2011

Peer Mediators at Carfield Primary

Following CRESST’s initial involvement, pupils and staff have regularly attended the annual conference and networking sessions held by CRESST. Kay Johnson has also attended follow up training at CRESST’s office in central Sheffield. Ongoing support and advice have been available to the staff when required.

Current situation (November 2011)

There are low levels of exclusion and attendance is good. The recent inspection report (October 2011) was “Good with Outstanding Features” – Behaviour and Safety were considered excellent and the report observed that, “Pupils are caring and considerate towards one another. Key Stage 1 ‘walking wardens’ celebrate the sensible movement of their classmates, for example, and older peer mediators help to sort out any problems; they make a strong contribution to the school’s harmonious and friendly feel.” The school’s motto is “Together Everyone Achieves More.”

Evaluation

In November 2011, CRESST Coordinator, Cheryl Smart visited to the school to meet staff and children and find out how the Peer Mediation service has developed since CRESST first visited the school in September 2009.

Head Teacher Julie Petty – “The school’s peer mediation service has made a key contribution to the empathetic, caring community that was highlighted and praised in the recent OFSTED report.” “In some ways,” she observes, “I think the most effective practice is when the older children work with infants. I think it’s incredible to see them because they're not only resolving conflict; it's also like a family approach to sorting out children and guiding them and helping them play. It's quite touching to see that.”

“CRESST came in and did an Inset day for us and we took it from there and it's been running for 2 years and 1 term,” explained Deputy Head, Adrian Digby. “There are currently 28 mediators volunteering. They're working on the playground; there are at least two peer mediators on each of the playgrounds at playtime and dinner time so there could be 12 children out in a day.”  The peer mediators pretty much run things themselves, Adrian observes, “It's very rare for me to have to check up on them. I see them every day when they come to collect their [reflective] jackets from beside my desk so I see them at the beginning and end of playtimes.”

Many situations are resolved on the playground but the mediators have a room available where they can go if a more private discussion is needed. Adrian does sometimes listen in on these discussions. “Oh yes,” he says, “They're very good at it. I know they're well trained because of what they actually say.” This is backed up by the Head, Julie Petty, who adds, “Yes, if you overhear what they're saying, they're very effective!”

The school’s peer mediators are chosen at random but Adrian hopes to give as many as possible in the Year 5 group the opportunity to try their hand at mediation.  Has the school noticed that any of the peer mediators have particularly gained from the experience? There is an emphatic “Yes” to this question! “Some of the boys who have been less than confident have grown in confidence. And, with some of the boys who maybe have got into trouble in the past, it helps them to regulate their own behaviour as well as other people's,” notes Adrian. “In some of our older boys and girls who have taken on the role we've seen this tremendous growth in their confidence and their maturity as a result. It's been quite remarkable,” continues Julie. “As the parent questionnaires say, a lot of the children are better at handling problems outside school. Most of the parents have said they've noticed a difference in their children. Just to add that I chose some of the children because they were not very confident and they've grown in confidence. I didn't just choose children who can talk and talk but chose some who are quite shy.”

But have instances of bullying in the school decreased since the scheme was introduced? The head teacher has no doubts that they have and “Quite significantly in the last three years… if you look at bullying figures say for a school of this size, we've got 534 children and we may only have six or seven incidences of bullying per half term. That is quite remarkable for a school this size.”

Another benefit appears to be that staff within the school have fewer daily conflicts between children to resolve. “The peer mediators in Carfield are brilliant,” observes Adrian, “and if you want proof for it there aren't big long lines of children outside our rooms every dinner waiting to get told off by me and Mrs Petty so it definitely, definitely is working! They're especially helpful to the dinner ladies. In the year 1 and 2 playground and the 3 and 4 playground they set up games for the younger children. I was watching two girls and they were playing a sensible game with about 50 children. They'd got them all in a circle. And that's 50 children the dinner ladies don't have to watch.”

Teaching Assistant Kay Johnson picks up the story, “The children seem just as keen as when they began. They're really good actually. They come and find you if they've got something they can't handle or something they think is not right. They're a great help with the younger children. When we began we only did it in the Key Stage 2 playground but then we introduced it with the younger children. They help with little squabbles and with getting the children to join in with games.”

    As the peer mediators’ daily mentor and coordinator, did Kay have any regrets about the school taking this on. “No,” she says, “The children       are always keen to do it. When it's time for the training there are always plenty of children who want to do it and we don't get a high number     of dropouts. All of the Year 5s were trained up last year and they're all doing it now as Years 6s which, to me, says a lot.”

 And has she observed many positive outcomes? “We don't have figures but when you talk to teaching staff they say they are not having to     deal with so much conflict coming into the classroom after a break… we're glad we took it on. It seems to help a lot of the children mature    and deal with things themselves.”

 Looking to the future, Julie would like to see more work in partnership with secondary schools. “Because these children are moving from primary with these really good conflict resolution skills which would be very useful in secondary education,” she says, “it would be nice to let some older children observe how the younger children do resolve conflict at playtimes.” 

“To me it’s more about the life skill. It’s the skill that you train children to take out into society whereby they don’t always have to approach conflict with fists and feet. The pen is mightier than the sword. That’s the tremendous resource that’s being missed out of all this, that children go away with a life skill. We found in our school that whereas before there may have been incidents in the playground and the victim and perpetrator would both hurtle towards the teacher and stand there saying, “he’s done that” and “she’s said that” …Now you find that the minute you go up to a situation like that the children will turn and face each other and discuss it between them. And that, to me, is a huge life skill. How many adults can do that? Yet our children are very adept at doing that.”

Julie Petty, November 2011

The peer mediators themselves share the staff’s enthusiasm for the Peer Mediation Service. Here are a few things they had to say:

• I like being a peer mediator because it resolves the feud. There's no point in just arguing. The more you escalate the argument the less chance it's going to get resolved.
• I like being a peer mediator because it makes me feel good and because I can deal with problems better outside of school.
• I think the peer mediation service has been good for the school because the teachers can have a break from sorting problems out and we learn how to do it for ourselves.
• With the peer mediation it can help because you can just ask a peer mediator if you’ve just got a problem, just to tell someone. It’s best to tell someone rather than just keeping it to yourself.
• I sorted out a problem with my older brother and his girl friend. My parents told me it was really brave because they were having a really big fight and it had been going on for quite a bit.
•  Most of the people I’ve mediated, I’ve seen them use the skills with their friends and they’ve said “thanks for peer mediating me”.

 And is the Peer Mediation Service valued by those who have made use of it? Here’s what some of their young clients told us:

• I used it because I used to get bullied but it sorted it out, quite a lot. I found them quite easily because they had jackets on.
• I went into mediation because I used to get things said to me. The peer mediators were really helpful, they said how we could sort it out and we both came up with ideas and now I don’t get things said to me any more.
• I’ve once been in peer mediation with a boy. We had a fight in the playground. I told the peer mediators and they took us to a room and sorted it out and they wasn’t being bossy or anything.
• When I was getting bullied we told the teachers and they helped but it still carried on so we decided to go to the peer mediators, me and this little girl. I felt a bit more comfortable telling someone my own age. I’m not frightened to go and say “I’m being bullied; I need some help”. 
• The peer mediators are really good because if two people are speaking at once and you can’t really hear, they say “you can speak first” and they let you take turns.

 

 

        Matt Royston
Chair of Governors, Carfield Primary School

 

                         “We all come across conflict in our lives whatever we do
                     and if we embed that at a young age then all the better”

     

  “We’ve had the peer mediation scheme for about two years now. It’s something that we’re very keen to continue. Generally the behaviour of our children is very good. There’s a lot of mutual respect and peer mediation is something that helps with that."

“The children talk to each other and resolve their own issues. It gives them some valuable life skills. I think it’s working really well for us. I see it in my professional life as a policeman too. We talk about it a lot, the Betari Box* - how my attitude affects my behaviour affects your attitude affects your behaviour and it goes round in a circle. And if they’re teaching that at a young age like this then that’s brilliant.”

*The Betari Box is a model that helps us understand the impact that our own attitudes and behaviours have on the attitudes and behaviours of the people around us.

 

 

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