This role will be primarily based across two sites, HMP & YOI Polmont (9 hours) and HMP & YOI Cornton Vale (to become HMP & YOI Stirling upon opening in 2023) (28 hours). Occasional travel will also be required to the Community Custody Units (CCUs) in Dundee and Glasgow. Applications are welcomed from all however, due to the nature of the business of HMP & YOI Cornton Vale, applications are particularly encouraged from female Church of Scotland ministers.
The Prison Chaplain (Church of Scotland) carries out their duties in co-operation with members of an ecumenical and inter-faith chaplaincy team. Together they are responsible for the provision of chaplaincy services to all persons in custody across the sites noted above.
There are three important areas of work, these are:
- Religious Care is offered to all those wishing to practice their faith and includes leading regular services of prayers, Mass, worship, celebration of the sacraments, studies of religious texts, and faith-based groups.
- Pastoral Care is provided, usually individually, to everyone and particularly those in most need – the bereaved and the distressed, those who are at risk of harm to self, and those most vulnerable including new admissions.
- Spiritual Care accompanies and supports people of all faiths and none on their journey to discover purpose and meaning in life and to develop the resources to live a fulfilled life.
As part of your application, you will be required to provide a response to a question on each of these key areas.
The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) Strategy Framework on Spiritual and Pastoral Care, Religion and Belief, is the foundational document for the delivery of chaplaincy across the SPS and the practice of prison chaplains should reflect this. This may be found at:
http://www.sps.gov.uk/Corporate/Publications/Publication-4604.aspx
As the post holder will work with Women and Young People across the sites mentioned they will therefore require to work collaboratively with others, to support delivery of the current SPS Vision for Young People in Custody and of the SPS Strategy for Women in Custody which, alongside information on the new facilities, can be found here:
The 'Bella Centre' Completion and New Strategy for Women (sps.gov.uk)
Further reading and information on Scottish Criminal Justice System and Chaplaincy can be found here:
https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/strategy-plan/2022/02/vision-justice-scotland/documents/vision-justice-scotland-2022/vision-justice-scotland-2022/govscot%3Adocument/vision-justice-scotland-2022.pdf