Education Qeenslands Religious instruction policy statement
Queensland state schools embrace a multitudeof cultural, religious and non-religious beliefs and encourage students to grow and develop as a whole person, in particular, in beliefs, values and attitudes. State schools respect the background and beliefs of all students and staff by not promoting, or being perceived as promoting, any particular set of beliefs in preference to another.
Queensland state schools provide religious instruction in accordance with Chapter 5 of the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 External link (EGPA) and Part 5 of the Education (General Provisions) Regulation 2017 External link (EGPR) by making available up to one hour per week for the provision of religious instruction to students (except Prep students) who are members of a faith group that has approval to deliver religious instruction at the school. (Education Queensland, January 2022)
Our Religious Instructions Structure
The providers of Christian Religious Instructions (RI) use authorised program resources and are committed to best-practice programs that have been reviewed by independent curriculum experts. The most popular Christian RI program resources in use in Queensland state schools are: Connect, Beginning with God and Big Questions (all published by Christian Education Publications) and GodSpace (published by Burst Christian Resources).
Beginning with God is a one-year program consisting of 40 lessons that introduces students to the key themes of the Bible and the Christian faith. Children engage with the themes through music, drama, reading and writing, puzzle-solving, drawing and asking questions.
The 7 main themes for the lessons are:
- God and his world
- A troubled world and God's remedy (includes 2 Easter lessons)
- Jesus, God's Son, is always with us
- Jesus cares for people
- Responding to Jesus and God
- People in God's unfolding plan
- God's plan fulfilled (with 4 lessons for Christmas)
See lesson structure: Beginning with God
Big Questions is designed for students in their last year of primary school. Over two consecutive school semesters, the program explores concepts such as 'What is God really like?', 'What's gone wrong with the world?', 'Does God really care about me?', 'What's the purpose of my life?' and 'How will I make choices about my future?'. Lessons include reading and discussion of key Bible verses.
See lesson structure: Big questions
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: Connect A Scope and sequence
GodSpace comprises a three year curriculum for children aged 4 to 12 years and is designed to introduce the Bible and the core beliefs common to all mainstream Christian denominations. GodSpace is presented across four age groups engaging children through games, puzzles, memory verses, use of puppets and singing:
- Explorers, for children ages 4-6 years
- Adventurers, for children ages 6-8 years
- Navigators, for children ages 8-10 years
- Voyagers, for children ages 10-12 years.
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, Baptist, Catholic, Churches of Christ, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Salvation Army and Uniting Churches.
Outline of your Faith Group's 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.
Outline of lesson structure
Christian RI may involve a variety of up-to-date teaching methods including storytelling, prayer, music, drama, craft, activity books, games, quizzes, video clips and puppet shows. Program resources are written by professional educators and are age-appropriate.
Amount of time for lesson per week
Typically 30 to 60 minutes per week.