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. These local churches may, amongst others, include Anglican, Australian Christian Churches, Assembly of God, Baptist, Generations Church, Julatten Family Fellowship, Presbyterian, Salvation Army, Seventh-Day Adventists, and Uniting Churches.
Authorised programs This up-to-date program is agreed upon and paid for by our local churches.
Year 1-6: GodSpace For further detail please click here.
Year 1-6: Connect For further detail please click here
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.
Lesson structure: Lessons will typically run for 30 minutes per week on Fridays from 1:00 – 1:30pm.
For further information please view the departments Religious instruction policy statement.
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. Study Ladder, 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.
(This document is part of a suite of Religious instruction policy statement supporting documents provided by the Department of Education for use in Queensland state schools.
Catholic RI
A variety of curricula can be used, approved by the local parish priest or a bishop. These curricula usually go into much more detail about Catholic tradition and practices such as The Mass, The Rosary, Prayer and Sacraments, rather than a more general instruction based on the Bible and basic Christian beliefs, provided in a co-operative arrangement.
Outline of your Faith Group’s Aims and Goals
The aim of a denominational Catholic program is to inform students of liturgical practice and special feast days associated with seasons of the church year, following the apostolic tradition traced back to St Peter as the first Pope. This universal understanding of the origins of Catholicism is traced back to the words of Jesus in Matthew 16:18 ‘you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church’. Catholic belief is based on both Scripture and tradition.
Outline of lesson structure
Catholic RI lessons are based on the person of Jesus Christ and biblical teaching and may include bible stories, drama, music, craft and prayer.
Connect is a three-year program presented across three levels of schooling – infants, lower primary and upper primary. The lessons are Bible based covering Bible history from creation to God's ultimate purpose. Each lesson introduces concepts, themes and major characters from the Old and New Testaments. Lessons also cover key Christian events such as Easter and Christmas. Students engage with the concepts through music, drama, reading and writing, puzzle-solving, drawing and asking questions.
See lesson structure: https://cepconnect.com.au/images/uploads/Connect-scope-and-sequence-all.pdf
Amount of time for lesson per week
Typically 30 minutes per week