Chaplaincy at Kulpi State School
Supporting Students, Staff, Families and Community
Chaplaincy at Kulpi State School provides social, emotional and pastoral wellbeing support across our school community.
Chappy works alongside students, staff and families to help create a school environment where people feel safe, respected, connected and supported.
One of the unique strengths of school chaplaincy is the ability to work across the whole school community. Chappy is uniquely positioned to help strengthen the connections between:
Students • Staff • Families • School • Community
This may happen through structured wellbeing programs, individual conversations, classroom and playground involvement, school events, family support or simply being another trusted adult who is regularly present and available.
Meet Chappy Gav
Kulpi State School's current School Chaplain is Gavin Vince, better known around the school as Chappy Gav.
A big part of Chappy Gav's role is simply being involved in everyday school life and building genuine relationships with students over time.
You might find Chappy:
- running wellbeing programs
- helping in classrooms
- talking with students in the playground
- providing individual check-ins
- supporting friendships and social skills
- helping students through challenging situations
- supporting staff and families
- attending camps, sporting days and school events
- helping connect the school with the wider community.
Sometimes the most important Chappy conversations aren't planned at all — they happen while walking across the playground, working alongside a student or simply asking, “How are you going?"
How Can Chappy Help?
Chaplaincy support can include:
- social and emotional wellbeing
- resilience and confidence
- friendships and relationships
- problem-solving and communication
- self-regulation strategies
- transitions and change
- grief, loss and bereavement
- family or life challenges
- individual student check-ins
- group and whole-class wellbeing activities
- staff and family support
- connections with additional support and community services where appropriate.
Chaplaincy is not a counselling service. Chappy provides social, emotional and pastoral support through relationships, conversation, practical support and wellbeing activities. Where additional or specialist support is needed, Chappy can work alongside the school to help connect students and families with appropriate services.
Our Wellbeing Programs
Rock and Water
Rock and Water is a social-emotional and resilience program that combines physical activities, discussion and reflection.
Students explore the difference between being like a Rock — grounded, strong and able to stand firm — and being like Water — flexible, adaptable and able to move around a problem.
Activities help students develop skills including:
- grounding and concentration
- self-control
- recognising body signals
- confidence and resilience
- personal boundaries
- responding to pressure
- respectful communication
- knowing when to stand firm and when to adapt, move away or disengage.
Activities are adapted to suit the age, abilities and needs of students, with physical and emotional safety remaining a priority.
Ready Crew
Ready Crew is a practical social-emotional wellbeing program designed to give students strategies they can use in everyday life.
Rather than simply telling a student to “calm down" or “make a better choice," Ready Crew aims to explicitly teach students how.
Students explore things such as:
- feelings and body clues
- grounding and focusing
- the size of a problem
- matching their response to the situation
- personal space and boundaries
- communication
- safe people and places
- friendship and respectful interactions
- problem-solving
- repairing relationships
- developing their own wellbeing strategies.
Over time, students build their own toolbox of strategies and discover which tools work best for them.
Chappy Is Part of Everyday School Life
Although participation in activities specifically offered through the chaplaincy service is voluntary, Chappy is also an active and familiar part of everyday school life.
Students will naturally see and interact with Chappy through classrooms, wellbeing sessions, the playground, sporting activities, camps, special events and other normal school activities.
This regular presence is important because relationships and trust are built over time — not just when something has gone wrong.
Being in a classroom, attending an event or having an everyday interaction with Chappy does not mean a student is receiving individual chaplaincy support.
An Inclusive Service
Chaplaincy is there to support the whole school community, including people of different faiths, cultures, backgrounds and those with no religious belief.
Student involvement in activities offered specifically through the chaplaincy service is voluntary.
In accordance with Queensland Department of Education requirements, school chaplains are not permitted to evangelise or proselytise or attempt to undermine a student's beliefs. Chaplains must respect and be sensitive to the views, values and beliefs of others.
The specific role and activities undertaken by a school chaplain are largely determined by the school Principal with support from the school community.
How Is Chaplaincy Provided?
Kulpi State School's chaplaincy service is provided in partnership with SU Chaplaincy, part of SU Australia.
SU chaplains provide social, emotional and pastoral support to students, families and school staff, while working within the requirements of the school and Queensland Department of Education.
Queensland state schools do not directly employ chaplains. Chaplaincy services are provided through approved Accredited Employing Authorities, which are responsible for matters including employment, training, professional development and supervision.
Funding Our Chappy
Kulpi State School's chaplaincy service is currently supported through a combination of government funding and contributions from our local community.
Government funding assists schools to provide chaplaincy and student wellbeing officer services, while local community support helps schools maintain and strengthen their individual service. Queensland's current government program runs across the 2023–2027 period.
Community support makes a genuine difference to the amount of chaplaincy support we can provide at Kulpi.
Want to Talk to Chappy?
Students don't need to have a big problem before talking with Chappy.
You can talk to Chappy when things are difficult — but you can also stop and tell him about something you're proud of, ask a question, have a laugh or simply say hello.
For parents and carers, Chappy can also be another point of connection within the school community.
Find Out More
Queensland Department of Education – Chaplaincy and Student Wellbeing Officer Services
https://education.qld.gov.au/students/student-health-safety-wellbeing/student-support-services/chaplaincy-student-wellbeing-officer-services
Queensland Department of Education – National Student Wellbeing Program
https://education.qld.gov.au/about-us/budgets-funding-grants/grants/state-schools/targeted/nswp-student-wellbeing-program
SU Chaplaincy
https://suchaplaincy.org.au/