Buddy Systems Around Behaviour Support

Buddy systems, or peer-to-peer frameworks, can be an effective way to encourage a culture of collaboration, interdependence, and support within staff teams.

By pairing a new or less experienced member of staff with a more experienced, established practitioner, or pairing colleagues with different experiences and expertise, there is the opportunity to reflect on current practice, share suggestions for strategies and techniques, and foster a coherent, joined-up approach to behaviour.

Download our planning templates to help set up a peer support buddy system in your organisation.

Tips for setting up a buddy system in your setting

1: Identify your ‘why’

Be clear about why you are setting up a system of peer-to-peer support and what you hope to achieve from it.

• What are the potential benefits for staff?
• How will it impact existing staff?
• What support will it offer new staff?
• What value can a buddy system add across your whole setting?
• How will the individuals you support benefit as a result?

2: Select the appropriate members of staff

It’s really important to give due consideration to staff pairings, taking different personalities, professional development needs, career stages, capacity and so on into account.

Forging a strong relationship built on mutual trust and respect is central to the success of any peer-to-peer support framework, so it is vital to take the time to identify which buddy pairings would work best.

Think in particular about how experienced and new staff can work together, ensuring that experienced colleagues can see that they can learn from less experienced individuals rather than feeling that their role is only to impart knowledge.

3: Decide on focus areas

Every setting, every staff member, and every individual is different, so it is important to take contextual information into account when thinking about how to prioritise behaviour focus areas, and to avoid tackling too many in one go.

Depending on the needs of the staff member, areas of focus can be decided between buddies.

For example, if the staff member is struggling with de-escalating situations, and this is having a detrimental impact on their daily practice, this might be a sensible starting point. Alternatively, they might be looking for ways to improve relationships with certain individuals, so exploring strategies for supporting this could be helpful.

However, while it is helpful for staff to feel empowered to focus on the areas they feel will have the most impact on their practice and, ultimately, the individuals they support, this may need guiding, particularly with inexperienced colleagues who may not recognise where they may need support.

It can be helpful to spend time identifying potential focus areas as a whole team to inspire staff when they decide what they feel they would like to develop further. Also, consider how to avoid making a member of staff feel they are perceived to be failing in any aspect of their work and instead encourage positive reflective practice.

4: Identify how to implement the buddy system

Once staff have agreed on an area of focus, the next stage is to consider how they will support each other.

• How will they work together? For example, will it involve observations and working together, or be delivered through dedicated meeting times?
• How will they record what they observe or discuss?
• Will the meetings be informal chats or follow a more formal structure?
• How will they record actions or personal targets?

5: Agree on timescales

Finally, you need to consider timescales.

• How often will they collaborate?
• Do you need to agree pre-set dates every term or half term, or is an ad-hoc approach in response to need more appropriate?
• Will the buddies stay together for a long time, or switch around periodically?
• How and when will you come together to review progress with buddy pairs?

Final thoughts about setting up a buddy system

Once you have agreed on the key elements of your buddy system, be prepared to make changes and tweak the process along the way to best fit the needs of everyone involved. Ask the buddies for feedback to find out if they are finding it useful and ideas to help improve further.

A buddy system is a practical tool for self-improvement, but it can also help to develop strong and trusting relationships between members of your team. It can take time and effort to create an effective system, but the results benefit the whole team and the individual you support.

If you’d like to talk to us about your needs when it comes to supporting behaviour in your setting, please get in touch any time.