Oxford University Peer Support Programme

It’s good to talk: communicating in institutions

What is the aim of the workshop? To think about communication in our institutions To reflect on how we react and behave in certain situations, and how that might affect our communication To think about what we would like from people within our institutions with regards our peer programmes To share thoughts and ideas

Communication within Institutions Exercise The room is set up with 6 different ‘spaces’ as follows (use pictures and put up on walls around the room—see slides that follow): ‘Reflective space’ – represents nurture, self-care/comfort, a place to have alone time Colleagues– people with whom you work, either in your peer programme work or in the department/service which houses the programme Line management/supervision – a place where you can talk through the issues that are concerning you Concentrating on work – focusing your energy on training and supervising the students you work with through your programme. Setting up a meeting – setting up a meeting with person/people who have questioned your programme/raised concerns Family and Friends- a place to get support outside the workplace and/or get your mind off your worries :

REFLECTIVE SPACE

COLLEAGUES

SUPERVISION/LINE MANAGEMENT

PEER SUPPORT TRAINING

SETTING UP A MEETING

FAMILY AND FRIENDS

While the group is seated: Give the instructions for the exercise as follows: –I will be reading out three scenarios. I would like you to imagine that you have just learned of the concern addressed –Where would you go? –There will be a chance for us to hear from people in each group between scenarios –GROUNDRULE: no debating or interrupting Ask participants to move chairs to the sides of the room and stand in the centre of the room. Read out the following scenarios Imagine that you hear that people in your university are complaining about your training being too long, but no one has come to talk to you directly about this. Day 1, just got the news, where would you go? A week has gone by, where would you go? Now imagine that you hear from someone in your department/college/university that a student you are currently training has complained to them about training with you. You don’t have much information other than the student has said that the training is babyish and could be done in a couple of hours. You’ve just received the , where do you go? A week has gone by, where would you go? Now let’s suppose that the people in your university or department who originally approved funding for peer support have left, and some of the people replacing them are questioning the value of peer support, especially in these economic times. You find out this is happening through your line manager in a brief conversation. Where do you go? A week has gone by, now which space do you go to?

Ask participants to take their places again in the big circle, and open a discussion. 1) What was this exercise like for you? 2) Are there any other corners you would want to add? If so, what are they and how would they help? 3) How can we relate this to the experience of communicating within our institutions? Anne Ford Developed for the International Peer Programmes Symposium Gothenburg, Sweden June 2010

Brief overview of our experiences in Oxford this year, resulting in a meeting with people who both support and question peer support in the university. Questions we asked ourselves as a team are as follows:

QUESTIONS TO ASK OURSELVES What does peer support get caught up in politically, emotionally, practically? What gets projected onto peer support? Why might this be the case? How do we know when this is happening? What do we as trainers personally bring to the mix? What feelings might we carry when we are tired from term and under attack? How might this affect how we react and behave?

QUESTIONS TO ASK OURSELVES How do we ground ourselves in the work? Who’s responsible for communication? How do we think about the fear and competition that peer support engenders, and how do we help to alleviate the fears? What are fantasies around about peer support, and how do we help to reality check? Aim is to facilitate mutual supportiveness in colleges/universities— sometimes difficult when above questions are around but not verbalised

SERVICE AGREEMENT WHAT FIVE THINGS WOULD WE WANT TO SEE IN A SERVICE AGREEMENT? HOW WOULD YOU GO ABOUT PUTTING THEM INTO PLACE?