Narrabri High School CHIP: An Individualised Pathway to a Great Career
As part of a major school-wide initiative the Narrabri High School will be implementing a brand-new program to promote careers in the health industry. Dubbed the Careers Health Immersion Program (CHIP), it has been developed wholly by staff at Narrabri High School in response to the latest educational studies, research conducted by Narrabri Shire Council, and feedback from the Narrabri Industrial Network and local employers, to better meet the needs of students and the local community.
CHIP will run on a one afternoon week basis for 10 weeks commencing this term and will entail a combination of interactive workshops and workplace visits that will include a wide range of local and regional health agencies. The program will kick off with an interactive workshop conducted by representatives from the University of New England Faculty of Nursing, Narrabri District Hospital, and the Whiddon Group. This will be followed in the coming weeks, by hands-on activities at the Hospital, Whiddon and Jessie Hunt nursing homes, Healthwise, Gwydir Physiotherapy, Centrecare and the Gunnedah Mines and Rescue Service with additional presentations by the Aboriginal Health Services and the Hunter New England Allied Health Education Unit. Students will also be afforded the opportunity to participate in a first aid training while undergoing the program. Health was chosen as a focus area due to the record number of students this year who have applied for Hunter New England Area Health Service school-based nursing traineeships and the on-going shortage of nurses both generally and in aged care in particular.
Work has already begun on introducing a different careers-based program, similar to CHIP, every term each year. The school is currently planning an agriculture/primary industries program Term 4 this year and is looking at the possibility of another in the creative and performing arts field for inclusion next year. It is believed that these programs are the first of their type in any school setting. The aim, along with other initiatives within the school, is to provide a range of opportunities for students to explore their own individual career interests and options.
Last term the Science faculty began implementing the Careers Immersion Program with Years 7 and 8, where students visited various workplaces with ties to the junior Science syllabus and career opportunities in science-related fields. A number of studies indicate that when young people under the age of 15 are exposed to workplaces, they achieve significantly better life outcomes, both educationally and career-wise
These programs are only components of a far wider-reaching career education focus at Narrabri High to personalise pathways for students. To give an idea of the scale of the commitment, every faculty in the school is now engaged in embedding specific, reportable careers outcomes in its teaching throughout the curriculum: this will be for every subject, for every Year group, and will take a united, integrated approach based on the Australian Careers Blueprint.
“Programs such as CHIP cannot operate without strong community support” said Mrs. McInerney, Deputy Principal Programs at Narrabri High. “We are very lucky to have people in Narrabri and surrounding areas who are so generous with their time for the CHIP program to benefit our students and look forward to connecting with other key stakeholders in the future.”
