Curriculum Structure & Organisation
Our Religious Education Program articulates a Catholic view of learning and teaching and is structured around the Model for Religious Education. We seek to teach religion and teach our students to be religious in a particular way. In order to enrich our Catholic identity, we aim to teach and promote a ‘post-critical belief’ whereby we recontextualise the Catholic faith tradition in ways that our current community are able to engage with. All experiences of Religious Education at St Augustine’s College need to provide meaningful and appropriate engagement for both staff and students.
St Augustine’s College bases its Religious Education program upon the sound design principles. We aim to promote of a Catholic worldview where the four core themes of Anthropology, Epistemology, Cosmology and the Catholic Christian Tradition are central. Our programs employ a reconceptualist approach to the teaching of religion where the classroom teaching of religion allows for critical thought and inquiry, seeking to find ways of making the Catholic tradition meaningful and engaging to our community today. We avoid the use of presumptive language in the teaching and learning of Religion.
Our Religion Scope and Sequence documents aim to ensure a seamless P-12 curriculum by closely aligning the sequence of learning to the expectations of the BCE Religion Curriculum. There are a number of ‘line of sight’ planning documents to support teacher planning and the time allocations within our programs meet requirements. Each term’s unit is focused on an inquiry question to direct the learning and teaching through an inquiry approach. Elements of the achievement standard are scoped out across the year and made visible in teachers’ planning units. The content descriptors are scoped out across year levels and allow a quick reference point when referring to prior knowledge. Our program ensures that the overarching idea is included in the Scope and Sequence to direct teachers to the appropriate mandated scripture text per term. Termly links between the teaching of Religion and the Religious Life of the College are made visible and closely aligned to the substrands of the Religious Life elaborations through the use of colour-coding.
Year Level |
Teaching People Religion – Achievement Standard - expectations
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Teaching People to be Religious in a particular way |
Prep |
Students listen to, read and view stories of and about Jesus in the Gospels that tell of Jesus’ life as a Jew, his mother Mary, his friends and family; of Jesus praying and teaching others to pray; of his teachings about love, compassion and forgiveness that challenged people about the way they were living; and of his suffering, death and resurrection. |
Laying the foundations for the understanding of the significance of the Eucharist to believers.
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Year 5 |
They analyse the elements and features of some Marian prayers (including the Hail Mary, the Rosary and the Litany of the Mary of Nazareth) to describe the role of Marian prayer in the lives of believers past and present. They participate respectfully in a variety of personal and communal prayer experiences, including Marian prayers |
Building our own Rosary – Joey Rosary and using it in Homeroom prayer during Marian prayer time on Fridays.
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Year 8 |
They develop their understanding of the many ways in which the Church is present and active in the world today, including participation in liturgy and other personal and communal prayer experiences; informed response to emerging moral questions; practice of cardinal virtues, and witness to the ecumenical spirit through praying and working for Christian unity. |
Participation in the Vinnies Sleep-out.
Students experience some of what it may feel like to be homeless and sleeping rough. Through this experience, they hopefully develop a sense of empathy and solidarity that moves them to action. |
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Year 10 |
They explain the significance of various sources that guide the Church’s action in the world (including the teaching of Jesus and the early Church; the principles of Catholic social teaching and the reasoned judgments of conscience) and that nourish the spiritual life of believers (including the Eucharist, and individual and communal prayer for justice, peace and the environment). They develop and justify their own response to a contemporary moral question, using evidence from these various sources to support their response.
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They participate in the Year 10 Significant Experience Street Retreat.
Students spend a week being involved with a number of charities that work to support the homeless. They sleep rough one night and participate in an activity where they have to find their own supper for $2 per group of 4 students.
Students also spend a few hours during the week in a park in Brisbane where they experience the darkness and loneliness of someone sleeping rough.
They are asked to reflect on their experience in terms of their own faith journey as well as articulating the importance of the need for action. |
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Year 11 & 12
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Through the Study of Religion (SOR) and Religion and Ethics (RAE) courses in Year 11 and 12 students are taught a variety of religious perspectives on topics such as Ultimate Questions, Sacred Texts, Religion Values and Ethics, Peace Studies and the Australian Scene.
These areas of study seek to develop student awareness of themselves and the diverse, religiously plural world in which they are to be active citizens in once they complete their secondary schooling.
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Religious experiences and opportunities that help enhance student’s understanding of self; a sense of others; and their place in the world. - Year 12 Retreat (3 days)
- Year 11 Leadership Camp- focused on servant leadership
- Rosie’s Outreach
- Powerhouse of Leaders
- Pastoral Time Prayers
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Term Overviews
Religion Curriculum - Key Inquiry FocusPrep - Year 12
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Prep | What is prayer? Why do we pray? Why does the Church celebrate Lent and Easter? | Who created the world?
What did God create? What did people make/create? How can we take care of God's creation? | Who is Jesus? | How can we be more like Jesus? What are the special celebrations in the Church? What is so special about Jesus' family? |
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Year 1 |
What is Jesus’ story and why did people follow him? | How can we be caretakers of God’s creation? |
What is the importance of prayer?
How do we become members of the Church? |
How can we be like Jesus? |
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Year 2 | How did the Jewish people live their covenant with God? |
How do we seek healing and forgiveness? |
How can we look after God’s gifts? | What’s in the Bible? |
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Year 3 |
How can we look after God’s world? |
Who are the heroes of the past? | How can we better understand our local faith community? | Who is the Jesus of the New Testament? |
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Year 4 | How can we make a difference in our community through the teachings of Christ? | How can we make meaning from the Bible? |
Jewish Worship and Early Church Communities
What was the role of the church in colonial Australia? |
Expressions of Prayer and Ritual
How can we get to know God better? |
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Year 5 |
What makes a community of believers?
Why is Mary called our mother? | What have pioneering Catholics taught us about charity? | How do we witness the action of the Holy Spirit in our life? | What do the Gospels say about the birth of Jesus? |
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Year 6 |
How did God reveal his covenant to his people? |
What’s in a name?
How can silence and stillness enrich our lives? |
How does the faith of believers influence their actions both in scripture and present times?
How did the faith of believers and the actions of the Holy Spirit help to form the new Australian nation? |
What do we believe and how do we celebrate our beliefs? |
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Year 7 | How has History helped shape religion? |
How do Catholics express and support their journey of faith? | How could something written so long ago still have meaning today? |
How is the Catholic Church in Australia structured?
What is this all about? |
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Year 8 | Unity and Diversity– Rituals in the Catholic and other Christian Traditions | Mission Matters: Jesus mission in the world today…mission possible? | Movers and Shakers: Who Rocked The Church? |
Scripture: A prophets call to action. |
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Year 9 |
Sacred Texts: Who wrote what? | To err is human, to forgive is divine. |
Christianity Lives: Being Christian in modern times | A Catholic response to social issues |
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Year 10 | Our call to justice: Responding to the signs of the times | How can Eucharist and prayer lead and support us on our journey of ‘ecological conversion’? | The mystery of God: Why all the mystery? | Moral Compass: What guides me in the choices I make? |
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Year 11 SOR |
Ultimate Questions: Origins, Purpose, Destiny |
Rituals: How do rituals enhance an understanding of the divine? | Religion State Relations: What does religious freedom in Australia really look like? | Religion & Human Rights: What has religion done for human rights in Australia since colonisation? |
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| Year 11 RAE | Australian Scene: How can religious diversity Advance Australia Fair? | Peace Studies: How does world peace begin with me? | Spirituality: How am I connected to something bigger? | Heroes and Role Models: A hero is someone who gives themselves to something bigger. |
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Year 12 SOR |
Sacred Texts: Can an ancient text still be relevant today? | Sacred Texts: Can Religious meaning be conveyed through religious art? |
Religion, Values and Ethics: What value is human life? | Religion, Values and Ethics: What is a justifiable defence in war? |
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Year 12 RAE |
Good and Evil: Do we all have a part to play in overcoming evil and bringing about good in the world? |
Meaning and Purpose: Is my existence part of a bigger plan? | Social Justice- How does Social justice provide a ‘place at the table?’ | Religion and Contemporary Culture |
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High Quality Learning and Teaching of Religion
St Augustine’s College’s Religious Education Program is consistent with whole-school approaches to learning and teaching across the curriculum. It identifies how these approaches are developed, communicated, supported and reviewed.
Accreditation and Professional Learning
St Augustine’s recognises that ongoing professional learning and maintaining of accreditation to teach in a Catholic school and to teach Religion is an important part of ensuring the delivery of high quality learning and teaching.
With a teaching staff of approximately 8o, the auditing of the accreditation status of staff happens twice a year; usually at the start of the year and at the start of Term 3. The Leadership Teams seeks to ensure that all teachers hold the relevant accreditation status and all teachers are supported in finding pathways to achieving full accreditation. Teachers are made consistently aware of Professional Learning opportunities provided by outside agencies too. Such opportunities are published via email, flyers, through meetings or on the StAC RE Professional Learning Calendar on the RE Portal.
Professional Learning opportunities are provided to ensure that teachers receive 5 hours per year towards Teaching in a Catholic School and 5 hours towards teaching Religion in a Catholic School.
Recent professional learning opportunities have also provided learning around the Catholic Identity of the school and the recommendations from the Leuven Research Project. Future opportunities are planned in this regard.
Powerful Pedagogies
St Augustine’s College supports the adoption of high yield teaching strategies as outlined in the DELT Visible Learning strategy. This strategy is implemented in the Religion Curriculum across P-12 by seeking to embed the practices and pedagogy that make learning visible in P-12 Religion classrooms (inline with whole College implementation of these practices). The College is committed to find ways of knowing the impact of the teaching on each student's learning and this is also the case in the teaching of Religion. Teachers seek ways to respond through feedback to students and so move the learning forward and they gather and interpret data through the use of the BI Tool across Prep to Year 12.
Teaching the Three Worlds of the Text strategy is another example of the use of a powerful pedagogy. Teachers use the Inquiry approach to guide students in critically interpreting the text within the context it was written.
Effective Assessment and Consistency of Teacher Judgment
St Augustine’s recognises the purpose of assessing students’ achievement in Religion is to gather valid, reliable and useful information about student learning. All assessments should provide equity of opportunity, be fully aligned with the content taught, based on the expected achievements outlined in the Achievement Standard, be valid with a genuine and valid purpose, and be evidence-based. Teachers gather a variety of pieces of evidence on which to base their professional judgement of achievement and participate in moderation activities.
Assessment of each student’s learning is an integral part of teaching and learning at St Augustine’s. Assessment should provide an opportunity for teachers to monitor student achievement and progress at all stages of the learning. In doing so, it guides future teaching and learning opportunities and helps provide ongoing feedback to students to improve their learning.
At each level, students are encouraged to set goals, reflect on their goals and monitor their learning in Religion. This helps students to evaluate their own work and thinking, as well as the work of others; develop learning strategies based on their evaluation and critique of their own work and the work of others against the Achievement Standard.
Teachers should also be mindful of the literacy and numeracy expectations placed on the student when designing assessment pieces.
A variety of assessment tools are used including, teacher observation, peer and self-assessment, inquiry-based assessment, practical assessment activities and collections of work.
Reporting of students’ learning
St Augustine’s College recognises that reporting of student achievement in Religious Education will be in reference to the Australian and Religion Curriculum achievement standards and that there should be an opportunity for the child and parents to meet with the child’s teacher at least twice a year. A written report is sent to parents/carers twice.
Teachers assess against the achievement standard in Religion, using (currently) a fifteen-point scale, A-E, clearly defined against learning standards
Meaningful Learning Experiences
Meaningful learning experiences are those that engage a student in such a way that they are able to connect with and see the purpose of the learning.
When planning teaching and learning, teachers should be aware of who their learners are. The general capabilities of the Australian Curriculum provide guidance when planning such experiences, ensuring these are age-appropriate. Meaningful learning experiences can also engage students when there is a clear link between what is being taught in Religion and the Religious Life of the College. The unit is effectively resourced to support this. There are often opportunities to plan for meaningful learning experiences and they should be reflected in termly planning.