Our Peer and Youth Mediation service works in local secondary schools, primary schools, colleges, and universities to train students as Youth Mediators.
Download and Read: Peer Mediation Service Report 2022
What is Youth or Peer Mediation?
Youth Mediation is a restorative approach to remedy conflict between students by students within a school. This approach creates trust and rapport between the youth mediators and younger students being mediated as they can relate to each other.
The sort of issues dealt with by the youth mediators include:
• bullying
• fighting
• rumours
• social media & text bullying
• falling out / arguing with friends
• students returning from exclusion
• parent involvement in disputes
How Does Mediation in Schools Work?
At the start of each school year we recruit and train students to become Youth Mediators. Applicants go through a thorough selection process and, if successful, a 5-day training course and assessment.
Once trained, Calm Mediation provide the support and supervision needed for the youth mediators to deliver a mediation service for students throughout the school or college. Cases are referred by teachers via secure internal email and Calm Mediation allocates them to two mediators. Complex cases are co-mediated with a Calm Mediation mediator.
Cases are discussed at weekly supervision meetings.
Impact of Youth Mediation on the School Community
Youth mediation addresses behaviour without removing the student from the school environment. Students learn to resolve ongoing conflicts and bullying, and this enables them to focus on their academic work. Escalation of a situation, and exclusions may be prevented as behaviour and relationships with other students and staff improve.
The school community will benefit as conflict situations are nipped in the bud providing teachers more time and energy to direct in the right place, teaching children.
Bullying and conflict is reduced, exclusions decrease, attendance is improved.
Youth Mediators in the Community
Unique to our youth mediation scheme is the opportunity for the mediators to be involved outside school as co-mediators on community cases. In the past our young mediators have volunteered on cases involving residents’ groups, young people, anti-social behaviour, neighbours, and faith groups. Their support has been invaluable, and their maturity commented on by others present.
Because of this broad range of casework, youth mediators report increased confidence, leadership, communication skills and greater maturity. Mediation skills have helped students to stand out when they apply for university and jobs. Many have gone on to take up leadership roles at school and use mediation skills in the workplace.
Find out more
If you would like to find out more about setting up a Youth Mediation service in your school or youth mediation training for your students please contact Mel Bruce, the manager of our youth mediation service.
Contact us about Youth Mediation:
Telephone number; 020 7603 4014, Email; youth@calmmediation.org
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Bacon’s College in South London has provided our Youth Mediation scheme for their students for the past 13 years. We train sixth formers to provide mediation casework for younger students which can be more than one hundred per year. Our programme has been recognised nationally and internationally for its success and the impact it has had on the college. See Peer Mediator Awards