Is your child taking part in the Peer Support program? That’s great news: it means your child is about to make new connections and develop skills to support their mental health and wellbeing. You might be wondering: what exactly is this program, and what does it mean for my kid? Here’s what parents and carers need to know.
The basics: a student wellbeing program with a 50-year history
The Peer Support Program is a structured, research-backed student wellbeing initiative run in primary and high schools across Australia. It’s been operating for more than 50 years and is endorsed by state education departments, including NSW Department of Education, where it holds preferred provider status for resilience and belonging programs.
Peer Support is about students supporting students. It brings together older and younger students in small groups for weekly sessions focused on building the social and emotional skills that help young people navigate school life, and life beyond it.
How does Peer Support work?
Each year, schools select one of several themed modules to run across eight weeks. Topics are different for primary school and secondary school students but may include resilience, positive relationships, anti-bullying, optimism, and values. Sessions run for 30 or 40 minutes each week, for eight weeks, with students meeting in small mixed groups.
These sessions are led by trained senior students called Peer Leaders. A best-practice Peer Support program encourages all senior students to become a Peer Leader. It’s a brilliant opportunity for kids to develop and practice leadership skills in a safe space. Your school will support senior students with leadership training and ongoing guidance. The older students and prepared to guide their younger peers through structured activities and discussions.
A coordinating teacher oversees the program and supports the Peer Leaders, but the student-to-student dynamic is central to the program.
Two roles, one program
Every student in a Peer Support school plays a part, either as a Peer Leader or as a participant.
Peer Leaders are typically senior students, either in Year 6 in primary, or in Year 10 at secondary school. The program can be formative for some students, who may have never had a leadership opportunity in the past.
At primary school, every student usually takes part. The participants are younger students from across grades. This provides an opportunity for kids across grades to build new connections.
At high school, the Year 7 students form the participant group. The program connects an older students with new students, helping the Year 7s transition with not only other same-grade peers, but senior students too.
The program often has a profound impact on the school culture, because of the cross-grade connections it builds, and the sense of responsibility and ownership that older students feel to their school community.
Research into the program has found that 69% of younger students who participated reported greater feelings of acceptance and inclusion. This is particularly meaningful in the often-turbulent first years of high school.
The weekly sessions also teach social and emotional skills, such as how to have healthy relationships and acting with integrity.
What skills does the program build?
Whether your child is a leader or a participant, Peer Support is designed to develop a specific set of social and emotional literacy skills. These include:
- A sense of belonging and inclusion
- Empathy and active listening
- Resilience and the ability to bounce back from setbacks
- Self-confidence and self-esteem
- Positive relationship skills
Which schools run it?
More than 550 schools across Australia are current Peer Support members. The program is available to both primary and high schools, with tailored resources for each group. In primary schools, Year 6 students typically serve as Peer Leaders. In high schools, senior students take on the role to support incoming Year 7 students with the often challenging transition to secondary education.
What this means for your family
If your child’s school is running Peer Support, your child will participate as a Peer Leader or as a participant. Either way, they’ll be spending time in small group settings, engaging with meaningful topics, and building the kinds of skills that serve them well beyond the school gates.
You can support your child at home by asking them about the program, and what they’re learning. You can dig deeper by looking at the module they’re covering over the eight weeks, and reinforcing the learnings at home. This can be as simple as a family conversation about what makes a good friend.
