Peer Support: fostering student leadership

At Woodbury Boston, we work to empower our students in all aspects of life. School isn’t just about learning facts and figures — we want our students to feel capable, skilled, and secure.

And when it comes to our Year 5-6 class, Peer Support is one of the ways we do it. 

Building wellbeing

The Year 5-6 class is lucky. Their teacher, Mary, has undergone the Peer Support Teacher Training program through Peer Support Australia. The program has been around almost 50 years and it empowers students with practical skills to positively navigate life and relationships.

Peer Support works well at Woodbury Boston because the program places students at the centre of their learning. Working through the program with Mary, our oldest students work on the skills to develop:

  • Positive relationships

  • Agency

  • Sense of self

  • Responsibility for self

  • Responsibility for others 

Building resilience 

The Peer Support Program is an evidence-informed program that centres on peer-led interaction. We find it contributes positively to the school culture and promotes leadership, wellbeing, positive relationships, resilience, and good mental health.

At the beginning of Term One, our senior students attend Peer Support Camp. Unfortunately this camp didn’t go ahead in 2022 because of Covid — but the students did several days of Peer Support training on campus instead.

The students work through a series of workshops, games, role-playing activities and reflections, which allow them to learn more about their strengths. Not only that, they learn: 

  • How to be a strong bystander and a good leader

  • Conflict management and resolution skills

And our students put these skills to work straight away with their peer support groups as well as in their roles as school Carers.


Positive school culture

Mixed-age play is an important part of everyday life at Woodbury Boston. Our youngest students learn from Day One that they can count on the older students if they get stuck. The Peer Support program helps our senior students develop the leadership, compassion and problem-solving skills they need to help others as School Carers when they reach Years 5 and 6.

As Carers, our senior students know that younger students look up to them. It’s an important rite of passage for our year 5 and 6 students — one that they prepare for throughout Primary School. This responsibility fosters school pride, empathy, responsibility, critical thinking, and self-awareness. 

Strategies for life

Communication, conflict management, active listening, and negotiating healthy relationships are skills that we develop and hone throughout our lives. Thanks to the Peer Support program (as well as other school initiatives) our senior students leave primary school with a strong foundation.

If you’d like to support your child as they explore this new skillset, there are some great resources on Peer Support Australia’s website. And as always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the main office or with your child’s classroom teacher.

 

Recommended Reading

Woodbury Boston Primary School is a progressive independent school nestled in the bush between Denmark and Albany WA. We know that children learn best when they’re happy and having fun. With a strong focus on community, respect, independence and nature-based teaching, our students learn the Western Australian Curriculum and so much more. For more information or to book a personal tour, please ring 9845 1185.

Philosophy & Practice, Children, CommunityMartha Barnard-Rae