A NEW program designed to improve outcomes for young indigenous men is already showing positive results, according to Dubbo College Delroy Campus principal, Stacey Exner.
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Yesterday saw the official launch of Dubbo’s Clontarf Academy, an initiative of the Clontarf Foundation which uses football as a vehicle to develop disciplined, purposeful and healthy lifestyles.
While the program was new to Dubbo, it had run since 2000 and now catered for about 3000 boys in 59 schools across WA, NSW, NT and Victoria. There were 100 Dubbo students engaged in the program.
“I’m very excited for the students and for Dubbo College, the uptake has been unbelievable,” Ms Exner said.
“It started at the beginning of term for students at Delroy and South campuses and it will open to Senior Campus next year.
“The students train twice a week in the morning, they are picked up, train and shower and have breakfast.
“Already we have seen increased engagement, attendance and self-confidence”.
Also at the launch was Gerard Neesham, a former coach of the Fremantle Dockers Australian Rules football club who has been the Clontarf Foundation’s WA-based chief executive officer since 2000.
He said Dubbo was expected to have more participants than any other academy.
“We hope to have nearly 200 by the middle of next year and 400 long-term.”
While rugby league was an integral motivator within the NSW program, the initiative was about much more, Mr Neesham said.
“Don’t tell the kids it’s not all about footy,” he joked.
“It’s about everything else. It’s about school, its about education, discipline, life skills, self-esteem and employment prospects.”
The academies used the existing passion Aboriginal boys had for football to attract them to school and keep them there. Six locally-based Clontarf staff mentored and counselled students at Delroy and South campuses and provided support for those who would otherwise not attend or would attend school infrequently. Upon graduating from the program, students were helped to find employment.
The foundation claims to have a 90 per cent retention rate from year to year and school attendance rates greater than 80 per cent, while there had been evidence of a reduced crime rate in areas where Clontarf had been set up.
Minister for Social Services Kevin Andrews used the opportunity to confirm the Federal Government would allocate a further $13 million to the program over the next four years.
“This program provides real opportunities, a reason to get out of bed, encourages respect and helps young people develop life skills,” he said.
