The school chaplain is a faith presence in the school who on behalf of the school community accompanies the students on their journey through life. The chaplain’s role in pastoral care is to show concern for every student and to help them feel as though they belong to the schools community. Most individuals will not require individual attention, however, there will be undoubtedly be individuals who need support either physically, spiritually, emotionally or socially.
The chaplains’ aims for pastoral care for students at our school:
- To provide support for individuals or groups who require such assistance.
- To be involved in the critical incident management team.
- To break down the impersonality of a school caused by large numbers.
- To help students with personal and school problems.
- To put students in need in touch with appropriate persons.
- To help students develop a healthy respect for themselves and others.
- To help students reflect on their Christian values and behaviours.
- To help students develop appropriate social skills.
- To help in the development of warm relationships between students.
- To help develop a sense of pride in belonging to this school community.
- To be a listening ear for students
- To be present with students who ask for some time out to just breathe
- To develop meditation and mindfulness programmes and initiatives
- To attend care team meetings
- To build the skills of empathy and compassion and kindness with students and staff
The school chaplain will on occasions need to liaise with other members of staff. This will really depend on the nature of the situation and after careful consideration the relevant members of staff will be informed. A certain amount of confidentiality must be retained and information shared should only be on a need to know basis. Our school chaplain is also a fully qualified Psychotherapist with full accreditation with the IACP (Irish Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists).