Title of authorised program: Christian Religious Instruction
The providers of Christian 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).
GodSpace curriculum is currently used in Hervey Bay/Maryborough area.
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.
See lesson structure:http://godspace.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/GodSpace-Green-2022-Scope-and-Sequence.pdf
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: 30 minutes per week
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 information remains operational unless the parent informs the school otherwise in writing.
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, but is not restricted to:
- 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 s.uch 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.