An Evaluation of an Anti‐bullying Peer Support Programme in a (British) Secondary School

In this paper Tony Hurst highlights that peer support programmes can contribute to the effectiveness of pastoral care by involving the pupils in the helping process and this can contribute to their personal and social development. He notes that there are a number of things that can go wrong with such programmes and that they should not be seen as an alternative to an effective traditional pastoral system. The main body of the paper describes the development and evaluation of a programme in a relatively large urban secondary school. This evaluation identified both the positive feelings of pupils and staff about the programme and the important contribution it made. Some issues and problems were also identified and as a result the conclusion includes a number of recommendations and summarizes the various valuable outcomes.