Peer Support Foundation of SA
Curriculum Statement
Home
Workshops
Philosophy
Basic Model
Benefits
Curriculum
Employment
Comments
History
Contact Details:
peersupport@mac.com
Kaye Iversen
Executive Officer
Curriculum Statement
The Peer Support Program has nine objectives which complement major goals underpinning Australian and South Australian education. The Program aims to give students the skills, confidence and positive self worth to enable them to develop leadership and positive relationships in their lives.The Program supports many aspects of the 'National Goals for Schooling in Australia', 'Foundations for the Future', 'Statements and Profiles', 'Key Competencies' and other DETE Policies and Curriculum Plans.
The objectives of the Peer Support Program relate to the second of the National Goals for Schooling in Australia, 'to enable all students to achieve high standards of learning and to develop self-confidence, optimism, high self-esteem, respect for others and achievement of personal excellence'.
The 'Foundations for the Future' declaration states it is our 'responsibility of schools to provide the foundations for students' intellectual, physical, social and moral development'. Students participating in the Peer Support Program develop interpersonal skills for personal, family, community and work environments.
The Peer Support Program fits predominantly with the Health and Physical Education Statement and Profile and can also be intergrated with Society and the Environment, English, and The Arts (Drama).
For Peer Group Leaders the leadership opportunity allows them to practise and gain skills in five of the seven Key Competencies:
- collecting, analysing and organising information
- communicating ideas and information
- planning and organising activities
- working with others in teams
- solving problems.
The Peer Support Program objectives assist principals and teachers with their responsibilities as outlined in the DETE Student Behaviour Management Policy to 'develop a safe, caring, orderly school environment where students are taught to develop responsibility for their own behaviour'; to 'enable students (C.P.C. Ð 12) to become proficient at decision making in groups'; and to 'continue to enhance their knowledge, understanding and skills so that they can successfully manage behavioural change'.
The Peer Support Program provides students with the opportunity to take an active leadership role, to be self reliant and develop their skills to be responsible for their own learning and the learning of other students around them. This links with the Student Participation Policy which states schools should 'provide opportunities for students to practise skills, participate in decisionÐmaking and take on leadership roles.'
The Antiracism Policy highlights the need to improve our interpersonal relationships with people of varying cultural and racial backgrounds. The small group methodology allows students to work together in a social setting, discussing issues from different perspectives.
The flexibility of the implementation model of the Peer Support Program allows it to be moulded by any school to suit the needs of the students and the school organisation. For example, this flexibility creates ways to support students through the junior secondary years. This Program has been identified in the Junior Secondary Review Report to have unique characteristics that need to be utilised by our schooling system and curriculum.
When training teachers in the implementation steps of the Peer Support Program, the Foundation outlines how parents can be involved. A school can therefore add another dimension to ways in which parents can become apart of their schools as outlined in the policy 'Parents and Schools'.
The Peer Support Foundation provides the skills, materials, and consultancy services for teachers' professional development in the above areas. Teachers who have attended our training workshop comment on how they use the skills from the Peer Support Program in their daily teaching practice.
It is evident that our Program complements and supports DETE's policies, philosophy, curriculum content and learning processes, benefiting students, staff and the school community.