Tuesday 11th April, 2017

2015 Review of Special Religious Education and Special Education in Ethics in NSW Government Schools

Providers of Christian Special Religious Education unanimously welcome the release of the SRE review today and the NSW Government’s response to it.

We believe that the Department's response is a just approach to ensuring that future generations of children and youth will continue to have the right of choice to explore the faith, values and beliefs of their families.  This has been the practice in our state for generations and should rightly continue into the future.

By maintaining the choice to continue studying Christian SRE, the NSW Government is acknowledging what’s proven to still be  a highly popular program in NSW Public Schools.

This review is enormously helpful in highlighting areas that might be strengthened and improved to make Special Religious Education even better. In exercising what’s common practice across all areas of school education, we remain committed to continual improvement in all that SRE represents.

These key recommendations include:

• Ensuring schools place clear information about approved SRE and SEE providers working in their school and online links to their curriculums annually.
• Making the SRE and SEE provider approval process more transparent by publishing their application forms and the criteria for the decision to approve them online.
• Requiring schools to communicate with parents who lodge complaints about an SRE or SEE provider, the outcome of their complaint and, if required, any subsequent action against the provider.
• Providing SRE and SEE curriculum developers with advice that can improve effective teaching practices, in particular age appropriate learning experiences.
• Reviewing the Department’s implementation procedures for both SRE and SEE to ensure there is clear information available for principals, school staff, parents and providers about what is required for these providers to participate in schools.
• Requiring the Department to regularly monitor SRE and SEE provider compliance on a regular basis.

With literally hundreds of thousands of students participating in Special Religious Education across NSW, there remains a strong acceptance and appreciation for the work of more than 11,000 accredited volunteer teachers. And it’s all because of what our community believes. That everyone has the right of choice when they choose to know more. Because faith is an individual thing. 

CONTACT: Murray Norman M: 0409 652 984

Further reading: http://www.dec.nsw.gov.au/about-us/statistics-and-research/public-reviews-and-enquiries/special-religious-education-review

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