The Federal Government has announced that schools will be able to choose the type of support they require under the National School Chaplaincy Program.

 

Under the changes that will take effect next year, schools will be able to choose to employ either a chaplain or a secular student welfare worker. The scheme will also introduce a level of minimum qualifications, benchmark standards for service providers and improvements to the complaints management system.

 

Other changes to be introduced include:

  • Introducing a minimum qualification for all new workers employed under the scheme – from 2012, all new chaplains or secular workers hired by schools will need to have a Certificate IV in Youth Work, Pastoral Care or equivalent qualification.
  • Requiring existing chaplains without the minimum qualifications to complete two units of the Certificate IV course: Mental Health and Making Referrals. About 500 existing chaplains will have 12 months to complete the units, with the Government meeting the costs. Existing chaplains can also have their current experience and qualifications formally recognised under Recognition of Prior Learning.
  • Increasing the maximum grants for schools in remote areas from $20 000 to $24 000, and giving priority for new funding to schools in regional, remote and disadvantaged areas.
  • Introducing new benchmark standards for service providers, including the provision of ongoing professional development and support, monitoring of service delivery, and appropriate risk management and compliance requirements.
  • Strengthening the program’s complaints management processes so that each school will be required to keep a complaints log and have a designated complaints officer, and parents and students are fully informed about how they can raise any concerns they may have.

 

Federal School Education Minister Peter Garrett said that the modifications to the policy were a result of a community consultation process earlier in the year. A number of recommendations stemmed from the Commonwealth Ombudsman,

 

The new guidelines will be published shortly. More information on the changes to the scheme is contained in the attached fact sheet and online at www.deewr.gov.au/schoolchaplaincy.