The Religious Education and Faith Formation (REFF) Team had a number of strategic work priorities, including development of the new Religious Education curriculum and consolidated human sexuality curriculum, research initiatives with enhancing Catholic school identity, supporting the sector’s incorporation of the CESA Key Capabilities, support for Assistant Principals Religious Identity and Mission, religious leadership development and staff spiritual and religious formation. The team continued to provide various important operational services, including the Graduate Certificate in Catholic Education, contribution to the Teacher Induction Module, teacher professional development in the religious domain, the Catholic Professional Formation Allowances, Ecological Conversion services, prayer and liturgy school support and the National School Chaplaincy Program.
Supporting schools to design high quality teaching and learning utilising the new Crossways Curriculum was a key priority for the REFF Advisors in 2021. All CESA schools embarked on the first year of a 2-year scope and sequence which was developed by schools at the end of 2020.
Boylen+ continued their development of the Crossways website under the project management of CEO’s Tina Nguyen and with the support of the CEO Marketing Team. The website also showcased the new Crossways logo and a learning design builder. Achievement Standards, all curriculum content, Church document references and support resources were uploaded to the website by various members of the Catholic Identity Administration Team. Four schools tested and trialled the website to provide feedback about the features and functions. Subsequently enhancements were made in time for the website to go live in June. Crossways curriculum content and support materials were made available in draft form via the interactive website which includes features to enable teachers to easily view year level RE curriculum content, see connected components of the curriculum and start the learning design process. ‘How- to’ guides were developed to support teachers in their use of the website and an exploration video was created to support users in navigating the Crossways website with over 500 views for 2021. Face-face and online twilight seminars were offered for teachers and APRIMs to explore the new website.
To support teacher’s use of Scripture in the classroom, a Scriptural Text Scope and Sequence was completed and made available as part of the Crossways curriculum on the website.
The Crossways Core Team continued their commitment to support schools in the delivery of rich assessment and reporting in RE. REFF advisors finalised the development of Performance Standards for each of the 2 year bands. To support consistency across CEO teams, the Crossways Core team aligned the Crossways approach to assessment and Performance Standards with the CEO Curriculum and Learning Team’s approach.
Engagement with draft versions of the year 3/4 and 9/10 Performance Standards occurred with various stakeholders across CESA, including APRIMs and other religious leaders through the September CESA Religious Leaders Day which was held in regions.
How SEQTA can support high quality teaching and learning in Religious Education has been a focus this year, with the decision that the Crossways curriculum will be accessed through the new website (not SEQTA). Teachers were supported to create a timetable for RE through SEQTA and upload their Crossways learning designs in the SEQTA unit planner.
A new SACE subject ‘Spiritualties, Religion and Meaning’ was approved by the Accreditation, Recognition, and Certification Committee (ARCC) in early 2021 and then officially accepted by SACE in June, adopting a responsive implementation approach. CESA and SACE remained in close partnership throughout the development of this subject, including collaborating with ‘lead teachers’ on the reference and writing groups. Partnering with SACE, REFF advisors ran a 1-day workshop for APRIMs and Stage 1 and 2 teachers from CESA secondary schools to: familiarise participants with the new subject outline, develop materials (LAPs, task sheets, resources), align the new course with Crossways Curriculum and support networks across schools. A staged implementation was recommended for CESA schools - Stage 1 to be taught in 2022 and Stages 1 and 2 in 2023. The implementation of this subject was supported by CESA teachers, APRIMs and school Leaders of Learning and the SACE Plato course was made available in November 2021.
John McGrath (Senior Education Officer: Faith Formation and Religious Education at the NCEC, 2015-2019) was commissioned to write a report: The Extent of Alignment between the Redesigned Crossways Religious Education Curriculum and the National Catholic Education Framing Paper: Religious Education in Australian Catholic Schools. The report found that there is strong congruence between the Crossways RE curriculum and the NCEC Framing Paper.
Parish priests and Church leaders were invited to Crossways information sessions in March 2021, face to face and online sessions were offered.
Final approval of the Crossways curriculum is still pending.
Michael Vial and Marcia Burgess presented a workshop at the CTC National Recontextualising Conference in November titled: ‘A sector approach to recontextualising Religious Education curriculum and pedagogy’. In this workshop participants explored the features of our new Crossways curriculum and engaged with the interactive/recontextualised website.
Visit the RE Curriculum websiteAll schools in the state trialled the consolidated human sexuality curriculum Made In The Image of God (MITIOG) in 2021 awaiting final approval. REFF advisors delivered training for the teaching of the curriculum to 164 teachers over the year. Online modules that were developed last year were also made available for MITIOG key teachers for training of teachers in their school; 13 schools accessed these modules.
A half-day session for professional formation for MITIOG Key Teachers in 2021 was delivered to 81 teachers.
A collaboration with ACU offered the Masters unit in Catholic Sexual Ethics, in Adelaide. The presenter of the course was Dr David Kirchoeffer and this program was accessed by teachers, APRIMs and students from the Ministry Formation program.
Visit the MITOG Section of the RE Curriculum WebsiteThe REFF Team continued its role in the CEO support for CESA strategic planning and initiatives in light of the CESA Corporate Plan 2020-2024, the CESA Living Leading Framework and Standard. The Enhancing Catholic Identity Reference Group continued to provide oversight for this work on behalf of the Catholic Identity Standing Committee.
There were several major Enhancing Catholic School initiatives that were supported in 2021:
This is the first year of the implementation of the new Crossways RE curriculum. During this phase the Religious Literacy Assessment Tool (ReLAT) for Year 4 students for 2021 was based on general religious knowledge gained from participation in RE lessons and the religious dimension of the Catholic school. The state average for ReLAT was 81.1%. Schools could download a variety of reports (School and Class reports and the Multi–Variate report) from the online site while parents and caregivers could access individual student reports.
Ten substantive Assistant Principal Religious Identity and Mission (APRIM) positions were advertised and filled during 2021. In four of these schools the APRIM vacancy occurred through the APRIM coming to the end of their tenure, reapplying and being reappointed. Other vacancies occurred due to movement of APRIMs to other leadership positions and retirement. Six acting APRIM positions were also filled throughout the year with vacancies also occurring due to movement of APRIMs to other leadership positions or leave. Four schools asked for exemptions to the APRIM Policy (2020) to appoint Acting RECs as the designated religious leader for a specified period of time. These appointments were made after consideration of the pastoral situation of the school or because there were no applicants for the acting position that met the specific criteria for the role of APRIM.
During 2021 work continued on accompanying documents to the APRIM Procedures (2020) including Appraisal Guidelines incorporating protocols for the ‘Band C APRIM allowance’. APRIMs are now able to apply for the Band C Allowance in a two- step process. Firstly, through a determination that their academic study meets the criteria of 8 units of theology and secondly that they have demonstrated highly successful capability as a religious leader at a school and system level.
The REFF team facilitated the establishment of regional networks for APRIMs in 2021. This involved developing a collaborative professional learning community with a focus on strategic planning in Catholic Identity through familiarisation with and use of the Living Learning Leading and Leadership Standards. A combination of face to face and online meetings were held in each term which culminated in a sharing of their strategic planning and key foci in 2021 and emerging trends and strategy for Catholic Identity in 2022.
The APRIMs and Religious Education Coordinators (RECs) appointed to both substantive and temporary positions for the 2021 year were supported both formally and informally by the Leadership Development and REFF Teams. The REFF Team provided all new APRIMs with direct support and companioning both in 1:1 and group modes. A successful development was the introduction of peer support meetings held twice a term via MS Teams. APRIMs were able to connect with colleagues without travelling to the CEO and this led to greater engagement.
The REFF Team also provided support to the Leadership Induction Program and the Aspiring Leaders Program, running sessions on the collaborative nature of religious leadership in CESA schools and the importance of staff formation in Catholic Identity.
The APRIM Renewal and Enrichment Program allocated funds to one applicant at the beginning of 2021. Due to travel restrictions and COVID-19 precautions, none of the intended travel or experiences occurred. Similarly, the Religious Leadership Formation Program was affected in 2021.
The REFF Team continued to collaborate and support the two religious leadership associations, the Primary Religious Identity and Mission Association (PRIMA) and the Secondary Religious Education Leaders Association (SRELA). PRIMA began the year at the Beit Shalom Synagogue exploring interreligious dialogue led by Rachel Gillespie from The Abraham Institute. This theme was further developed in Term 2 with a day titled ‘Continuing the Dialogue- Jesus: His Jewish World and Ours’ which featured input from Fr Michael Trainer, Alison Gore REFF Advisor and Robyn Mercer (Godly Play). The much anticipated Come To the Water overnight retreat planned for Term 3 at Sevenhill was postponed due to COVID restrictions but was held in Term 4 at The Monastery led by Mary Camilleri.
The Secondary Religious Education Leaders Association (SRELA) provided networking, collaboration and professional Learning opportunities for APRIMs, RECs and identified emerging leaders in 2021. This involved a day of collaborative learning aimed at developing knowledge, skills and resources to support leadership that excels in the Catholic Identity domain within the Living, Learning & Leading Framework for Catholic Education in SA. They also hosted a reflection experience based on contemplative prayer, an invitation into awareness, connection and renewal facilitated by Fr Denis Travers cp.
The Catholic Identity Consultant’s role continued support of those in Religious Education leadership in schools within the Diocese of Port Pirie in collaboration and partnership with the broader REFF Team. The key focus in 2021 continued to be the implementation of the redesigned Crossways curriculum. This involved the facilitation of regular online regional meetings, face to face cluster meetings and individual meetings with each school leader of Religious Education. This further developed religious leadership capabilities in leading RE curriculum design in each school context. RE leaders were engaged in workshops to discern and critique RE units of work to ensure consistency in quality RE curriculum design.
Support was provided throughout the year to religious leaders for their ongoing work with school staff to support student spiritual and religious formation using the 2021 Diocesan theme of Come and Stay. Religious leaders were involved in a retreat experience in November, facilitated by Fr Michael Trainor, in preparation for the 2022 theme Who is my neighbour?
Online networking opportunities for teachers were facilitated throughout the year. A series of online professional learning workshops were offered for Early Career Teachers in the area of prayer and liturgy, RE curriculum planning and Scripture.
