The year may be drawing to a close, but there is certainly no shortage of updates to share with you in this final, exciting, and busy term.
In May we received the much welcomed news that the Federal Government will extend funding for the National School Chaplaincy Program (NSCP) beyond 2018. This term we begin the process of re-contracting your chaplains for 2019.
The Department of Education has informed SU QLD that the State Government is still in negotiations with the Federal Government regarding the new Project Agreement for schools next year. As soon as that is signed off the Department of Education will be in touch with schools regarding the new Project Agreement.
Re-contracting your chaplain – how will it work?
The Department of Education will notify your schools once the application process is open. SU QLD will then email all principals and LCC chairs, alerting them that applications are now open, and when they need to be submitted by.
Before re-contracting your chaplain, your school must complete the community consultation process. Historically, this process has involved a P&C meeting where a decision is reached to continue the chaplaincy service at that school. The principal will then sign off on the decision, making it official.
Once this process has been completed, SU QLD can begin the work of re-contracting your chaplain.
Please note that we cannot re-contract your chaplain until your school has informed us that they have successfully secured NSCP grant funding and that the principal is happy to proceed with SU QLD and the individual chaplain.
We expect this process to take place in late November and early December. I want to thank you in advance for your help in ensuring this process is made as smooth as possible. And please, if you have any questions, contact our Field Support team on 3112 6470. We are here to help.
If your school community would like more information about continuing with SU QLD, please make use of our SU Advantage document that highlights the reasons why more principals choose SU QLD than any other chaplaincy provider.
Please also note that we have new principal packs and new LCC guidelines, which you can access on the LCC site.
Anti-bullying training for 2019
While school chaplains have always been a positive force in the fight against bullying, you can expect to see your chaplains receive a double helping of formal training to combat this critical issue this term.
We have been in close consultation with the e-Safety Commission to learn more about the webinar training they are developing to support chaplains in combating bullying. We are now awaiting confirmation from the Federal Government about the final content of that training package.
SU QLD has also developed an anti-bullying professional development program, which will be delivered to all chaplains as part of their in-service training this term. This training will focus on effective and positive responses to bullying within the school environment.
This is great news for our school communities and in particular for the children and young people who will benefit from this heightened focus.
I know from my own conversations with chaplains they are excited to be a part of this initiative to make our school communities safer.
I was very encouraged to read the 2018 Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY) Report Card, which refers to the Nest principle as a key framework for improving the wellbeing prospects of children and young people.
It says that the Nest framework, which was developed in close consultation with more than 4,000 children, youth, parents, researchers and practitioners, highlighted the need for six outcome areas to be present for a young person to have ‘good or high wellbeing’.
These six areas are, that the child or young person feels loved and safe, they have access to material basics, they are healthy and learning, and are participating, and have a positive sense of identity and culture.
Doesn’t that sound like what chaplains help with on a daily basis? I think that’s great and please continue to encourage your chaplains and remind them of what a great job they’re doing!
Frontline
Over the past two weeks, SU QLD hosted the annual Frontline Appeal fundraising dinners in Brisbane (Oct 15) and Townsville (Oct 22). Aside from the great entertainment and the inspirational stories of chaplaincy’s positive impact in the lives of young Queenslanders, these two events raised vital funds to support new chaplaincy services in 2019.
Last year saw a total net profit of $250,146 raised, which all went directly to supporting local school chaplaincy services across Queensland. This year we hope to do even more.
Thank you again for all the amazing work you do and thank you once again for partnering with SU QLD this year. I look forward to continuing to work with you in the months to come and into the New Year and beyond.