The end of the school year is in sight – just a few more weeks of term left to go! Well done, everyone.
There has been plenty going on in the world of chaplaincy, and I’m grateful to be able to share these latest developments with you. Most importantly, is the opening of the National School Chaplaincy Program (NSCP) Grant application process for the next 3 years.
My apologies for the wait on this edition of Chappy Matters. We have been waiting for the go ahead from the Department of Education about the NSCP grant funding, and we are happy to announce that the Department has invited all state schools to apply before applications close on November 15th. More good news is that schools with multiple campuses can apply for funding for each campus, meaning that multi-campus schools can gain funding for each campus.
What does the new funding round mean for your school?
Whether your school currently has NSCP funding or your school wishes to receive NSCP funding going forward, please remember all schools must apply to be eligible for the 2020-2022 funding round.
SU QLD recommends that all schools who wish to have a chaplain for the 2020 school year (and through to the end of 2022) apply as soon as possible. For metropolitan and regional school communities, your NSCP funding is now up to $20,280. For remote schools, you can now access up to $24,336. Please remember that this funding is secured through to end of the 2022 school year. So please check to ensure that your principal has applied. This is such a great investment in your local school community.
Re-contracting chaplains for 2020
As you know, all existing chaplaincy contracts will expire on December 31, 2019. This means that we will be renewing contracts late November, preferring to renew them once we have confirmation from the Department of Education for the NSCP funding. If you have any concerns about your chaplain’s contract being renewed, please contact your FDM for a conversation.[JD5]
It’s budget time!
Now that applications for NSCP funding are open it is time to prepare budgets for 2020. We will be sending 2020 pricing to you as soon as we have it approved by DoE and we will update the budget tool on Our Chaplaincy. We will email those details to you as soon as possible.
Just to refresh your memory, if an LCC has a Corporate Card, they must code them every month to ensure we have correct approval for LCC spending. If you don’t have anyone prepared to approve the spending, it’s up to the LCC to nominate a new person, or else your corporate card will be suspended or cancelled.
Chaplaincy fundraising success!
I’d also like to mention the huge success of our 2019 Bridge to Brisbane Fundraiser which raised $54,902, which will be divided amongst the LCCs who participated. On October 21, SU QLD again hosted our largest chaplaincy fundraiser of the year – Frontline 2019. Thanks to the generosity of so many big-hearted supporters on the night, SU QLD is now able to invest $288,000 directly back into chaplaincy services across Queensland.
National Online Safety Hub
The Australian Government has launched a website with resources and support to ensure Australians have empowering and positive experiences online. I wanted to share this great resource with you, as the topics are tailored to help with online safety conversations with young people. You can read more about this at esafety.gov.au.
Chaplaincy recruitment and final thoughts
Looking ahead to next year, we are now embarking on a national chaplaincy recruitment campaign so more children and school communities can receive the vital social, emotional and spiritual support that school chaplains provide. If you do know anyone who you think would make a great chaplain, please direct them to startchaplaincy.com. We also have new VET funding for the Cert IV in Youth Work starting next year, so anyone wanting to be a chaplain has help to gain the qualifications.
On a final note, I’d like to say a massive thank you for another terrific year. I’m so grateful to you for all you do to support your chaplains and the young people they serve.
I recently came across this quote from Mother Teresa, which I hope encourages you.
“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”
All the best for the term ahead, and I hope you enjoy the Christmas break doing small things with great love for one another!
Jenni Dobbin