Verso for schools and educational institutions

Peer mediation for schools, vocational training institutions and learning communities.

What is Verso peer mediation?

Verso is a mediation programme developed for schools, vocational schools and learning communities, which emphasises the personal involvement and active participation of students. Since 2001 we have trained mediation in hundreds of communities all over Finland.

Peer mediation is an activity based on the expertise of children and young people, which reinforces peer-to-peer learning and places social skills at the heart of the process. The skills of conflict management and mediation learned at school carry on throughout life.

Verso in practice

  • Through the mediating approach of educators, the aim is to promote children's inclusion and life skills.
  • Peer mediators act as facilitators of a safe discussion, who do not have the power to punish or make decisions, but help the parties themselves to find a solution to the situation so that the conflict between the parties does not continue or recur.
  • Peer mediators are trained for their role, work in pairs and hold a peer mediator card.
  • Peer mediation includes name-calling, name-calling, nasty comments in person, behind your back or on social media, pushing, shoving, bullying, discrimination in the form of not being included in a game or group activity, trespassing or hiding someone else's property, disputes over the rules of games and play.
  • Peer mediators are always supported by a team of volunteer staff members trained by the VERSO programme. Verso-adults a team, which will always assess on a case-by-case basis which situations are referred to peer mediation and which require other school procedures.
  • If peer mediation does not lead to the desired outcome, the case is referred to adult-led mediation or another procedure available at the school.
A student wearing a Verso vest outside, photographed from behind.

The term school mediation is used as an umbrella term for all mediation within a school or educational institution. Peer mediation and adult-led mediation (RESTO mediation) are methods that are part of school mediation.

Mediation does not replace other methods of school intervention, but it provides a good tool for implementing child-friendly and early attention and handling of conflicts of different levels. Mediation also does not diminish school-home cooperation.

Read more:

Verso - peer mediation was part of the National Centre for Educational Evaluation (Karvi) project 2021-2022. evaluation of anti-bullying methods. The results of the evaluation the report is available here and the section on Verso starts on page 188.

Youth work in schools and colleges online publication (2021; ed. Heikki Kantonen, Anna-Liisa Hännikäinen-Uutela and Tomi Kiilakoski) describes a wide range of youth empowerment practices in the school world of the 2020s. The article opening the VERSO programme can be found on page 40 of the publication.

We monitor the effectiveness of peer mediation in the schools we train every year, you can read our statistical report in. Our research page.

In our trainings, we open up the background of mediation and restorative approaches, model the mediation process, share experiences and research findings, and help you tailor mediation activities to your community.

Ask more about our training courses!

Verso peer mediation training for schools and colleges

From students to mediators and staff to Verso mentors!

The peer mediation training pathway is structured around a school-specific start-up training package and maintenance training. We provide training both on-site and remotely, as required.

Demand for training is high and our training courses are calendared several months in advance. We are also happy to accept, at no extra cost, provisional bookings confirmed one month in advance.

Based on our more than 20 years of experience, the important things to consider when starting and maintaining a peer mediation activity are:

Three schoolchildren run outside wearing Verso vests.

a) Start-up training package

PART I Staff training
  • for all school staff, lasting about 4 hours
  • themes: everyday conflicts, mediation practices, restorative approach
PART II Training of mediators and Verso adults
  • for a selected group of pupils and adults Verso adults (adults in the school are responsible for the activities), lasting about 5 hours (usually from 9am to 2pm)
  • max group size: 20 students + all Verso adults
  • themes: the role of the mediator and the Verso adult, and Verso practices in schools

b) Maintenance training

With the maintenance trainings, we support the already established Verso activities by training new trainee mediators and Verso adults for their roles. At the same time, the whole learning community will be activated to maintain the mediation activities. The framework for our maintenance training is typically as follows:

  • approximately one year after the start of operations
  • training of new peer mediator trainees and refresher training for old mediators and Verso adults 5 hours
  • an additional 1 hour for updating the mediation data of all staff

Social and Health Organisations Assistance Centre STEA supports our activities. The subscriber pays only the school-specific co-payment.

We are happy to participate in infos, workshops, seminars, theme days, etc. on the theme of community and individual well-being and conflict management. We have also been developing and training mediation for dormitories, after-school clubs, carers, sports clubs, etc.

Important for starting up and maintaining operations:

  • The commitment of the management of the learning community to mediation.
  • An inclusive culture - Verso reinforces this!
  • Pupils do most of the work in Verso, but they are supported by at least 3-8 Verso adults, who may also be non-teaching staff (e.g. school counsellors).
  • A joint discussion and decision by all staff to commit to Verso.

verso@sovittelu.com
Training Planner Nelli Marjakangas tel. 040 150 4494

Contact us!

Listen to the Verso experience
Waves of mediation- from our podcast:

Episode 11:

Secondary School Versos

Episode 12:

Primary School Versos