DanDare
26th July 2010, 11:27 AM
From a submission (http://www.psychology.org.au/Assets/Files/APS-Submission-School-Chaplains-July2010.pdf) by the Australian Psychological Society
Concerns about the NSCP
On a number of occasions since the establishment of the NSCP, the APS has been contacted by members who are concerned about chaplains who have been employed in schools to provide mental health counselling to students. This has occurred either instead of or in replacement of school psychologists. Although the APS is aware that school chaplains represent an alternative approach to student support in government schools in the way of spiritual and religious guidance, the APS believes that, when chaplains work outside of this role, the risks to both students and schools are immense and will ultimately result in significant costs both financial and human.
The APS has in the past broadly communicated these concerns to the former Commonwealth Minister for Education, The Hon Julia Gillard, as well as to nearly every State or Territory Minister for Education. The recent announcement of another $165 million over three years towards the NSCP, in the absence of any reliable safeguards to limit the role of school chaplains, is unacceptable. The main concerns of the APS include:
That the government is supporting a scheme which allows unregistered and unqualified school chaplains to work outside their boundaries as spiritual and religious personnel;
That there is clear evidence that school chaplains are engaging in duties for which they are not qualified;
That there is clear evidence that church organisations and ministries are supporting school chaplains‟ in their boundary violations;
That the NSCP promotes a combination of religious guidance and mental health service provision, which is in contrast to mainstream evidence-based service provision;
That the government is complicit in encouraging dangerous professional behaviour by funding school chaplains independently of other services carried out by professionals who are both qualified and registered.
Lots more to read in the submission (http://www.psychology.org.au/Assets/Files/APS-Submission-School-Chaplains-July2010.pdf).
Concerns about the NSCP
On a number of occasions since the establishment of the NSCP, the APS has been contacted by members who are concerned about chaplains who have been employed in schools to provide mental health counselling to students. This has occurred either instead of or in replacement of school psychologists. Although the APS is aware that school chaplains represent an alternative approach to student support in government schools in the way of spiritual and religious guidance, the APS believes that, when chaplains work outside of this role, the risks to both students and schools are immense and will ultimately result in significant costs both financial and human.
The APS has in the past broadly communicated these concerns to the former Commonwealth Minister for Education, The Hon Julia Gillard, as well as to nearly every State or Territory Minister for Education. The recent announcement of another $165 million over three years towards the NSCP, in the absence of any reliable safeguards to limit the role of school chaplains, is unacceptable. The main concerns of the APS include:
That the government is supporting a scheme which allows unregistered and unqualified school chaplains to work outside their boundaries as spiritual and religious personnel;
That there is clear evidence that school chaplains are engaging in duties for which they are not qualified;
That there is clear evidence that church organisations and ministries are supporting school chaplains‟ in their boundary violations;
That the NSCP promotes a combination of religious guidance and mental health service provision, which is in contrast to mainstream evidence-based service provision;
That the government is complicit in encouraging dangerous professional behaviour by funding school chaplains independently of other services carried out by professionals who are both qualified and registered.
Lots more to read in the submission (http://www.psychology.org.au/Assets/Files/APS-Submission-School-Chaplains-July2010.pdf).