| introduction
What you will find here:
A Buddy System is designed to ease a new students’ transition into their school. It builds a unique relationship and link between the incoming students and the students in the last years of their schooling.
It also promotes the responsibilities given to the older students in their last years in primary school and develops and promotes social skills between these students.
Students are carefully ‘buddied up’ and work together over the school year.
A Buddy System is different to other cross age and peer support structures. However, other structures can support the values of our Buddy System.
Buddy Systems and Cross Age relationships
While many schools may use the concept of cross age mentoring/tutoring throughout the rest of the primary school this is not a ‘buddy system’.
- promote friendship and support between older and younger peers through regular collaboration between their classes
- fosters a sense of whole-school community by building unique relationships.
- participation of older students in positive, supportive, structured and facilitated one-on-one relationships with younger students
- create feelings of connectedness that enable both older and younger ‘buddies’ to bond more closely with their school
- provide a psychologically safe environment
- increase the likelihood of more positive school behaviour and less bullying.
- assist the younger students first year of schooling
- provide activities aimed at younger buddies
- older buddies are learning much by being leaders, teachers, and mentors to the younger students.
- schools are encouraged to extend a peer support structure to the rest of the school.
- At least three years age difference between younger and older buddies
- Same sex pairings
- Matched ethnic backgrounds
- Training for the older students
- Structured situation, at a given time
- Supportive teacher providing continuous education, direction and encouragement
- Support and reinforcement between the tutor and the tutee
- Feedback and correction given
For more information about Buddy Systems click here (PDF).
Many schools have buddy programs, but The Alannah and Madeline Foundation’s Better Buddies Framework is very different from most of these. Not only does it have the wonderful mascot of Buddy Bear, the brainchild of Maree Stanley and Michael Salmon, but it incorporates a range of additional components that have been identified in research studies as contributing to better outcomes in buddy programs.
One of these components is the provision of resource materials to train older buddies in peer support skills. Research studies have found that training to enhance the necessary skills helps students to be more effective in the role. In the Better Buddies Framework, they are given initial training in a range of social and support skills. They then use ongoing reflection sheets to identify any potential problems while they are buddies.
A second additional component is the inclusion of an ‘understudy buddy group’, a support group of four older buddies who work together to improve their peer support skills. An ‘understudy buddy group’ also provides a pool of students who can take the place of an older buddy who may be away from school for a short period or who has left the school. Younger buddies can feel sad when their buddy isn’t at school!
The Better Buddies Framework also focuses strongly on activities and strategies that reinforce positive and social skills and values such as care, valuing and support of differences, respect and inclusion. A range of engaging and varied activities is included in the Better Buddies Framework many of which link to core aspects of primary curricula. Older students and their younger buddies all benefit from their participation: the older students develop an extra sense of meaning and purpose through their work with their younger buddies while the younger students not only develop a strong, caring connection with an older buddy but are also assisted in their learning. Each activity in the Framework is categorised according to the resources needed, the social skills and values to be reinforced, the specific benefits for both younger and older buddies and ways to include Buddy Bear.
This revised Better Buddies Framework fills in many of the gaps that have been identified both in research studies and in observations, but which most of you will have identified in practice. We think you will really enjoy using this Framework and feel more satisfied with the outcomes for all students involved in your buddy program.
Helen is a senior lecturer in Education and Psychology at Deakin University as well as counselling psychologist in private practice. She has an extensive background in primary, secondary and tertiary teaching. Helen has published extensively and has authored or co-authored sixteen books including Friendly Kids Friendly Classrooms, Eight Ways at Once, Bounce Back! & Bullying Solutions.
Toni is a former classroom teacher now working as a senior University lecturer in education and psychology at the Australian Catholic University National. She is widely known in the education arena as the co-author with Dr Helen McGrath of many practical best selling teacher resource books. These books include Eight Ways At Once, The Seven Ways At Once, Different Kids, Same Classroom and the BOUNCE BACK!.
Maree Stanley
General Manager
maree.stanley@amf.org.au
Fiona Hudgson
Schools Officer
fiona.hudgson@amf.org.au
Heather White
Better Buddies Consultant
heather.white@amf.org.au
Kelly Oakley
Better Buddies Consultant
kelly.oakley@amf.org.au
NAB
Monster Productions Pty Ltd
Michael Salmon
http://www.michaelsalmon.com.au/
ACER
The Australian Council for Educational Research is one of the world's leading educational research centres, committed to creating and distributing research-based knowledge, products and services to improve learning across the lifespan in both formal and informal settings.
http://www.acer.edu.au/
For more information about these please visit the following links
Friendly Schools & Families
http://www.friendlyschools.com.au/
The Friendly Schools & Families Program offers practical guidance, a plethora of strategies for each component of a Whole-school Program (including ethos, policy and practice, physical environment, social environment, engaging families, learning environments and behaviour management) and tools to assist with their implementation, as well as case studies to demonstrate how other schools have tailored and used these strategies. The Program challenges and encourages schools to examine how their organisation, ethos, learning environments and responses to bullying inhibit this behaviour and enhance social skills. Key to this program is peer support for students such as buddy systems.
Circle Time
Circle Time is a democratic and creative approach used to consider a wide range of issues affecting the whole school community. The strength of circles is that they address values, attitudes and skills within a structured, safe and supportive framework.
http://www.wellbeingaustralia.com.au/CircleSol.html
Bounce Back
BOUNCE BACK! is based on the principle that it is important to start as early as possible to teach children and young people to cope with life. The program teaches the personal skills of resilience through the key learning areas. There is a special emphasis on Literacy, Science and Technology and Social Studies. The parent program shows parents how to reinforce the teaching of the same skills at home.
http://www.bounceback.com.au/
TRIBES
Tribes Learning Communities are safe and caring environments in which kids can do well! After years of "fix-it" programs focused on reducing student violence, conflict, drug and alcohol use, absenteeism, poor achievement, etc., educators and parents now agree, creating a positive school or classroom environment is the most effective way to improve behaviour and learning.
http://www.tribes.com/
You Can Do It!
You Can Do It! Education's main purpose is to support communities, schools, and homes in a collective effort to optimize the social, emotional, and academic outcomes of all young people. Its unique contribution is in identifying the social and emotional capabilities that all young people need to acquire in order to be successful in school, experience wellbeing, and have positive relationships including making contributions to others and the community (good citizenship).
http://www.youcandoit.com.au/
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