Peaceful Schools Project mid-Wales

The Peace Education project is an initiative of Mid-Wales Area Quaker Meeting. It stems from a concern about the increasing militarization of our society, and even wider to an awareness of the culture of violence that is embedded in much of our entertainment and expressed in bullying in our schools and on our streets. We offer to schools a 6-week, 1-hour a week programme.
We start with establishing ground rules - listening, respecting, sharing, confidentiality etc and then begin very basic conflict resolution work, starting with the individual and working outwards – feeling OK about ourselves, handling our own anger, then awareness of how overlapping and complex are our ‘in-groups’ and ‘out-groups’; then handling bullying and other people’s anger and aggression; awareness of different perceptions of situations, the challenges of decision-making; and progressing to the potential in co-operation and a more pro-active mediation. Much of the work is done with circle time, plus some work in small groups. We use a mixture of talking, sharing, exercises and games. We use quiet periods and mindful breathing to give pupils the skills to handle their own stresses, and stories to focus attention on particular issues.
The work is useful not just for schools which have experienced a problem with bullying but to give all pupils the skills to relate peacefully with each other and, potentially, beyond the classroom.