Chaplain
The services provided by a chaplain should be appropriate to the school and student context in which he or she will operate. Within this context, chaplains are expected to respect the range of religious views and affiliations, and cultural traditions in the school and the community, and be approachable by students of all faiths. It is not the purpose of chaplaincy services to bring about or encourage commitment to any set of beliefs.
It is important to note that school chaplains cannot provide services for which they are not qualified, for example, counselling services, psychological assessment, or medical assessment. Chaplains can, under certain circumstances, refer a child to a chaplain who is in accordance with their own beliefs and values. The key tasks of a chaplain includes facilitating access to the other support agencies in the community, both religious-based and secular.
The activities undertaken by school chaplains may include, but are not limited to:
Pastoral care:
- Providing guidance to students on issues concerning human relationships;
- Assisting school counsellors and staff in the provision of student welfare services;
- Providing support in cases of bereavement, family breakdown or other crisis and loss situations; and
- Being readily available to provide continuity and on-going support for individual students and staff where this is necessary.
Spiritual guidance:
- Supporting students to explore their spirituality;
- Providing guidance on religious, values and ethical matters; and
- Facilitating access to the helping agencies in the community, both church-based and secular.
From time to time our chaplain will be speaking with individual students, or groups of students.
We would like parent permission for children to speak with our chaplain. Please complete the following and return to your child’s teacher.