Johnathan Thurston program inspires new generation of young women leaders in Narrabri

The Johnathan Thurston Lead Like a Girl program is changing the game for young women’s leadership at Narrabri High School.

As one of two NSW schools to participate in the remote Queensland-based program, it was new deputy principal Emily McInerney’s idea to bring the program to Narrabri after she saw it on the news and felt it was exactly the kind of opportunity that was lacking for our future women leaders.

“We wanted to run the program because we were missing an element from the girl’s side of it,” said Mrs McInerney.

“We’ve got the Clontarf academy for the boys running already, so the girls were missing out on having an opportunity to develop their leadership skills and make that connection with other students at the school.”

The program teaches three pillars: confidence, courage, and self-belief, and each week’s hour-long lesson consists of a chat facilitated by female mentors; Chloe Lhotka and Melissa Roberts who led the girls through trust and speaking exercises, designed to open students up and start a dialogue with each other.

Participating young women will develop leadership, teamwork, and key skills that will promote success through the girls’ lives and careers, as well as inspire them to explore personal development.

Teachers have already noticed a difference in students’ confidence levels as well as a positive influence on the 14 girls participating in the program.

“Student attendance has increased, negative behaviour in school has decreased, the students are attending classes and their peer relations have improved,” said Mrs McInerney.

“We’ve used data from the school to target students who might need that extra support and to help develop those skills, and hopefully those students will then step up into leadership roles in the school.”

This semester’s pilot program was sponsored by NBN and had such a positive response that NHS will continue to run it permanently from next year, targeting year seven and eight students.

“The hope is that the girls are developing their confidence and leadership skills, within that session which they can take out into the playground or the school or the community and pass on to younger students,” said Mrs McInerney.

“We put it out to all students who brought their notes back, and we’ve had really positive feedback, our data is showing that they’ve increased their sense of belonging and connections with staff.”

Games like ‘Would you rather’ or ‘traffic lights’ are fun and interactive exercises used for opening conversations about mental health, how safe the girls feel in their neighbourhoods, using social media, and their confidence in school studies.

The JT program is one of many new initiatives led by the NHS Aboriginal education centre, along with yarning circles and a weaving project, and keeping monthly community consultations to help develop new opportunities for the students.

“We want our students to be ready to get out there when they graduate high school,” said Mrs McInerney.

“That means having confidence, having a voice, and being able to be successful in the community and the school.”

“We’ve got a lot of pathway programs happening with our resources in our department and connecting with people like Careers Network and JobLink Plus and trying to give students authentic experiences.”

The sessions also include an acknowledgment to country, led by a different student each week, a focus lesson, and a debrief to see what the girls found positive or difficult.

Now, as the girls near the end of their sessions, they’re putting out the call to the man himself – Johnathan Thurston to come and lead a workshop.