Dear All

Last year you may remember that the Diocese were involved in a pilot scheme where curates undertook a four day placement in a Church School.

The aim was for curates to:

·  Gain an understanding of the full range of school life

·  Understand the distinctive role of an ordained person in contributing to a school

·  Identify their own strengths and weaknesses in respect of this area of their work

·  Improve their confidence and competency (again in this specific area)

As a Head last year, my own school, agreed to take part in the pilot and I have to say it was a really positive experience not only for the curate but for us as a Church School too – plus we gained an extra person willing to lead occasional assemblies which was a bonus!

This year I have been asked to find schools across the Diocese who would be willing to host a curate for four days in the Spring Term 2016.

With regards to the time commitment there would be a meeting prior to the placement to decide on the format and a meeting at the end to enable the curate to reflect on his/her experience. Other than that it was a case of timetabling who the curate would ‘shadow’, meet with etc. and I have attached the Guidance for Headteacher’s section from the Curate’s Placement Pack so that you can see what is hoped for.

At this point in time I am just seeking expressions of willingness to take a placement as the Diocese are currently identifying which curates will be doing the placement.

My task is to then match curates to schools that are relatively close to them, therefore, it may well be that even if you have kindly offered to help there will not be a curate nearby.

However, I do hope that as many of you as possible will be able to help me with this as I do believe that by giving curates this opportunity they will, when they have their own parish, be able to support our schools more effectively.

If you are willing to offer a placement please could you let me know by e-mail at with the school’s name and a contact name and number and once I have details of the curate’s I will get back to you.

Thank you in advance with your willingness to help me with this – it is greatly appreciated.