Session 4: Peace among us
Introduction
‘Peace among us’ is concerned with developing schools as learning communities where each member can thrive. This includes staff as well as the children and young people, and can extend to families and the wider community over time.
Developing a whole school approach to peace among us can be a daunting task, so it is helpful for schools to explore the range of initiatives and approaches that are available. This session looks at peer mediation and UNICEF’s Rights Respecting Schools programme. However, other approaches are available. For example, there is a Schools of Sanctuary scheme for schools wishing to understand and support children and young people who are forced to flee their homes, and the Peace Schools scheme run by the Welsh Centre for International Affairs which offers a range of resources to support schools in Wales on their peace journey. Links to both these schemes are provided in the Course resources and recommendations [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] pages of this course.
By the end of this session, you should be able to:
- consider what peace might mean within your school community
- understand the core principles of peer mediation and its place in peaceful communities
- extend your understanding of QCEA’s Peace Competencies
- develop an overview of UNICEF’s Rights Respecting Schools programme.
Start with this video where Ellis introduces the session.

Transcript: Video 1
As you work through this session, think about what you could do within your sphere of influence in your school community. Whatever your role in the school – whether parent, meals supervisor, class teacher, headteacher – you might use this session to think about what you could do to help develop ‘peace among us’ in your community.