Not-for-profit organisation Primary Ethics says no school in the Tamworth or Gunnedah region offers ethics classes, but it is keen to change that.

The classes would be offered as an alternative to scripture.

At the moment, students that opt out of scripture are put in a “meaningful activity class” or supervised care.

The Ethics curriculum would cover 79 topics with Kindergarten students discussing questions such as “Is it ever OK to change your mind?” and “Why might we sometimes be afraid to ask questions?” 

Years 5 and 6 students tackle more complex issues, such as “Is it ever fair to treat people (or groups) unequally?” and “Human rights: where do rights come from and how are they justified?”.

Primary Ethics is the only provider of ethics classes in the state and has formed an age-appropriate curriculum that has been approved by the Department of Education.

It has already been picked up by more than 450 schools. 

Primary Ethics’ Heidi McElnea said the program was taught by volunteers, which the organisation trains for free.

“We would love to run an ethics teacher training session in the Tamworth area,” Ms McElnea said.

“Ideally, we’d like parents from two or three schools in the area who are willing to volunteer to make ethics classes an option at their child’s school.

“Grandparents, retirees and other community-minded locals often also are interested in becoming ethics teachers.”

Ms McElnea said the ethics classes helped young people learn essential life skills such as critical thinking, reasoning and respectful discussion to help them make better decisions.

“It helps children think things through and make decisions on good reasons, rather than habit or peer pressure,” she said.

Ethics teachers volunteer for around an hour a week.

There are other volunteering roles, such as ethics coordinators, who liaise with the school. For more info visit Primary Ethics’ website.

Kindergarten

Years 1 and 2

Years 3 and 4

Years 5 and 6

The whole Primary Ethics curriculum covers 79 topics