Faiths and further education - Church of England

Faiths and Further Education:A HandbookAn IntegratedApproach to Chaplaincy102This section is aimed specifically at all those responsible –principals, college managers, chaplains and faith bodies – fordeveloping chaplaincies and drawing up agreements.103The and NEAFE are keen to encourage an integrated approach tochaplaincy, involving the college in terms of managers and teachingstaff, chaplaincy and local faith communities.This section exploresthe form of such an integrated approach and how it may beexpressed in service level agreements and codes of practice.As eachcollege has its own context, structure, aims and issues, this sectionseeks to offer general guidance. Specific illustrations drawn fromactual college–chaplaincy partnerships or agreements can be foundin the Annexes D and E.The following paragraphs are aimed atmembers of chaplaincy teams.Understanding the college, its missionand context104All partners will have to share an understanding of how the FEcollege functions. In Section 2 of the Handbook, the importance ofthe college atmosphere in assisting students’ learning andenjoyment of the college experience was noted.This atmospherecomes about through relationships in and outside the classroom,and also through the college’s structures, ethos and decisionmaking.Being able to analyse what is happening and why in thecollege is especially important if the chaplain is not part of theformal hierarchy.105A useful start is to examine and analyse what the college saysabout itself and what it does.The college’s mission statementprovides an explicit statement and many other clues about itsimplicit values.Understanding mission statements106What does a mission statement contain? The college’s missionstatement comes from a collective analysis of the college’s purposeand the stories it tells itself about its values. In this way, the missionstatement should be an expression of the college’s uniqueness.107The following extracts from college mission statements may behelpful (cited in Turner and Kimber pp 56–58.The college aims to pursue excellence within a caring environmentby encouraging the spiritual, moral, intellectual, social andpersonal development of all individual members of both staff andstudents. (Long Road Sixth Form College)As a way of ensuring equality of opportunity, we maintain thecollege as a secular environment; i.e .we do not endorse anyreligion, faith or culture. This enables us to be as fair as possible inour treatment of students … This does not mean we wish topromote a secular way of life. (New College, Swindon, StudentCharter)108See Whole People Matter (Turner and Kimber, 2003, pp. 54–62) forfurther examples of college policies and mission statements.Action points:• What does the mission statement of your college say?• What do other documents say, for example, college prospectus,student guide?• Does the college make any specific statements about values orspirituality?• What is its policy on diversity? Does it take a multi-faith stance?College aims and goals: where chaplaincy fits in109We spend most of our lives in organisations and tend to take themfor granted. One definition of an organisation is:‘a social unit (orhuman grouping) deliberately constructed to seek specific goals’.The college’s aims and goals can be identified from an examinationof the college’s documents. Its values, purpose and main areas ofactivity will also be made explicit.“I encourage my chaplain to accept invitations to speakand preach anywhere – it’s a great way to advertisethe college.As a result I have been invited to speak tothe Sikh gurdwara and Hindu temple.” (Principal)110Even the simplest organisational analysis will tell you a great dealabout the institution in which you are working and in what wayspeople are encouraged and expected to behave.