The main provider of the controversial Christian religious instruction in state schools has revealed plans to shake up training for instructors, with accredited courses offered through a private college.
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Access Ministries' entry into the private training market comes after the resignation of chief executive Evonne Paddison.
Acting chief executive Dawn Penney has outlined her plans for the provider, including a more open and communicative relationship with the 12 Christian denominations that belong to the group.
“Everyone can’t have their own way. Everyone can be heard,” she said.
Access Ministries is creating its own accredited course in Christian education to be offered in partnership with the Australian College of Ministries. Volunteers who complete the course will receive a certificate 4 qualification, which is a precursor to a diploma.
The provider has stressed it intends to raise the standard of instructors, not to generate income through training.
Ms Penney, who has worked at Access for more than seven years, said the course would form part of the “ongoing training for volunteers”.
Her appointment comes amid negotiations with the Education Department for a new funding agreement. She is expected to serve as chief executive for six months but then continue working at the provider.
Ms Penney said Access would also seek more feedback from teachers who must supervise the religious instruction sessions.
“We get it now but it’s not in a structured way," she said. "And we see that as a positive move forward.”
Next month representatives of the member churches will meet to discuss the curriculum for religious instruction.
The scheduled meeting comes after the Uniting Church last year raised concerns about material presented to state school students in religious instruction. It called for an urgent update to the curriculum, which had a “definite slant in the material towards biblical literalism”.
Ms Penney said there was room for improvement in communicating with the Christian denominations.
“We’re finding that we’re in dialogue now, which we were anyway, but obviously not communicating enough,” she said.
Ms Penney said she expected a slight drop in enrolment numbers for religious instruction because of changes in a new consent form issued to parents last month.
“We’ve got 90,000 students doing this program up to the point of that consent form going out. We may see a drop.”
She said the form did not specify the cost of religious instruction sessions. “There’s a lot of confusion out there at the moment.”
The forms also said the Education Department did not endorse the content of religious instruction sessions.
However, Ms Penney said she expected enrolments would increase in future.
Earlier this year the Education Department issued a new ministerial directive that said schools could withdraw religious instruction if there were insufficient resources. The directive also said religious instruction must be ''clearly opt-in'' for parents.
But Australian Principals Federation president Chris Cotching said he was concerned principals may be caught in conflict between opposing groups of parents about offering religious instruction.
“I think there’s potential for principals to be pressured either way,” he said. “The potential for conflict and disharmony is quite significant.”
Fairness in Religions in School campaign member Scott Hedges said religious instruction had no place in state schools.
"Special religious instruction is really something that should not be done in school at all," he said. "That's not a statement against anyone's religion. There's plenty of time outside of school to engage in religion or religious instruction."
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