Students picked for pilot peer project (From This Is Cheshire)

Students picked for pilot peer project

9:00am Saturday 7th July 2007

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STUDENTS at three Trafford schools have been selected to take part in the national Peer Mentoring pilot.

Stretford Grammar School, Flixton Girls High School and St Antony's Catholic College, both in Urmston will participate in the pilot, which is a two-year DfES funded programme taking place in 180 schools throughout England.

The project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of different peer mentoring models and to assess the impact that they are having on the students involved.

Head of year seven at St Antony's Catholic College, Janet Johnston said: "We decided to participate in the scheme so that we could improve teaching and learning at the school. We now ask the primary schools which feed into our school who any vulnerable pupils are and then we offer them one to one mentoring as soon as they join St Antony's."

Students across the area will put citizenship into action by working as peer mentors at their schools, tackling issues such as bullying, bad behaviour, transition to a new school, attendance, anger management and differences in language and culture.

Charlotte Ekin and Deborah Wynn are the peer mentoring regional co-ordinators for Manchester and Cheshire.

Charlotte said: "All the participating students have now completed their training and spent at least a term settled into their roles as mentors."

Deborah added: "Peer mentoring is proving to be an effective and sustainable way of tackling difficult and sometimes delicate issues. The feedback and commitment we're getting from both students and teachers is astounding. The results just speak for themselves."

The chief executive of the Mentoring and Befriending Foundation, Peter Collins believes that the scheme offers positive results for both the mentors and those receiving the advice from them.

He said: "The mentors gain great confidence from the training we provide and by accepting the responsibility of being a mentor their sense of personal worth grows resulting in improved motivation and an awareness of their role in society."

Alan Johnson (MP) added: "Peer mentoring provides valuable support to young people, helping them to deal with difficult situations they may be facing at school. It can also play a vital role in supporting young people as they make the transition from primary to secondary education. I am delighted that so many people have volunteered to become involved in the pilot which will help us to identify and share good practice."

Any school wishing to set up their own peer mentoring programme and requiring further information about a series of nationwide autumn term training days and the range of resources currently available should call Carla Sleaford at the Mentoring and Befriending Foundation on 0161 767 8600.

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