Shaping Peer Influence in Schools (with Anne Morris)

Episode Overview

Schools spend vast sums of money on new interventions, guest speakers, and external resources to influence student behaviour and engagement. But what if the single most powerful source of influence is already sitting in your classrooms, completely free and largely unharnessed?

In this episode, Jane and Jacqui are joined by Anne Morris—former secondary maths teacher and founder of Yippee Yap and PeerScrollernto interrogate the role of near-peer influence in education.

Peer influence doesn't ask for permission; it happens every day in every corridor, classroom, and playground. The question for school leaders isn't whether it exists, but whether the system is brave enough to shape it. We discuss shifting from "treating pupils as passive recipients" to "creating structural agency," managing the perceived risks of student-led influence, and why true cultural shifts require slowing down and noticing what's already in the room.

Key Thinking Points in This Episode

• The Influence Dynamic: Who actually holds more sway over a 13-year-old’s daily behaviour the adult at the front of the room, or the 16-year-old sitting next to them?

• The High Cost of One-Off Interventions: Why high-priced external speakers often create moment-in-time emotion rather than long-term, sustainable behavioral coherence.

• Systemic Trust vs. Risk Aversion: Why secondary settings often lose the cross-year leadership models common in primary schools—and how fear of risk prevents leaders from giving young people genuine responsibility.

• The Dual Benefit: How near-peer mentoring and structured interaction build work readiness, belonging, and identity for the older peer just as much as the younger one.

Headlines from the Head: Questions for Your Leadership Team

Take these three questions into your next SLT meeting to test whether peer influence in your school is structural or informal:

1. Where is positive peer influence already happening organically in our school? (Don't invent a new scheme—notice where it already lives).

1. Where are young people currently treated only as recipients of decisions when they could be active contributors?

1. What is one micro-opportunity we can create this week for older students to support younger ones without needing a 40-page implementation plan?

Connect & Resources

• Website: Explore Anne’s work on PSHE, personal development, and peer influence at www.peerscroller.com and www.yippeeyap.com.

• LinkedIn: Join Jane and Jacqui on LinkedIn to continue the conversation on the structural realities of school leadership.

• 
  

A note for school leaders:

If this episode brought a specific colleague to mind someone carrying heavy systemic pressure or grappling with culture send it to them today. Sometimes the support we need isn't another checklist; it's knowing we aren't the only ones navigating the difficulty.

Follow Being the Head on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to never miss an episode.