Facts about School Chaplains
More than 9,000 schools in the United States have a chaplain on staff to help students, faculty, and families.
When it comes to social and emotional well-being, academic assistance, and extracurricular activities, school chaplains are invaluable resources.
Schools in Australia have access to chaplains primarily through the National School Chaplaincy Program (NSCP), which receives funding from the central government.
Chaplains in schools have the skills to recognise the signs of mental illness and direct students in need to professional help.
A survey conducted by the National School Chaplaincy Program found that each year, school chaplains across the country conducted nearly 175,000 support programmes, benefiting over 1.2 million students.
Over the course of a year, school chaplains engaged in over 15,000 extracurricular activities and had over 230,000 formal pastoral care conversations with students.
Students account for 26% of the demand for chaplaincy services in schools, followed by faculty and staff at 42% and parents and guardians at 17%.
Chaplains in schools are often the first point of contact for those in need of assistance and guidance, including students, faculty, and families; they also have the resources to connect those in need with additional professional assistance.
Students, faculty, and parents all benefit greatly from the presence of a chaplain in the classroom.
The social, emotional, and spiritual well-being of students, as well as academic support, extracurricular activities, and pastoral care, are all areas where school chaplains can be a helpful resource for both teachers and parents. They play a vital role in assisting students who are particularly at risk, such as those with disabilities, Indigenous students, and those from culturally diverse or refugee backgrounds, and are trained to recognise these students and refer them to the appropriate mental health services. Chaplains in schools play an important role in supporting students and their families.