Christian Schools Australia

Our Director of Public Policy, Mark Spencer, talks with Rohan McHugh, Executive Director of Freedom for Faith about religious freedom and the upcoming Religious Freedom Weekend.

Mark and Rohan talk about just some of the examples of the violation of religious freedom rights but more can be found here. They also discuss the report from a recent NSW Parliamentary inquiry. The full report is available here with a summary in our CSA Briefing.

The Religious Freedom Weekend is coming up on 11 – 13 June 2021 with full details on the website or in our Briefing which also has downloadable resources for members.

In this episode of the CSA Horizons Podcast series, Sandra Scott talks with Sam Cheesman, Principal of Tyndale Christian School in Strathalbyn South Australia, and Meredith Lockery, Tyndale’s Executive Director Faith and Learning, about equipping teachers for the intentional incorporation of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cross-Curricula Priority into the school’s curriculum and culture. Tyndale Christian School, as part of its commitment to an excellent, inclusive and Christ-centred education, has partnered with Australians Together in a pilot program which it heartily recommends to other schools.

Key ideas shared in the podcast

In this episode of the CSA Horizons Podcast series, Sandra Scott talks with Catriona Wansbrough, Principal of St Andrews Christian College in Melbourne Victoria, about the intentional positioning of a mission and service culture in her school.

Key things shared in the podcast

Listen to this rich discussion on the key purpose of Christian schooling through the lens of curriculum. Cass Pendlebury hosts Peter Kilgour and Bev Christian from Avondale University College as they explore the importance of introducing Jesus to students in Christian schools and how to do that. Is it environment… is it planning… is it both?

Peter and Bev also discuss their recently published book ‘Revealing Jesus in the Learning Environment’ from Avondale Academic Press and their own personal experiences with Christian education.

In 2020 CSA launched the CSA Architecture School Improvement Tool. Discovery Christian College, a small school located on the coast in Central Queensland was the first school to pilot the tool. Join Andrew Taylor from CSA, Josh Counsel, Principal of Discovery Christian College and Blair Harp, Principal of Lighthouse Christian School, as they discuss the implementation of the new CSA Architecture School Improvement Tool at Discovery CC and learn from their experience.

In this episode Darren Iselin talks with Dr Graeme Cross Chief Executive Officer of the Swan Cristian Education Association (SCEA), a network of seven schools located in the Perth metropolitan area. Graeme has extensive senior leadership experience in both schools and universities and has an expert knowledge of education and the Christian schooling sector.

Over the past 60 years, the flourishing of Christian schooling across Australia has been significant and far reaching. Such growth and development has led to increasingly changing enrolment patterns in many Christian schools that present both challenges and opportunities to Christian school cultures. Graeme explores the importance of sustaining core vision within both covenantal and missional schools models of Christian schooling into the future and uses a quadrant school culture model to re-frame the conversation regarding Christian schooling in the 21stcentury. Graeme explores the challenges for both models in a contemporary age and cautions about the potential for mission drift within both models unless leaders are highly intentional about their core purpose in a rapidly changing socio-cultural setting.

Director of Public Policy Mark Spencer talks with Rev. Geoff Lin. Geoff is, amongst other roles, the SA/NT Regional Director for the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students (AFES) and chairs the steering committee for Living Hope SA—a ministry that supports individuals, families and churches in regards to sexuality and LGBT+ issues.*

After getting feedback on the impact of Christian schools on students in South Australian universities, Mark and Geoff talk about the work of Living Hope SA in the lives of those struggling with same-sex attraction.  Geoff unpacks some of the theology and pastoral concern around LGBT+ issues, and provides some real life examples of the care that can be provided.  They also briefly touch on the potential impact of “conversion practices” ban legislation on these sort of ministries.

During the discussion a book by the celibate same sex attracted Anglican minister, Ed Shaw is mentioned. The Plausibility Problem: The Church and Same-Sex Attraction (2015) ISBN: 9781783592067 is available from Koorong or a number of other booksellers. The Living Hope SA resources page also lists other recommended books for those seeking further reading.

*Please note: Geoff was interviewed in a personal capacity for this podcast and not as a spokesperson for either of these bodies.  The views expressed are his own.

In this interview with the Director of Research and Professional Learning at the Scots College, Sydney, Hugh Chilton unpacks what it means to turn a school outward. Despite deep connections to parent and church communities, schools can often become self-referential in their practice. We can do things because that's the way we've always done them. From international school collaboration to partnerships with universities and industry, Hugh and the team strive to ensure the school remains at the cutting edge, connected to the very best people and practices. Why? Because then you can turn inwards as leaders and explore, very deeply, who you are, where you are and why you’re here. Scots want their approach to be research informed, and that means plenty of piloting, prototyping and evaluation. But, more deeply, this is also a posture; a disposition where staff are relentlessly focussed on improving and evolving their classroom practice and sharing the learning with others. It requires an open-mindedness that we might be doing things wrong and as leaders, we need to model that and encourage staff, as well as students, to try new things.

This podcast explores the maturing of the Christian school movement in Australian over the past 40 years and the new horizons that lay ahead.

Dr Pampuch puts a compelling case forward that schools, to retain their Christian distinctive, must be explicit and intentional about the essential elements of Christian schooling. Schools need to adopt a fully-articulated framework and pathway to maturity to be effective both now and into the future. He explores the way associations can assist in this process through development of conceptual frameworks which are underpinned by bespoke resources and services. He also discusses the pathways to maturity that schools need to take and the way that research, advocacy, leadership development type programs can provide opportunities for schools to embrace deep value propositions. The podcast concludes with a discussion about the mobilisation of schools through joint activity hubs, becoming communities of practice, which stretch and deepen the effectiveness of each member school.

EPISODE 18 - HORIZON 2020 SERIES |  25 NOVEMBER, 2020

Join the conversation about "Setting Students Up for Success" with Dave Stevens, CSA Executive Officer WA, and Lisa Cole, Executive Principal, Arethusa College, QLD. Lisa is passionate about teaching and learning and seeing all students succeed. She strives to help every child know who they are, how they learn and how to work well with others. Today's discussion begins within the framework of Trauma Informed practice, and the need to understand student's "back story" (or "trauma"). The conversation touches on four areas that all educators can use to help students succeed: