Buddy partnerships allow students at school to experience a connection with a variety of pupils at different levels. All students will be given the opportunity to experience being kind, considerate, caring and a valued member of Sacred Heart school. Buddy partnerships support students in experiencing a welcome from the very beginning, particularly during times of transition.
The benefits of a Buddy program are twofold; the older children learn to take on responsibility, while the younger children know that they have a fellow student they can confidently turn to for support.
The Buddy program helps to promote relationships and support between older and younger students through regular collaboration between their classes. This fosters a sense of whole-school community and creates friendships that enable both older and younger ‘Buddy’ to bond more closely with their school. This increases the likelihood of more positive school behaviour for all students.
A successful Buddy program lets the children know they are capable of building relationships and capable of showing care with their buddy partner.
Aims of the program
- To assist students in supporting their peers
- To listen to and work with students in a positive, supportive environment
- To develop students’ social skills to enable them to get along with others
- To develop positive relationships for students across the school
- To develop students’ feelings of compassion and empathy with others
- To develop responsible student behaviour
- To develop cross-peer collaboration
Program Details
Each year our new Prep students are buddied with a students in Year 5. This allows the buddies to develop their relationship over a 2 year period as Year 1 & Year 6 students.
All new students to the school in Years 1-6 will be buddied with a classmate by the class teacher to support their transition.
P/5 and Yr1/6 buddies will meet formally during the first semester for 30-40 minutes for organised activities eg. introducing Preps to the school routines and programs, reading books, helping with their literacy and numeracy tasks, indoors and outside games. During the Prep Transition period, Year 5 Buddies play an important role in familiarising Preps with the playground, ensuring they feel secure at recess and lunchtime, and assisting them in understanding routines and practices in the playground. The buddy times continue during the second semester.
Organised buddy activities will alternate between buddy classrooms, with teachers working collaboratively in selecting and planning buddy activities designed to develop positive and supportive relationships.