Research is really important to us
One of the key parts of our work at Clergy Family network is research. In 2021 we undertook the biggest survey of clergy partners in the UK, and we have spent 2022 doing lots of reading and secondary research so that we are as informed as we can be about the needs of clergy families and how to help them. We want to use the information to set our aims as a charity and to support as many families as we can moving forward.
In February 2023 we released our first report, and it is available here;
It sets out a number of findings from our survey, and also what we pledge to do about them.
Please do get in touch if you have any further questions or if there is anything else that you would like to know about Clergy Partners or the findings from our survey.
More about...
Our Survey
Our survey directly approached clergy partners in the Church of England to gain a true picture of life in the clergy household and the unique challenges we face. Over 550 clergy spouses and partners responded.
Who Carried Out The Survey?
Clergy Family Network carried out the survey. We are a constituted organisation which will become a registered charity. We have 20 members in our committee, all of us are clergy spouses or partners, some of us grew up in clergy households. We come from different backgrounds and are at different stages in our clergy household life.
Aims Of Survey
We know from our own experiences that there are a lot of unique situations to members of clergy households, some of these present real difficulties for clergy spouses, partners and kids. We will use the survey to find out more about what the needs of clergy households are, how common they are and how well supported clergy families currently are. We also need to know more about clergy households, currently we don’t know what the average clergy household is like, what percentage have children, the average age of clergy partners, what is the gender balance. We want to know this so that we can make sure our work supports clergy households as they truly are. Once we know the big picture, we can set up our registered charity and be sure that our work is the best support it can be to clergy households.
How Is My Data Secure
The information you have given to us will be stored in cloud form, kept safe by Google. Your data will not be downloaded to any service and will only be accessed by the analysis team. As our report will be widely available, we will take extra steps to make sure that you can’t be identified for example, we will seek several responses from each diocese and will not give case studies from the data given. Data will be deleted as soon as we have completed our analysis in line with GDPR rules.
Accessing Our Survey
There are lots of reasons why it might be difficult for someone to use our online survey, we provided paper copies on request or offered for one of our researchers to help fill out the form either on video or phone call.
Where can I find the survey
The survey was available as a Google form. The survey is now closed.
Where Can I Get More Information
There are a few support services available for clergy households, you can find some links here if you don’t see what you are looking for, please do email us on clergyfamilynetwork@gmail.com We understand that answering our survey may have brought up some issues or highlighted a difficulty. You can email us and we will do our best to help you find the right support, clergy household life isn’t always easy but you are not alone. If you are concerned about a safeguarding issue, please contact your diocese safeguarding team at the earliest opportunity.
Old News.... The History of CFN and our research
The Big Picture. April 2021
Our Survey launched in April. We can't wait to find out more about what really matters to clergy families. We are all different but we face many similar challenges. Finally we will have clear information from clergy households throughout the Church of England so that we can direct our work to the most pressing needs.
Sucess! December 2020
Following our successful crowd funding campaign the team at Clergy Family Network are preparing to launch our survey. We are very pleased to have raised over £800 to get started in our mission to make life better for clergy families.
Want to support Clergy Family Network? You can donate here