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In your own thoughts, share how having a good peer relationship supports the issue. Do you think it is too much for our children to take on these problems?

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In your own thoughts, share how having a good peer relationship supports the issue. Do you think it is too much for our children to take on these problems?

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In your own thoughts and words, how do you think Peer Support Relationship (PSR) in PCPS should feel and look like?

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In your own thoughts and words, how do you think Peer Support Relationship (PSR) in PCPS should feel and look like?

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What are some of the causes and issues faced by our students that urge them to seek help for school stress? How can a peer support system in schools help students with the issues they face?

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What are some of the causes and issues faced by our students that urge them to seek help for school stress? How can a peer support system in schools help students with the issues they face?

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Provide a listening ear

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(A) School Related
1) Academic-based (homework, examinations, projects)
2) Relationship-linked (issues with school authorities, friendship, bullying)

(B) Social Media
1) Competition with others
2) Unrealistic expectations
3) Online bullying

(C) Home front
1) Parent’s expectations

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The culture of care is the heartbeat of the school from which pumps our values of…

- mindfulness: being observant of one another’s well-being and intentionally keeping an eye on those around us

- empathy: taking the perceiver’s stance to put oneself in others’ shoes

- care: acting purposefully to serve others

… towards all who are part of this community.

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- be it bullying, peer pressure, simply managing stress and expectations from friendship, students need the skills to navigate these challenges
- relationship issues are the most common issue students these days - natural to seek quick-fixes to feel good
- youths compare themselves with others through social media and follow trends so as not to be left out/different - additional pressure to not be an outcast

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Family could be in ‘chaos’. No one to turn to

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Social media resulted students to have idealistic expectations of themselves & peer relationship.

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Some of the causes and issues include: complicated situations at home, divorced parents, lack of sufficient care. Peer support system can offer a listening ear to such students. These students may appreciate having a buddy to open up to.

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High expectations of self
Poor peer relationships
Poor Family relationships
No avenue for student to turn to
Bottling up emotions in oneself and not sharing with others.

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- family factors (unstable family, neglect, )
- school stress (academically not inclined, no one to help with school work at home, not motivated to learn)
- social media

HOW WOULD PS HELP?
- A friend looking out for another friend
- A friend helping to refer them to the trusted
adults
who can help them

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Unrealistic expectations from parents and social media.

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How can it help - To keep a lookout for students who are challenged and who may need more emotional support. The rapport built may help students to open up.

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Pressure from sch/home/self/peer
Social media exposes teens to unrealistic expectations e.g. body image
Cyber/physical/emtional bullying
All these affects sense of self-worth
Do not know how to seek help or do not even know how to spot the signs

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1. Students lack the knowledge to manage their stress and emotions themselves.

2. Students may be more comfortable to talk to their peers first.

Peer supporters can be our extra eyes and ears on the ground.

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Many factors that led to the students feeling overwhelmed. Parents are busy, no one to turn to, no friends, exam stress

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Family members are not "available" to hear them out. 

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Family members are not "available" to hear them out. 

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Inability to have a balanced lifestyle

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Latch key children.

No one to talk to.

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Peer support system acts as a good platform for the students to voice out their concerns or issues to their peers in a safe environment.

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Unable to cope with the demands. Students are worn out and their needs are not attended to.

Peers can understand and relate better.

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The child could feel a sense of security or belonging when there’s someone to hear, listen and help them.

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Parents do not know how to bond with children and develop a loving relationship with them

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This is a concern in our upper primary too.

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Both parents working until late at night.

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Does not communicate with family members.

PS provides extra pairs of eyes and ears. They can highlight students in need of help to trusted adults in school.

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Peers can help to look out for signs of those who may not be able to cope with their stress, and report it to their teachers to get help.

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- Some students are more comfortable to share with their peers instead of an adult
- Having a peer support offers students who need help a listening ear
- Peer support can also help to flag out serious cases to teachers

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Trusted peers, easier to voice out
Peers need to know how and what to surface out.

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Be mini teachers to be their ears and eyes among peers.

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Children relate better with each other. May feel intimidated with sharing information to adults

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Parents not equipped with know-how on how to deal with stressors related to teenhood.

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Parents not equipped with know-how on how to deal with stressors related to teenhood.

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Students will know and realize they are not alone

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Students may not be completely comfortable with sharing issues/problems with an adult. Having peer support system, students may feel more comfortable speaking with peers their age, going through similar issues at the same stage. They can console and encourage each other

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Children have no one to talk to and share about their feelings. They feel lonely and lost and mummies and daddies are busy at work. They continue to suffer in silence. 

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Children have no one to talk to and share about their feelings. They feel lonely and lost and mummies and daddies are busy at work. They continue to suffer in silence. 

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Having someone to share your worries with will help. If your peer is facing similar issues, it is also a source of comfort.

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Unpack from school values
Something that students can relate to
Example ways peer show care
Ways peer show mindfulness in support system
Ways to show empathy

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One cause that can be overlooked is that greater access given different avenues such as Tinkle Friend or SOS will naturally give rise to a greater number of reports…

Another issue is of privacy to speak to third party to vent out and at the same time maintain privacy on their identity

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Sometimes, a word of encouragement or an example from their peers works magic.

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PCPS PSR could start with Primary 5 students who have demonstrated emotional maturity. These students could be tagged to a teacher who can provide them any support needed. The psr could be refined along the way based on feedback.

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Students are open to share their true struggles

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Birds of a feather flock together

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Peer supporters have a positive disposition and is a cheerleader who can cheer their peers.

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Trusted friends to act on their behalf

Not judgemental. Listens and empathise

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Being more observant and mindful of the choice of words and being empathetic to each other’s feelings

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- EMC
- Being mindful to involve all friends
- Everyone knows who to turn to, if he/she needs help.
- Being mindful in speech and actions
- Know when to refer to trusted adults (i.e. teachers) if he/she doesn't know how to manage peers (e.g. suicide ideation)

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Feel like - build a culture of concern and care, where the intent of the care/actions are genuine
Look like - it is common for students to share their feelings/thoughts with each other

Students become the little “tweety birds”

Overall - no judgement and students feel safe and not bossy. Applying the best test too!

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Exhibit positive influence.
Adopt an altruistic attitude.

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Non-judgemental, to be able to differentiate between peers who really need help vs those who are doing okay

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Caring, trustworthy, reliable, helpful, able to relate to their classmates, good listener, observant, not prejudice against challenging classmates.

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Soft approach. Not get easily defensive.

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Soft approach. Not get easily defensive.

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Peer supporters should be observant and calm. Students should feel safe sharing what’s troubling them.

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Able to exercise discernment
Stay neutral
Approachable
Impartial
Non-judgemental

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Teachers are provided the bandwidth to role model how to listen and empathise

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Peer supporters to be the eyes and ears of teachers so that we can step in and help when necessary.

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Approachable
Warmth

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Should feel like a place that is safe and a ‘refuge’ . It should look like a ‘shelter’ from issues of life, from problems they faced.

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Be caring and empathetic
Know encouraging words

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PCPS PSR should start with Primary 5 students who have demonstrated emotional maturity. These students should have a teacher who can provide them any support needed.

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Teach students to look put for the signs

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There should be a lot of structure in place to create safe places. Play time together so that they are comfortable in sharing during play time.

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Confidentiality. We wouldn’t want the peers to go around sharing the info to others.

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Person in between students and teachers

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Role model care  and concern for others withba genuine heart. 

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Role model care  and concern for others withba genuine heart. 

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Teach them when they should report to teacher.

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listen with EMC and without being judgmental

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They should be in control of their emotions

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Depends on their maturity levels, and their emotional intelligence.

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- they can be the champions for one another!
Fighting*

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For lower primary, students might not be psychologically ready to identify their peers' needs, as they are still learning more about self and social awareness.

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How to carefully select the peer supporter to be able to make sound judgement when the moment comes

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How to carefully select the peer supporter to be able to make sound judgement when the moment comes

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Yes it can be too overwhelming for the .

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Team has to carefully select suitable students as some may not have the mental and emotional capacity to understand their friend's problems/issues.

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Children must be taught when to approach a trusted adult instead of shouldering everything upon themselves.

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Students in peer support group have to be mentally strong if not they may bring home their peers’ worries/problems and feel dejected for not being able to help or overwhelmed by negativity. There should be check-in on students in peer support group frequently

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Important to teach the students how to manage situations when friends entrust them with details of tricky situations

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Perhaps documentation is important. Students may forget what their friends share. It would be helpful to guide students on what to look out for.

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Peer supporters should also feel safe and secure to have the moral courage to inform a trusted adult when it is too much to take.

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It is important to show care to peers who are showing the support as well. Recognising that it can be taxing, teachers can be encouraging and recognise if they are not ready to be peer supporters yet. ❤️

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Some issues our students face might be very sensitive and triggering to the peer supporters and being children, although trained, they might not know how to process what is being shared to them.

My fear is that some negative thoughts and feelings might be too much to bear for a child or they might be easily influenced by those thoughts as well. So instead of being a peer supporter, they might be negatively influenced by the peers they are trying to help.

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Weekly check-ins by trs for PSLs.