God bother

12th January 2007, 12:00am

Share

God bother

https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/god-bother-0
School chaplains in Australia have received good news and bad. The good news is that the government is launching a pound;32 million scheme that will give the country’s state and private schools up to pound;9,000 a year if they employ a chaplain. The bad news is that the chaplains will have to sign a code of conduct that bars them from preaching religion.

As part of the code, they must acknowledge that proselytising at school is not appropriate. They are also prevented from using theological language that “assumes people have the same beliefs”.

Hugging crying children is also out, as the code bans physical contact with students unless injured.

The Australian Secondary Principals Association described the scheme as inflexible and “fundamentally flawed”.

Want to keep reading for free?

Register with Tes and you can read two free articles every month plus you'll have access to our range of award-winning newsletters.

Keep reading for just £1 per month

You've reached your limit of free articles this month. Subscribe for £1 per month for three months and get:

  • Unlimited access to all Tes magazine content
  • Exclusive subscriber-only stories
  • Award-winning email newsletters
Recent
Most read
Most shared