For Parents
Pastoral Support Worker
This School is funded by the Federal Government, through the National School Chaplaincy Program for a school chaplaincy service by employing a Pastoral Care Worker.
1) The aim of the chaplaincy service is to offer pastoral support to students, staff and the school community.
2) The Pastoral Care Worker has three main roles:
A Pastoral Role
The Pastoral Care Worker will:
- participate in a wide range of school community activities, and support staff, to contribute to creating a caring and inclusive learning environment within the school.
- on request, provide initial support or information to students, staff and other school community members.
- with written, informed parental consent, provide on-going personal assistance to individual students, subject to duty of care, consent, confidentiality and disclosure requirements and the Code of Conduct.
- offer support or information with regard to critical situations, grief, family breakdown.
- be available to provide ongoing support to individuals and/or families.
- provide additional opportunities for families to feel supported.
A Referral Role
The Pastoral Care Worker will:
- provide factual and impartial information about, network with, and be a link to, the support and services provided through community groups, including church groups, local council and government agencies.
- consult and liaise with student counsellors and other staff about student safety, wellbeing or learning while maintaining appropriate confidentiality, and referring students to other staff as required.
- be a mandated notifier, and thus be required to report any suspected abuse or neglect to Families S.A.
A Resource Role
The Pastoral Care Worker will:
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provide a reference point for addressing social, religious or spiritual issues.
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provide access to resources from the broader community which are relevant to school programs.
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be available to give input into health and social education courses (e.g. in the areas of grief, self esteem, values or relationships).
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be available to give assistance with camps and excursions, and, where appropriate, initiate activities such as voluntary clubs or groups in the school.
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support groups such as the Student Representative Council and the Peer Support Program
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if required, assist the principal to liaise with the local church community and the school for the provision of optional ‘Religious Education Seminars’ in school time
3) The chaplaincy service offered by the PS Worker is accessed by school community members on a voluntary basis.
4) The Pastoral Care Worker is line managed by a school leader, and complements, enhances and collaborates with the school well-being team, counsellors, other school support staff, etc.
5) The Pastoral Care Worker is funded by the NSCSWP.
6) In general circumstances, the PS Worker is free to engage with members of the school community. However, in every case where, as part of their role, a Pastoral Care Worker is asked to work in an ongoing way with an individual or group of students, informed, written parental/care giver consent must be first obtained. Parents may also request to the School Principal for their child to be excluded from any service provided by the Pastoral Care Worker.
7) Students are able to access the Pastoral Care Worker through Student Services.
8) A Grievance Procedure for any formal complaint is available from the School Principal.
9) The School Governing Council was consulted with about the NSCSWP and made the decision to proceed with an application for NSCSWP funding for a chaplaincy service. Please refer to Governing Council minutes for further details.
Disclaimer
The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.
Acknowledgement
This project was funded by the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.”
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