It is common for disputes to break out on the playground when kids are at play.  Unfortunately, these disputes sometimes escalate – young friendships are destroyed and the issue might even become physical. 

A group of children at the Drayton Park Primary School in Highbury are hoping to diffuse these disputes and help kids work through their differences.  The kids have been trained as peer mediators and are working to reduce tensions among their fellow students. 

The fourth and fifth grade students were trained by the organization Quakers in Britain.  When a dispute arises, they take two pupils aside and help them talk through the issue at hand.  According to behavioral teaching assistance Carol Howe, “I think we took a whole new look at how we can empower our children in line with our school rules.  They really enjoyed doing it.  Mediating is a skill we need in life and we want to help them grow. ”

These peer mediation sessions follow a strict system of rules.  If a physical fight has broken out, adults must be involved in the resolution.  Children are not permitted to mediate disputes between children older than themselves and they are required to remain impartial, even if a mediator’s friend is involved in the dispute.

For two years now, the peer mediators have been elected by their peers and work on rotating basis.