Chaplaincy in Christian Schools: Towards a Policy Platform for Productive Partnerships

Abstract

Pastoral care or student wellbeing, as it is often referred to, now straddles educational institutions from early childhood centres to university graduate schools.2 Whether in the public, independent or Christian school sector, it appears no longer optional; it is more than de rigueur, it is integral to the life of effective and caring learning communities in Australia. In the UK, Ron Best has for some years advocated an interesting and widely accepted pastoral care structure that attempts to meet four identifiable types of needs encountered in schools.3 In his proposed “pastoral tasks”, students’ needs are being addressed through casework, where the curriculum provides students with knowledge and skills for becoming more resilient, where a strong sense of community rather than punishment focuses on developing responsible behaviour, and where a whole-school approach results in achieving planned outcomes. How might chaplaincy fit into such a structure?