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Dear Friends
Love and greetings to you all.
Here is some news that I hope will interest you.
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BREAKTHROUGH IN SPIRITUAL EDUCATION
With colleagues in the Spiritual Companions Trust and the Crossfields Institute we have just submitted a new qualification to Ofqual, the government department that regulates qualifications in England. We are awaiting their response within eight weeks and I would love it if you would send the project good energy.
The new qualification is called DIPLOMA IN PRACTICAL SPIRITUALITY AND WELLNESS and is set at pre-university Level 3. Its focus is experiential and practice-based.
It is aimed at everyone interested in spirituality and wellbeing, from archbishops to hairdressers, and of course everyone involved in education, care and development.
Our long-term plan is that it be available across the UK delivered in further and adult education colleges as well as independent centres. We hope to see its elements integrated too into the relevant university courses such as healthcare, social services and RE teacher training. We want to normalise spirituality so that it is as natural a part of everyday culture as diet or exercise. The new qualification will also be the gateway into the Spiritual Companions network, and the foundation for a holistic and inclusive approach to pastoral care.
The course is structured into four units
- Context and Science
- Person-Centred Spiritual Practice
- Reflective Practice
- Spiritual Care
At its heart is daily practice: connecting with the energy/wonder of life, mindful self-management and service.
On top of this foundation of daily practice, we then build an understanding of the science of the health and wellbeing benefits, how to communicate about these benefits and how best to give spiritual care in daily life.
It is I believe a great course. Practical. Rigorous. Idealistic. It builds on our educational work of the last fifteen works.
As soon as the course is approved, with the other Spiritual Companion educators, I will get on with completing the course book and digital resources, and focus on the marketing and delivery.
I will let you all know as and when it happens. I will especially let you know when we hear from Ofqual.
And huge thanks to everyone who has helped to develop it, especially the workshop participants and students over the last fifteen years. THANK YOU.
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A BREAKTHROUGH?
In the headline for this eLetter I was cheeky and confident enough to call it a breakthrough. Why?
First because it is the first qualification of its kind to be submitted to Ofqual and therefore integrates fully into mainstream UK and EU education.
Second because we have developed a practical and effective person-centred or student-centred approach. (NB: I don’t mean a psychotherapeutic ‘person-centred’ approach.) In this approach we enable learners to discover and deepen their own best way of doing spiritual practice without imposing any beliefs or preferences. What works best for you? Now let’s see how best to deepen it.
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NOW!
Originally I was not going to share publicly about the new qualification until the Ofqual process was successful. But I have this strong instinct-intuition to let you all know about it now — and to ask you to send it good energy and supportive prayers.
Phew! It feels exciting and a big relief to share with you this big step forward.
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So, lovely people, send us tsunamis of good energy and I will let you know as soon as there is more news.
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If you want to respond to this eLetter you can do so on my blog here: www.williambloom.com/blog/breakthrough-in-spiritual-education-226.htm
If you love paperwork and policy, or are a professional educator, then I have posted a PDF of the qualification spec here: www.williambloom.com/MyFiles/Files/SCTrust_SpiritualityWellnessCourseSpec.pdf
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All my love.
William
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