Pre-school PEERS Programme

This programme aims to develop skills to enhance positive peer interactions and friendship development for young children, encourage skill-building and how to educate and empower parents to be valuable social coaches for their children. Unlike other social skills programs, PEERS® for Preschoolers has a strong evidence base with numerous research studies supporting its efficacy in improving friendship skills for young children. With a strong emphasis on teaching ecologically valid social skills, children and parents will be taught strategies that have been shown to be effective in making and keeping friends according to research.

Like other PEERS® programs, PEERS® for Preschoolers uses a strengths-based approach with neuro-affirming principles. The focus will not be on exploring the challenges faced by the child, but rather on identifying their strengths, building upon their skills related to making and keeping friends, and identifying supportive and inclusive environments where they can thrive and feel accepted.

The purpose of any PEERS® program is not to change the person, but to enhance their social interactions so others can appreciate them for who they already are. This underscores the importance of intrinsic motivation and the desire to learn the skills taught in PEERS® for both children and parents, as the forcing of friendship skills upon unwilling participants would be unethical.

But just as the imposing of social skills programs upon those who do not want to learn them is unethical, it is also unethical to withhold the learning of friendship skills for those who do want to learn more. Essentially, the purpose of PEERS® is to help decode the social world in a way that is navigable to those who want to learn about the rules and steps that many use in making and keeping friends (PEERS for Pre-schoolers, Laugeson, Park & Sanderson, 2025).

We will be running the Pre-school PEERS from April-July 2026 (12 week programme).

One parent and one child to attend the whole programme.

Dates: Every Tuesday, starting April 14th– July 7th (break for half term on May 26th)

Time: 4.00-5.30pm 

Address: 21 Heathman’s Road, SW6 4TJ (5m walk from Parson’s Green tube)

Cost: £3500

Lead Facilitators: Leonie Kenny (Certified Pre-school PEERS clinician and Specialist speech and language therapist) & Kaylyn Smialek (Certified Pre-school PEERS clinician and Early Intervention Consultant). Leonie and Kaylyn will be joined by two associates who will assisting in the child group sessions.