Faiths and further education - Church of England

Faiths and further education - Church of England Faiths and further education - Church of England

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Faiths and Further Education:A HandbookBackground26This section is aimed at those interested in the broader aspects ofchaplaincy, both within the chaplaincy and beyond. Governors andlocal community leaders, as well as principals, managers andteaching staff may find this section to be of interest.27The LSC financed the development of the Handbook as part of itscommitment to meeting student needs and supporting studentretention in FE colleges.The initiative is ecumenical and multi-faith,and is about offering spiritual and moral support to students andstaff of all kinds, from all religious backgrounds, and none. From thissupport, it is hoped that students’ personal and spiritualdevelopment as a whole person will be strengthened, contributingto a sense of well-being and self-esteem, and encouraging thecompletion of programmes of study and a commitment to lifelonglearning.28The NEAFE initiative is also about how to improve support for thewell-being of the whole college — staff, governors, principals andall ages of students.The FE sector is complex and today’s collegeshave a very varied clientele — vocational students,A-levelstudents, undergraduates and refugee language learners all sit inthe same college canteen.29Chaplaincies offer friendship and support to all in an institution,and by doing so try to contribute positively to the ethos and theoverall atmosphere of a college.“I have worked in colleges with a chaplaincy andwithout a chaplaincy. I can’t explain it, but collegeswith a chaplaincy work better – there’s a sense of wellbeing,and in my experience, better performance.”(Principal)

15Some Perspectiveson Chaplaincy30The ethos of any chaplaincy will be drawn from many sources andit is this diversity that will contribute to its growth.The NEAFEinitiative is ecumenical and multi-faith. It both searches for thecommon ground within a variety of spiritual and religiousapproaches and promotes the view that we can learn from ourdiversity, from each other, whatever our faith, or lack of it.31The extracts at paragraphs 60 to 64 have been selected to offer arange of perspectives on chaplaincy in further education, and toexemplify the spiritual values of friendship, emotional resilience andwell-being inherent in chaplaincy activity in further education.Different roles for different contexts32The formal literature is mainly about chaplaincy in highereducation, but some publications have some cross-over withfurther education. For example, Simon Robinson’s recent book,Ministry among Students (Robinson, 2004) is a useful text, whilePillars of the Church: Supporting chaplaincy in further and highereducation (Board of Education, 2002) covers the ground on furthereducation, but is primarily focused on higher education.35Talking of the Methodist experience, Jones (2005) sees thechaplaincy role in perhaps less overtly ‘religious’ terms and offersthree roles:• the student focused role, which sees chaplaincy functioningsimply as a faith representative in a learning community. Here,the chaplain can operate in pastoral and religious modes• the active presence role, which is less about a formal role andmuch more about ‘energetic contact’ with everybody (not juststudents) in the educational institution• the welfare or pastoral role, which contains within it a moreformal role, with the chaplain often part of student servicesprovision.Pastoral care“Our chaplaincy team leader is a trained counsellor, aswell as an ordained minister.The college has to becareful not to take too much of her time forcounselling which others could do. Student Serviceshas now introduced a separate booking system for thechaplaincy.” (Principal)33The literature on FE chaplaincy mainly covers broader issues ratherthan the specific characteristics of chaplaincy. FE Chaplaincy in2004 (Gukuru and Murray, 2004) records the results of a survey of78 college chaplaincies, mainly on basic matters such asorganisation and resources. Whole People Matter (Turner andKimber, 2003) focuses on students and the FE curriculum.College/Faith Community Partnerships and Student Retention(Murray, 2004) and Taking Young People Seriously 14-19 (NEAFE,2004) cover more specific issues.34Talking of chaplaincy in higher education, Sollis (2004)distinguishes three roles: the caring pastoral role, supportingstudents in times of difficulty and crisis, the spiritual guide,engaging the student in exploration of faith, religion and meaning,and the moral guide, available to all on difficult moral issues andnot afraid to speak out when needed in the ‘prophetic’ role.

15Some Perspectiveson Chaplaincy30The ethos <strong>of</strong> any chaplaincy will be drawn from many sources <strong>and</strong>it is this diversity that will contribute to its growth.The NEAFEinitiative is ecumenical <strong>and</strong> multi-faith. It both searches for thecommon ground within a variety <strong>of</strong> spiritual <strong>and</strong> religiousapproaches <strong>and</strong> promotes the view that we can learn from ourdiversity, from each other, whatever our faith, or lack <strong>of</strong> it.31The extracts at paragraphs 60 to 64 have been selected to <strong>of</strong>fer arange <strong>of</strong> perspectives on chaplaincy in <strong>further</strong> <strong>education</strong>, <strong>and</strong> toexemplify the spiritual values <strong>of</strong> friendship, emotional resilience <strong>and</strong>well-being inherent in chaplaincy activity in <strong>further</strong> <strong>education</strong>.Different roles for different contexts32The formal literature is mainly about chaplaincy in higher<strong>education</strong>, but some publications have some cross-over with<strong>further</strong> <strong>education</strong>. For example, Simon Robinson’s recent book,Ministry among Students (Robinson, 2004) is a useful text, whilePillars <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Church</strong>: Supporting chaplaincy in <strong>further</strong> <strong>and</strong> higher<strong>education</strong> (Board <strong>of</strong> Education, 2002) covers the ground on <strong>further</strong><strong>education</strong>, but is primarily focused on higher <strong>education</strong>.35Talking <strong>of</strong> the Methodist experience, Jones (2005) sees thechaplaincy role in perhaps less overtly ‘religious’ terms <strong>and</strong> <strong>of</strong>fersthree roles:• the student focused role, which sees chaplaincy functioningsimply as a faith representative in a learning community. Here,the chaplain can operate in pastoral <strong>and</strong> religious modes• the active presence role, which is less about a formal role <strong>and</strong>much more about ‘energetic contact’ with everybody (not juststudents) in the <strong>education</strong>al institution• the welfare or pastoral role, which contains within it a moreformal role, with the chaplain <strong>of</strong>ten part <strong>of</strong> student servicesprovision.Pastoral care“Our chaplaincy team leader is a trained counsellor, aswell as an ordained minister.The college has to becareful not to take too much <strong>of</strong> her time forcounselling which others could do. Student Serviceshas now introduced a separate booking system for thechaplaincy.” (Principal)33The literature on FE chaplaincy mainly covers broader issues ratherthan the specific characteristics <strong>of</strong> chaplaincy. FE Chaplaincy in2004 (Gukuru <strong>and</strong> Murray, 2004) records the results <strong>of</strong> a survey <strong>of</strong>78 college chaplaincies, mainly on basic matters such asorganisation <strong>and</strong> resources. Whole People Matter (Turner <strong>and</strong>Kimber, 2003) focuses on students <strong>and</strong> the FE curriculum.College/Faith Community Partnerships <strong>and</strong> Student Retention(Murray, 2004) <strong>and</strong> Taking Young People Seriously 14-19 (NEAFE,2004) cover more specific issues.34Talking <strong>of</strong> chaplaincy in higher <strong>education</strong>, Sollis (2004)distinguishes three roles: the caring pastoral role, supportingstudents in times <strong>of</strong> difficulty <strong>and</strong> crisis, the spiritual guide,engaging the student in exploration <strong>of</strong> faith, religion <strong>and</strong> meaning,<strong>and</strong> the moral guide, available to all on difficult moral issues <strong>and</strong>not afraid to speak out when needed in the ‘prophetic’ role.

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