F.A.Q - Sunshine Coast Religious Instruction (RI)

Do I need prior experience as a teacher or in children's ministry to qualify?

No prior teaching or children's ministry experience is required to qualify as a Religious Instructor or Classroom Helper. Because CREP-SC provides comprehensive training, the program is accessible to anyone with a heart for ministry, regardless of their professional background.

Core Skills You Will Learn
Our training program is specifically designed to help you:

Deliver ready-made lessons: Learn how to effectively present pre-approved curriculum materials with clarity.
Bring the Bible to Life: Discover how to use questioning, games, and multimedia to connect with today's students.
Foster a welcoming environment: Create a positive, safe, and supportive classroom space for learning.

What documentation is needed for school entry?

Religious Instructors and Classroom Helpers require:

A current Blue Card linked to your church.
Volunteer Insurance provided by your church.
Approval by your pastor to represent the church.
Completion of MAST: the Department of Education’s annual volunteer induction.

How long does the accreditation training take?

Accreditation training typically takes 6 to 10 weeks (or lessons) to complete. Because the training is competency-based, the exact timeline adapts to each trainee's individual pace, ensuring no instructor is placed alone in a classroom until they are fully confident and ready.

Training Timeline & Factors:

Duration	6 to 10 weeks (lessons)
Format	A balanced combination of theory and hands-on classroom practice.
Pacing Factors	Completion time varies based on instructor confidence, prior classroom experience, and Biblical knowledge.
Safety Guarantee	Ministry safety is our top priority. No instructor delivers lessons alone until they feel fully prepared.

Does an instructor make up their own lesson content or use approved curriculum?

Instructors do not make up their own lesson content; they must use authorised curriculum materials. Under Queensland legislation, instructors must deliver programs approved by their faith group.

The Sunshine Coast Christian Religious Instruction (RI) Cooperative provides a selection of pre-approved curricula tailored to different primary school age brackets.

Curriculum	Target Age Group	Focus & Structure
GodSpace	Lower to Mid Primary (Years 1–5)	Uses age-appropriate themes (Explorers, Adventurers, Navigators) to teach shared Christian foundations.
Big Questions	Upper Primary (Year 6)	Designed to engage older students with deeper concepts and topical discussions.
Connect	Varied Primary Levels	Structured around central biblical concepts with lesson manuals written by professional educators.

Flexible Delivery to Suit Your Skills

The approved curricula offer flexible lesson plans. This design ensures that children receive engaging content regardless of your personal technology preferences.

Tech-Enhanced Lessons: You can choose curriculum options that integrate digital resources like animated videos, PowerPoints, still images, and music.
Traditional Lessons: If you prefer non-digital delivery, you can select options that rely on creative storytelling, puppet shows, student activity books, and craft projects.

Do RI lessons allow reading from the Bible?

Yes, the Bible is an officially approved curriculum resource in Queensland state schools.

Every lesson is firmly rooted in Biblical content, with a strong focus on New Testament events and the life and teachings of Jesus.

Instructors do not need to bring outside source materials or supply their own class sets. Through a generous partnership, the Bible Society donates Bibles directly to our local network specifically for student use during RI lessons.

Are there costs to being an R.I. volunteer?

The cost of providing curriculum for instructors, and for becoming accredited as an instructor or helper, is a cost incurred by churches.

The Education Act (2006) establishes the legal right for Religious Instruction (RI) in state schools, placing the responsibility for curriculum approval, accreditation, and program monitoring directly on ministers of religion.

To manage these legislative duties, local Christian churches partner with CREP-SC through a shared-cost model, ensuring volunteers are fully supported without personal financial burden.

Onboarding & Annual Service Package
CREP-SC provides a comprehensive support package funded by annual church contributions:

Service Category	What is Included
Training & Guidance	Comprehensive instruction, onboarding, and ongoing mentoring for RI representatives.
Program Management	Dedicated program oversight, coordination, and administrative support.
School Liaison	Direct communication and relationship management with state school leadership.
Curriculum Access	Full access to an annually reviewed and approved RI curriculum.
Compliance & Reporting	Management of reporting and compliance standards.

How many hours are required each week?

Your total weekly time commitment includes your classroom delivery time plus an average 1-3 hours of personal lesson preparation.

A standard RI lesson runs for 30 minutes. Because School Principals determine the local timetable, your time at a school will generally fit into one of two scheduling models:

Consecutive Lessons: The school schedules lessons in back-to-back blocks. This allows a single instructor to tach two or three different classes of the same age group sequentially.
Commitment: 1-1.5 hours per week

Simultaneous Lessons: The school schedules RI for all year levels (Year 1 to 6) at exactly the same time. This requires one dedicated instructor per classroom.
Commitment: 30 minutes per week.

Variable Commitment: Lesson preparation time depends entirely on your experience level. If you have taught a particular lesson previously, the preparation is already done, significantly reducing your weekly workload.

We recommend factoring in an extra 30 minutes on-site for arrival, signing in at the school office, setting up your classroom materials, and praying with your RI team before classes begin.

Once I'm accredited, am I on my own in the classroom?

While you will be the primary instructor responsible for delivering the lesson, you are not isolated in the classroom.

To safeguard both you and the children, a state school teacher or teacher aide must always be present in the classroom. Under Queensland Department of Education policy, the teacher retains ultimate legal responsibility (duty of care) for student supervision, behaviour management, and classroom safety.

Having a dedicated Classroom Helper makes a significant difference. An extra pair of hands allows you to focus fully on teaching, while your helper manages lesson materials, facilitates small-group tasks, and provides direct support to the children.

What should I do if I need to take a holiday or time off during the school term?

Since RI only runs during Queensland school terms, school holidays are completely free.

If you need to travel or take time off during the term, simply notify your school's RI Coordinator as far in advance as possible. This ensures we can arrange a rostered helper or a replacement instructor to step into your classroom so the children don't miss a lesson.

While we are actively developing a dedicated relief pool for term-time absences, our most effective coverage model relies on collaborative teaching teams. By buddying up with a fellow believer to co-prepare and deliver lessons, instructors can seamlessly cover for one another during absences while naturally sharing the weekly teaching load.

Can I provide R.I. in the same school as I'm employed to teach / be a chaplain?

Legally there is no impediment to this arrangement. The Department of Education Policy Statement (FAQs "Who can provide RI") says:

"Delivering RI is not part of a teacher's or chaplain's duties. However, if a chaplain or a teacher works part-time, they may choose to provide RI in their own time, outside of their scheduled work hours."

Employing bodies may prefer a degree of separation is maintained between your paid and volunteer roles to avoid a blurring of boundaries between the non-religious nature of teaching and chaplaincy and the faith-based teachings delivered in RI, but legally you are permitted to undertake both paid and volunteer roles in the same school.