Season 2 Episode 9 School Chaplaincy with Tim Richards

Hello and welcome to season 2 of the Jenni Talks podcast. In this season we are going to focus on conversations with people about creating new opportunities, communities and spaces for young people & youth workers to engage with as a result of the pandemic. My book, From Isolation to Community: Youth Work in the Covid Era and Beyond which captures a snapshot of what has been happening in this past year is available now. In it I have recorded the stories of many people working with young people across the UK during the pandemic, we will be hearing from some of these same youth workers but also from others who I’ve come across who are doing some amazing things to engage, enable and encourage young people to really thrive despite all the restrictions that have been put on us in these pandemic times.

You can buy the book by going to my website www.jenniosborn.org and clicking on one of the options there.

One of my passions has been supporting those who work with young people and this was part of the aim of the book, to showcase and reflect on the work that’s happening up and down the country. I also offer mentoring for youth workers, regular sessions over a 6 month period to support youth workers in their roles, acting as a sounding board, as an encourager to make small changes or to think different things through. If you’re interested in mentoring or having conversations about the themes from the book then I am available for book clubs, for resourcing and reflecting with your team or for encouraging youth workers to consider the impact of this pandemic and how we can move forward. You can get in touch via the website.

This episode is a conversation with Tim Richards who is the chaplain at Chelsea Academy in West London which is a Church of England academy with a large intake that encompasses different faiths. We talked about the role that a chaplain holds in a school community, about how much he enjoys the conversations with young people and staff, and how it has changed because of covid.

I’ll just tell you that he was on dog-looking-after duty the morning I spoke to him, so any growling or scuffling noises in the background are not Tim but the dog! I’ll also point out that for some reason, I struggled a bit through the interview to find my words. Some of you lovely listeners know that I’m a stroke survivor, I am very fortunate to have very few after effects but finding the right words at the right time is one that rears its head every now and then. You might not notice any difference, ha! But I do, and I wanted to explain…

I hope you enjoy this conversation and don’t forget to share!

Contact me:

Email: Hello@jenniosborn.org

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Twitter: @jenni_talks

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