Religious instruction
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.
Christian Religious Instruction
Participating faith groups: Local Christian Churches come together to offer Christian RI on a cooperative and non-denominational basis. At present this includes the following churches: New Heart Baptist Church, St Philips Anglican Parish, St Peters Catholic Parish, Southside Presbyterian Church.
Authorised program: Connect (Years 1-6). The Teacher Manuals were revised in 2019 and meet current Queensland government guidelines
Aims and goals: The aim of Christian RI is to inform students about the basic beliefs of the Christian faith from a non-denominational perspective.
Lessons are taken from a non-denominational CRI curriculum that gives basic Christian teaching from the Bible using stories and examples.
Lesson structure: Lessons may involve a variety of up-to-date teaching methods including storytelling, music, drama, activity books, games, quizzes, video clips and puppet shows. Program resources are written by professional educators and are age-appropriate. Amount of time for lessons is currently 1 hour a fortnight, usually on Fridays in odd Weeks.
For further information, including module and/or lesson descriptors, please contact the school to be put in touch with the RSSS Christian RI Co-ordinator.
(Information current at 30/4/24)
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.