Chaplains in schools are 'inadequately supervised'

THE schools chaplaincy program is being investigated by the Commonwealth Ombudsman after a highly critical report of its operation in the Northern Territory. At the same time, a High Court challenge has been launched by critics of the scheme to which successive federal governments have committed $437 million.

Paying for chaplains in schools began under the prime ministership of John Howard but during the last election campaign Julia Gillard promised to double the money available for the program. This windfall will allow chaplains - all but a handful of them Christian - to work in 3700 schools in Australia by the end of this year.

The Prime Minister said in August: ''Chaplains and pastoral care workers provide general personal advice, comfort and support to all students and staff. Chaplains can help build the sense of community in the school, support the school ethos and provide additional support for vulnerable children.'' But critics have argued since the program began that chaplains are not professionally qualified to counsel children; that schools cannot effectively supervise their work; that they are evangelising in the playground; and that public funding undermines the separation of church and state.

In a report published in November, the NT Ombudsman, Carolyn Richards, found problems with the national design and the local administration of the program.

After investigating complaints about the chaplains made by a number of parents in rural schools she concluded: ''In many areas, policies and procedures associated with the chaplaincy service were found to be inadequate or non-existent.''

She condemned the federal guidelines for providing no practical and ''nationally consistent'' criteria for a person to be called a chaplain.

She criticised the access they had to classrooms and to sensitive information about children. Ms Richards questioned the capacity of schools to supervise the chaplains. But her chief recommendation was to ban one-on-one pastoral care sessions after she found chaplains were going further than providing ''a listening ear'' to children experiencing domestic violence and abuse.

''In one instance a psychologist who later treated a student was of the opinion that the chaplain had provided psychological services without the required qualifications,'' she wrote. ''The most salient point is that nobody knew what services were provided during one-on-one sessions, nor the appropriateness or quality of those services.''

On her recommendation, the Commonwealth Ombudsman has agreed to examine the national supervision of the program by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.

This investigation will focus on the department's procedures for keeping track of funds, monitoring compliance with guidelines, verifying information and handling complaints.