Queensland state schools embrace a multitude of cultural, religious and non-religious beliefs. Under the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006, schools are to provide Religious Instruction (RI) if approached by a faith group seeking to provide RI and students of that faith attend the school.
RI informs students about the beliefs and values of a particular religion. It is delivered by volunteers of a faith group using instructional materials approved by that faith group. RI is required to be consistent with legislation and Department of Education policies and procedures.
All RI instructors must hold a blue card and participate in compulsory Student Protection and Code of Conduct training. RI instructors are only entitled to deliver the RI program outlined below. A school staff member will be present during the delivery of RI.
Participation in RI is not compulsory. Any student (except Prep students) may participate in RI if a parent has provided written instructions to the school.
Students are allocated to RI based on information provided by parents on the completed Application for student enrolment unless other written instructions have been provided to the school.
Note: This consent remains in effect unless the parent informs the school otherwise in writing.
A description of the RI available is provided below.
Catholic Religious Instruction
Authorised program: Getting to Know Jesus
Aims and goals:
- To provide an environment in which young children may come to know Jesus Christ and develop a relationship with him.
- To learn about a personal union with God, and their membership of a Church established by God.
- To learn about becoming like the person of Jesus – in the home, in school, in the parish and in the world.
- To value Christian virtue and Christian truth as the foundation for the whole of life
Lesson Length: Half hour weekly lesson
Lesson Structure: Opening Prayer, Greetings, Acknowledgement of Country and lesson overview. Reading of Bible passage related to lesson, followed by activities including Echo Mime (simple sentences accompanied by actions), Liquid Pictures (form of drama using the bible story), Number Story (showing signs or number of fingers)
Parents of students participating in these programs will be advised if a faith group requires funds to cover the expense of materials used in RI.
Other Instruction
Students who are not participating in RI will be provided with other instruction in a separate supervised location. Other instruction must relate to part of a subject area already covered in class and may include:
personal research and/or assignments
revision of class work such as creative writing or literacy and/or numeracy activities which could include online programs currently accessed by the students of that school (i.e. Mathletics, Reading Eggs)
wider reading such as independent reading appropriate to the student
Parents will be advised of any changes to the RI and other instruction programs to ensure they are able to make an informed decision on their child's participation.