Expertise needed to support project establishment and delivery
The school community
Engaging the whole school community is a crucial component of Girls Talk – Guys Talk. This includes:
- The host school (the school in which the program is run). The host school commits leadership, support, resources, structures, and access to people across the school for the program. The school will also have a dedicated program contact person who is the liaison for the community lead.
- Students are the driving force of Girls Talk – Guys Talk. The program is based on their needs and wants with feedback and involvement captured through a Student Working Group.
- Parents and carers have a critical role in supporting students and building a supportive school environment. Girls Talk – Guys Talk endeavours to improve parent and carer knowledge of sexual health and raise their confidence when communicating with their children about sexual health and respectful relationships.
Community partners
In addition to the school community, community partners are critical in providing dedicated coordination of the program and support to the school. Community partners include:
- A lead community partner, responsible for coordination of the program.
- The local youth service, which ensures direct school and service linkages.
A range of other community partners are also involved in the program through parent information nights, professional development sessions, and mentoring the Girls Talk – Guys Talk Student Working Group.
Further information about the partnerships central to Girls Talk – Guys Talk can be found in the program manual.
Suggested length of time to run the program
Any health promoting school program needs a substantial amount of time and commitment in order to achieve deep and lasting change. Running a whole school respectful relationships and sexual health program like Girls Talk – Guys Talk means working across the curriculum, community and culture of schools in a planned and integrated way. For the implementation of a whole of school program to be successful, all partners must be clear on their roles, responsibilities and accountability to the program, which includes time commitment and resourcing.
Successful implementation of Girls Talk – Guys Talk has occurred over six terms in total, per school. A timeline and breakdown of activities for each phase of the program can be found in the program manual.