The Chaplain is the Reverend Dr Arabella Milbank Robinson. Her pastoral care extends to the whole community of all faiths and none:, Fellows, students and members of the College staff. As Dean of Chapel, she is an Anglican (Church of England) priest responsible for all aspects of College Chapel life – including the variety of services which take place each week, activities for those interested in exploring issues of faith and life, and with the Director of Music, the musical life of the Chapel and Chapel Choir.
The Chaplain's rooms on are Old Court D7. Chaplains can lend a listening ear for all kinds of issues and problems, help you map the territory of a problem or decision, talk to you about issues of faith and spiritual life, and are experienced in loss and bereavement. Arabella is in College Sunday-Thursday, and can be contacted at chaplain@sel.cam.ac.uk, or amm245@cam.ac.uk. If you ever need to contact her urgently, the Porters should be able to do so on your behalf. She also serves as Chaplain at Newnham College, and is supported in her work at Selwyn by the Chapel Administrator, Rebecca Wilson.
The Chaplain hopes you will feel free to speak with her in confidence. You may be assured that appropriate boundaries of confidentiality will be observed subject to the provisions of section 3.1.2 of the Guide relating to Confidentiality.
The College’s policy on Confidentiality in a Welfare Context can be found in section 10 of the Student Guide. It forms both a guide for Tutors and others in the welfare team, including the Chaplain. The policy makes clear the following fundamental baseline principle: members of the Welfare Team cannot promise to maintain absolute confidentiality in all circumstances and the complexity of individual student health and welfare matters mean that there is no single, definitive ‘right’ answer about what to share. The policy enshrines guiding principles to which, in line with the Senior Tutors’ Committee’s agreed position, Selwyn College subscribes:
College Tutors and Tutorial Office staff cannot promise to maintain absolute confidentiality because, if students or other individuals are in danger, further help may need to be sought. Nonetheless, confidentiality will normally be maintained within the College Welfare Team on a strictly need-to-know basis.
