PEER MEDIATION Janine Edge

ELEMENTS OF A PEER MEDIATION SCHEME  Educating whole class/school on principles of conflict resolution  Soft skills training  Selection of mediators  The mediation process  Monitoring and record keeping NB Training can take from 6 hours to 5 days

SOFT SKILLS  Exploring feelings  Active listening  Communication skills  Recognising responses to conflict  Questioning

ISSUES SUITABLE FOR PEER MEDIATION  Friendship breakdown/exclusion  Arguments over games/school work  Alleged theft or borrowing of property  Bullying and texting  Corridor scuffles  Dinner queue conflicts  Name calling  Rumour spreading

WHOLE-SCHOOL APPROACH  Securing support from governors, local authority, teachers, parents (conflict audit)  Teacher preparation and training  Changing the school ethos from hierarchical and punitive to co-operative problem solving  Promoting peer mediation to pupils  Integrating conflict resolution into curriculum

BENEFITS OF PEER MEDIATION SCHEMES  Positive change in school culture  Reduction of bullying and conflict  Increased self-esteem of pupils  Improved academic achievement  Less exclusions and increased attendance  Teachers have more time to teach

WHAT IS DIFFERENT FOR LEGAL MEDIATORS?  Currency is feelings not money  No separate rooms for parties  No challenging by the mediator of the parties  Coaching by mediator of parties to express feelings and needs

WHAT CAN LEGAL MEDIATORS ADD?  Experience from the legal/business world  An outsiders freshness  Relieve burden from teachers  Training delivered pro bono?  Increase number of schools with peer mediation

HAZARDS FOR LEGAL MEDIATORS  Insufficient teaching experience (especially soft skills)  Resentment from teachers  Insufficient time for ‘whole-school’ or follow-up  Keeping discipline

HOW MAY LEGAL MEDIATORS AND LAW FIRMS BENEFIT?  Raise awareness of legal profession  Learn more soft mediation skills  Personal satisfaction in a new context  Increased contact with local community  Give rise to mediation work in the education field  Assist the legal profession in taking it’s own mediation medicine?

MODIFICATIONS FOR LEGAL MEDIATORS?  Training of one year only  Use simple legal role plays  Role play competitions, using scenarios  Advanced skills training  Augmenting peer mediation schemes NB SCRAM initiative of Western Australian Dispute Resolution Association

PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR LAWWORKS  Provides training for trainers, or more?  Which schools (private and/or state)?  Do schools pay anything and to whom?  Any new mediation work resulting?  Liability/insurance

RESOURCES  Special thanks to the Peace Foundation in New Zealand (click on ‘Cool Schools’)  Organisations teaching peer mediation in the UK:  For peer mediators:  Guidelines and reports: Best practice guidelines NSPCC Report on Peer Mediation in the UK (2004) s/peermediationintheUK_wdf48055.pdf