Calling all Chaplains!!!

Please, if you have not done so already, get yourself booked onto the Association of Catholic Chaplains in Education Conference. It is going to be fantastic this year, especially as we have great speakers and facilitators. Our highlight this year will be the magnificent Steve Murray!

If you are not a member, please don't worry, just contact Julie Sweeney at Nottingham Diocesan Edcuation Service to sort out membership (Julie.Sweeney@nottingham-des.org.uk)

Conference this year carries the theme, "Go make Disciples of all Nations" and will be held on 13th-15th June at the Hayes Conference Centre in Swanwick, Derbyshire.

Cost £300

We would love to have you there, please do consider coming.

God bless you

Annie

Tell him that it will further equip you to carry out your ministry as chaplain which will have a knock on affect with the work you do in school. Tell him that much has changed since you were last at conference and you feel the need to refresh your knowledge and yourself with the work that is gonig on nationally for chaplaincy. Tell him there are things you would like to share with others and tell him that you will get loads of resources and contacts to help make the school even better than what it is already.

You could tell him that you would like to see how other chaplains are getting on in their roles and discuss what common obstacles we are all currently facing etc...

You are obviously still a member so surely you can tell him that WE NEED YOU!!! ...and that you have had a personal invitation from one of their leadership team who think that Dennis' presence there will be a great support to her. #

Amen!

Here endeth the lesson...is that enough to go on?

A x

The cost of conference should never come out of a chaplain's budget. You are entitled to CPD as much as any teacher or member of staff and every school has a budget to send people on courses etc. This may be worth enquiring about because you are entitled to part of that budget as much as anyone else.

Be bold...go find out! the new financial year only started last month...it's a good time to ask.

Good luck. Let me know how you get on.

This is something we have looked at but given that our leadership team are spread far and wide across the UK and not having a national co-ordinator, we hope that the diocesan co-ordinators would take on that task. We only meet 3 times a year so to find the time to do that would be costly in every sense. It is something we have spoken about though, and we have in the past produced a flyer that was sent to every school.

I despair when schools don't give the chaplain the necessary external support or make it such a high profile post when such conferences are so inspiring.

My advice would be to be bold! Go see your Head and explain all the good reasons why you would like to go and how much you would get out of it for the good of the school. As I said to Dennis, you are entitled as much as anyone else in school to receive the relevant CPD...which there is usually a budget for. It should never come out of a chaplain's budget.

I'm pushing to go now.  As long as there's nothing major going on in school then I should be there!

I'd almost got it all sorted when I realised that my husband is working away one of the nights and we don't have anyone to look after our 2 year old, so I can't make it!

Mental note - book the dates out on the calendar the moment the dates are published next year!

It's in the diary!! Thanks Annie!

Yep, I think we have The Hayes again. We did look at a Catholic University for future years but they were very expensive. At the current numbers and the amount we charge at present, we would struggle.

The Hayes is lovely though!