Faiths and further education - Church of England

05How to Use this HandbookSections 1 and 2 are addressed to all stakeholders, but primarily tocollege managers and governors. Sections 3, 4 and 5 are addressedprimarily to new chaplains, and include checklists, questionnairesand examples of practice, and explanations of key terms andorganisations.Section 1 addresses the concerns of principals and managers: whatis chaplaincy in the further education (FE) context? why is itgrowing in the sector? what can it do for the college? and how canwe go about setting up a multi-faith chaplaincy that meets theneeds of students of all faiths and none? Section 1 also sets out themain models of organising, funding and managing chaplaincy (fromthe perspective of a sector which is proud of its inclusive and nonsectariantraditions), and shows how colleges and chaplaincies havederived bottom-line benefits – in terms of student retention andrecruitment – as well.Section 2 is concerned with the rationale for chaplaincy, especiallythe increasing interest of Government, and the concern amongstudents for opportunities to explore their spirituality and todevelop a sense of meaning and purpose in life, and among collegeprincipals as well as Government and its agencies to make moreexplicit provision for the spiritual and moral welfare of learners infurther education. It explores in a little more depth key conceptssuch as spirituality and ethos, and multi-faith perspectives, andmay be helpful for governors and others concerned with the overallatmosphere of a college.Section 3 is designed to help colleges developing chaplaincies, andprovides a guide for the college and chaplain through the key areasof chaplaincy activity, including multi-faith working. Much of thissection is set out in the form of an easy-to-follow set of questionsabout the college, the chaplaincy and local faith context. It isprimarily targeted at new chaplains, but may be used by managersand chaplains in reviewing provision.Sections 4 and 5 are aimed at assisting all those involved inchaplaincies to draw up a basis for partnership or formalagreement, which may take the form of a service level agreementor code of practice, or a less formal memorandum ofunderstanding.The initial paragraphs are again targeted at newchaplains, providing another set of questions and guidance to helpthem find their way through college structure, policies andprocedures. But the main part of this section will be important tosenior managers and governors since it guides the college and itschaplaincy towards a fully integrated method of operation thatpreserves the essential freedom of the chaplaincy to be open tostudent need, while giving college management the checks andquality assurance necessary to ensure that all parts of the collegework effectively together.