Peer mentoring proves popular at Leamington school
North Leamington School’s supportive schemes for pupils have been recognised by a national peer support organisation.
In recognition of its established peer mentoring programme, the school has been selected by the Mentoring and Befriending Foundation as one of 150 schools across the country to take part in a National Mentoring Pilot. The pilot specifically addresses mentoring in the context of anti-bullying but also looks at its wider application in school communities.
As part of the scheme the school receives Department for Children Schools and Families funding to further develop mentoring projects, has help to evaluate the project, and is offered opportunities to meet with representatives from regional schools to share experiences and ideas.
In seeking to develop a ‘whole school’ approach to peer support, the Student Support Team at North Leamington are constantly looking to identify and put into effect a range of methods to help pupils work together to overcome emotional and social issues to create a positive and supportive learning environment.
For the past three years students have been involved with a project called SOS (Students Offering Support) in which selected pupils from year 10 help new pupils with the transition from primary school. Following success of this scheme it is to be expanded to include all pupils from years 9 and 10 who will receive coaching to recognise their responsibility to support each another.
The school also plan to introduce a team of SOS Surfers who will be available during school break times for any pupil who wants to talk - and a small team of older students will be available to respond to emails from those pupils who may not feel comfortably meeting face to face.
The school has found peer support to be very effective for pupils who would rather speak to other students, however members of school staff are always on hand and ready to listen to any student who may need them and have systems in place to provide support or link to other services for external advice if necessary.
Jeff Greaves, Pastoral Care Manager, leads the programme at North Leamington, he said: “We are extremely proud of how our students have engaged with the peer mentoring initiatives in place at school and we are really pleased to be involved in this great project which allows us to share our experiences with other schools.
"The regional meetings stimulate thinking around the need to develop practice to support students and the evaluation tools are incredibly useful to allow us to map progress and change.
“We are currently looking into developing mentoring systems even further and in the new academic year the school is planning to introduce vertical tutoring which will offer more opportunities for different year groups to spend time together and build relationships.
“All our support methods help ensure our pupils are happy and supported through any issues they may face. It gives them confidence that someone, whether this is one of their peers, a member of staff, or another professional, will be there to help them meet challenges.”
Cabinet member Izzi Seccombe, Portfolio Holder for Children, Young People and Families said: “North Leamington School has made excellent progress in developing peer support programmes for pupils and is benefitting greatly from the further support offered through the pilot.
Such programmes have been shown to improve relationships between pupils by nurturing empathy, understanding, and responsibility to bring positive outcomes for mentors and mentees.”