Religious Instruction

​​​​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.

Please Note:

• This consent remains in effect unless the parent informs the school otherwise in writing.

• 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.
• 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. 
• A description of the RI available is provided below.
  
  

Christian based Co-Operative program

Aims and goals:

·        To teach a Bible-centred, life-related curriculum using Bible stories and examples;

·        To provide an educationally sound Christian centred religious instruction programme which relates well to the age and experience of the child being taught.  The lessons aim to be interesting and fun with historical and cultural information broadening the scope of human understanding;

·        To work cooperatively together as a group of Christian Churches and, on behalf of each other, as required.

Lesson structure:

·        Participating students attend one 30 minute RI lesson each week on a Wednesday.

·        Please click here to for lesson structure information.

Further information:

·        Christian RI​ – Information for families brochure

Jewish Education​

Aims and goals:

·        The Learning Journey in Primary School encourages children to feel positive about being Jewish and to identify and connect with Jewish life and culture.

Lesson structure:

This comprises of five main areas of identity:

-      Memory: the shared history of how the Jewish people became a nation.

-      Family: festivals and rituals of the modern Jewish Journey.

-      Mount Sinai: the laws, ethics, social justice and 'Tikkun Olam' (making the world a better place).

-      Israel: from the land of Israel to the State of Israel.

-      Hebrew: reading, writing and communicating in Hebrew, our shared language.

Further information:

• Please refer to the Board of Jewish Education - BJE.
  
  

Baha'i Faith​

Aims and goals:

Bahá'í children's classes are an initiative of the international Bahá'í community. These classes take place in schools and neighbourhoods all around the world and involve children of all religious and cultural backgrounds.

Bahá'í children's classes are not classes of religious indoctrination, and in many parts of the world, including Australia, the vast majority of participating children do not come from Bahá'í families. Even though children are instructed in the basic moral and spiritual principles and teachings of the Bahá'í Faith, the emphasis is on learning to think, reflect and to apply spiritual laws to the life of the individual and society.

Lesson structure:

Three grades of Bahá'í children's class lesson plans are currently available:

First Grade:  5-7 year old's

The first grade is concerned with essential spiritual qualities or virtues such as love, thankfulness, truthfulness, justice, etc. This grade consists of 24 lessons, each of which centres around one spiritual quality or virtue. Each lesson consists of five parts: memorization of prayers and quotations from the Bahá'í writings, songs, stories, games and colouring.

Second Grade: 8-9 year old's

The second grade of Bahá'í children's class lesson plans contains 21 lessons. There are three lessons to every set, as listed below:

1. Prayer

2. Following the teachings of God

3. Seeking knowledge

4. Living in harmony

5. Being a good friend

6. Service

7. Consultation

Much like those in Grade 1, each lesson consists essentially of five parts: memorization of prayers and quotations, songs, stories, drama, and drawing.

Third Grade: 10-11 year old's​

The third grade of the program consists of 24 lessons that introduce aspects of the lives and teachings of the Manifestations of God (Bahá'í terminology for the founders of the world religions, e.g. Abraham, Moses, Krishna, Buddha, Zoroaster, Jesus Christ, Muhammad and the twin-founders of the Bahá'í Faith the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh). These lessons establish a connection between the knowledge of God acquired through His Manifestations and the habits of praiseworthy conduct.

Teachers – Training and Accreditation

Teachers of Bahá'í children's classes are volunteers who have completed a sequence of training courses based on materials developed by the Ruhi Institute located in Colombia (www.ruhi.org).

Further information:

·        Baha'i – Information for families brochure

·        https://bahai.org.au/ ​

Values

Aims and goals:

·         To provide students an alternate program for those families that decline their child's participation in Religious Education.

·         These lessons share similar core values and morals to be a good citizen from a non-religious perspective.

·         Lessons cycle over a 3-year period.

Lesson structure:

Further information:

• A sample lesson can be found here​.

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