Meet Kezia Herzog – Former Peer Mediator Champions Peer Mediation Service

Meet Kezia Herzog – Former Peer Mediator Champions Peer Mediation Service

Kezia Herzog was the star of a video showcasing peer mediation at the CMC Conference. As a relatively new teacher and just three years into the role, Kezia had recently set up a peer mediation programme for children at Exning Primary School in Suffolk.

An alumnus of the peer mediation programme at Bacon’s College in South East London, Kezia reflected on the positive impact on her of the peer mediation programme that she had experienced at Bacons, ‘To be honest’ she said ‘I just assumed every school had one’.

Kezia’s own experience of being a peer mediator began in 2016 when aged 17 she was trained by Mel Bruce and Dave Walker, now at CALM Mediation.  Being in the 6^th form meant that she could use the free periods in her timetable to help other students resolve conflict. Kezia explained how the College’s ‘buy-in’ to the scheme was critical, not just to its financial sustainability but its influence on the whole school ethos. Kezia’s experience as a peer mediator also included benefiting from supervision and mentoring from Mel Bruce where peer mediators could speak about their cases and any patterns emerging.

Whilst at Bacons College and in addition to receiving referrals from teachers and children to the school’s peer mediation service, Kezia also engaged in mediation in the community where she accompanied Dave Walker to help resolve community disputes and her exposure to mediation grew.  Here she supported the resolution of a dispute between City of London residents and their local council and a separate case involving two Muslim community groups in relation to agreeing plans for an Eid celebration. Kezia recalls how she initially felt out of her depth but also how having a young person in the room seemed to help with the atmosphere.

Exploring that theme, Kezia went on to reflect how ‘young people have such a sense of honesty and justice. They can see things clearly and unlike adults, who may focus more on the consequences of their actions, young people are less afraid to say things which can move the process forward’.

After Bacons College, Kezia studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics at the University of York and ultimately undertook teacher training before being recruited as a newly qualified teacher at Exning Primary school.  When asked at what point she raised the prospect of a peer mediation scheme at the school, Kezia laughed, ‘I raised it at the interview!’ she said.

The reality of setting up the scheme had taken time and some soul searching.  ‘It was scary and overwhelming when the thing you have wanted for so long is here and I didn’t want to put pressure on the children to make it a success.’  Kezia was thrilled to receive ten applications from children to become peer mediators and in June 2023 Mel Bruce and Dave Walker visited the school providing three days of training to the children followed by a refresher in September and training to school staff.

The launch of the service was not without teething trouble Kezia explained. The mediation hut with fairy lights that she had created in the forest area of the school was initially a source of fascination to the pupils who exaggerated disputes to get a chance to visit it.  The hut was also used as a toilet by a local cat, much to the children’s glee and disgust, and careful cleaning made for an unexpected start to Kezia’s working day.  However, cases are now starting to come through and Kezia is delivering workshops involving role plays to all year groups so that there is a wider understanding of how mediation works across the school.

Hilary Cremin, Head of Faculty at the University of Cambridge and Kezia’s supervisor on her Masters degree in Education, has suggested that Kezia train the next cohort of peer mediators. Kezia had discussed with Hilary her instinct that all schools would benefit from a peer mediation programme and she shared with me a more recent reflection that not all schools may be ready for it. When asked why, Kezia noted that ‘Peer mediation requires a ‘power shift’ from school management to acknowledge the ability of children, with the right training, to resolve their own disputes. Conflict is natural and simply being ‘told off’ is not conducive to resolving it.  Mediation training can help to give children a sense of agency and influence over the outcome which promotes a more peaceful school atmosphere as well as mutual respect and empathy.’  A good grounding for the next generation.