Special Religious Education (SRE)

NSW public schools offer special religious education and special education in ethics, delivered by approved providers wherever available.

Write to the school if you wish your child to participate in special religious education, sometimes known as scripture. For more information, visit Religion and ethics.

SRE at Riverside

A special religious education program is available at Riverside Girls High and is run by the Anglican Diocese of Sydney, the Presbyterian Church of Australia and the Fellowship of Congregational Churches. This is a combined group of churches within the local area. All of these organisations are on the Department of Education's list of approved providers and the Christian SRE teachers are authorised and trained by an approved provider.

The curriculum used is Think Faith, which is authorised by the SRE Providers. The scope and sequence for this curriculum is available here: Think Faith.

Special religious education (SRE) at Riverside Girls High occurs during timetabled lessons each fortnight. A copy of the timetable can be obtained through the student/parent portal. Students who participate in SRE will not miss any regular class content.

Voluntary Student Activities (VSA)

A number of students at Riverside voluntarily participate in religious groups, which meet weekly during lunchtimes. In accordance with the Department of Education’s (DoE) policy, visiting group leaders undergo all appropriate child protection checks and practices and the content of the activities is regularly monitored by a Deputy Principal.

Following are details of the voluntary groups of a religious nature, which operate at Riverside:

LIGHT Christian Group

• Time: Monday lunchtime 1:15pm
• Venue: Room 9
• Participating Year Groups: All Years

Participation in VSA

The NSW DoE’s  Religious Education Implementation Procedures  requires  parental/carer permission  for students who participate in voluntary student activities of a religious nature in schools.

Before participating in any activities listed below, a student must present the permission slip, signed by a parent/caregiver, to Public Reception for monitoring by a Deputy Principal. Group leaders will maintain a list of all students from whom a permission note has been received. Permission will remain effective unless a letter of withdrawal is received from the student’s parent/caregiver.