Buddy Program

The aim of Karoo’s Buddy Program is to create friendly and caring primary school communities where strong cross-aged peer relationships can be built and maintained. The Buddy Program helps students to develop positive social skills. The activities focus on core values such as friendliness, responsibility, respect, caring for others, valuing and supporting difference and including others. The program is specifically designed to help children understand and use these values in safe, supportive social settings. At Karoo every Foundation student is paired with a Year 5 student, a relationship that continues into the following year as they become Year 1 and Year 6 respectively.

Our Buddy program:

• eases the transition into school of younger students
• builds relationships between peers and multi-aged groupings
• provides activities that develop essential social skills
• encourages leadership, responsibility and respect in older students
• enables youger children to feel safe and cared for while older children feel valued and respected
• fosters a sense of whole school community
• extends and enhances a peer support structure already implemented at the school through other programs.