SPECIAL RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

SRE Special Religious Education (SRE) is taught in public primary and high schools across the Diocese with paid and volunteer workers. SRE is provided in Public Schools under Section 32 of the Education Act 1990 which requires that: ‘in every government school, time is to be allowed for the religious education of children of any religious persuasion’.

This means there is a historical and legal basis for the provision of Special Religious Education as part of the education of children and young people in New South Wales Public Schools. For information about the Policy and Procedures governing this provision, read this document.

The department has worked collaboratively with the NSW Consultative Committee for SRE to revise the SRE procedures in line with recommendations from the 2015 review of Special Religious Education and Special Education in Ethics in NSW government schools.

The Bathurst Diocese is an Approved Provider of Special Religious Education in NSW.

SRE Teacher Requirements

Any Person who wishes to teach Special Religious Education or be an SRE helper at a NSW Government Primary or High School must be authorised to do so. Authorisation, undertaken by the diocese annually, requires the following:

• a current Working with Children Check number, verified by the diocesan office.
• a Safe Ministry Check Form B  (completed in the last 3 years)
• Bathurst Diocese Level 1 and Level 2 Safe Ministry Training (completed in the last 3 years),
• agreement to abide by the standard of behaviour contained in our code of conduct, Faithfulness in Service
• professional development training – a minimum of 2 hours (either online or face-to-face) is to be completed each year. Online training can be done via Youthworks.
• annual classroom observation with a form to be completed and sent to the diocesan office.

In addition SRE teachers need to have completed the ICCOREIS SRE Basic Training Modules.

Once a teacher has been authorised to teach SRE, the Diocese will provide to the school a letter which will include the name of the authorised teacher, date of birth and contact details. This letter will be updated annually before the start of Term 1 and as required.

Department of Education’s Policy and Procedures links below:

Religion and Ethics

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