Welcome / Program Aims
The Batemans Bay Employers of Christian Education Teachers (known as BBECET) has been operating the Special Religious Education (SRE) program in the Batemans Bay High School for more than two decades. It is also responsible for SRE teaching in our local primary schools of Bay Primary, Sunshine Bay Primary and Mogo Primary.
The program was an initiative of the Combined Churches of Batemans Bay in 2002 when a “seed” fund was provided by church members to employ professionally trained teachers to implement the provisions of the NSW Education Act which allows for one period of SRE for each student each week in the school program.
The program has a budget which is raised without any Government funding, from contributions provided by local Churches, individual donors, fund raising events and business supporters. In addition, the BBECET Board promotes a “Support a Student” Program which allows supporters to donate just $90 pa. to meet the costs of providing the program for one student for a full school year. Multiple sponsorships are encouraged and all donations of $2 or greater are tax deductible.
We are also partners with Generate and Scripture Union Australia who provide support in fund raising, resources and SRE teachers when required.
About BBECET
The Batemans Bay Employers of Christian Education Teachers Inc. (better known as BBECET) program is an initiative of the combined Churches of Batemans Bay. It’s charter is to bring the reality of the Gospel of Jesus Christ into the lives of the students of Batemans Bay High School and local primary schools, and in doing so to Encourage, Equip and Empower them according to Biblical Principles.
What is Christian SRE?
A long history of teaching kids about faith
For over 150 years churches have had the opportunity to go into schools and tell children about faith. It has been and continues to be a wonderful strength of public education in NSW.
In 1980 many different churches (denominations) came together and engaged with the Government regarding Special Religious Education (SRE). The result was a securing of many of the provisions churches were given.
In 2016, changes were made by the government to the rules for the provision of SRE. The major change was an opt in approach to student participation in SRE which means that parents and students must indicate officially that they want to be involved in Christian education in the school. This has been made easier for families as they can indicate their choices online, particularly enrolling new students in kindergarten, year 7 or other years as students change schools.
Christian SRE – adding value to school communities.
Christian SRE adds value to NSW public education primary and high school communities, students and teachers in several ways.
These include:
It teaches students about the Bible and nurtures their spiritual framework. The majority of Australians, including children have a sense of God, even if they do not attend church. This is the way humans are created. Christian SRE provides a very valuable opportunity for children to explore their natural spiritual curiosity by looking into God’s word.
It offers students the opportunity to question and learn from the lessons it contains. The Bible clearly helps makes sense of the world. As such, Christian SRE can be valuable in the process of shaping a child’s framework. The Christian faith teaches that people have the capacity to choose wisely or foolishly and need a moral framework to guide wise decisions in every area of their life.
It facilitates a pathway for the spiritual care of students. Schools work hard to support students in times of difficulty or through challenging personal situations. Christian SRE can add another dimension by assuring the child of God’s love and faithfulness. In Christian SRE children will develop a relationship with their teacher/s that can provide encouragement and pastoral care.
It contributes another perspective to other classroom subjects e.g. HSIE. Who is God? How was the world created? These and many other questions are answered from the biblical perspective and provide a balance into other humanist theories. Early Christian SRE education will assist young children in particular, to further question populist theories and seek to know the truth.
Adapted from SRE Website – for information of supporters of SRE.