Catholic Education Canberra and Goulburn has set out an ambitious vision for the next seven years, placing Catholic faith at the heart of how students learn, grow and understand the world around them. Source: Catholic Voice.
Under the new Apostolic Action Plan, Grounded in Faith, Growing in Service, faith will extend beyond religious education, prayer and Mass to permeate every learning area and every classroom across the archdiocese.
Launched on August 20 by executive director David de Carvalho, the plan sets two “bold goals” to guide Catholic education to 2033 – that faith “oxygenates every learning area in the curriculum in every classroom” and that all schools achieve above-expected progress in literacy and numeracy.
“We think it’s really important that we don’t see the faith dimension of Catholic education as kind of hived off in just religious education classrooms or Masses and prayers and artwork, as important as all those things are,” Mr de Carvalho said.
“To be truly Catholic, everything that we teach is taught in a spirit of helping the students appreciate the wonder of God’s creation.
“We think that that is an ongoing challenge for us to be able to support our children to see the subjects that they learn, not just as a ticket to a job, but a ticket to a good life.”
Turning that aspiration into classroom practice will require sustained support for teachers, with faith formation identified as a high priority. Mr de Carvalho said Catholic Education would work with teachers to develop their understanding of a Catholic curriculum and what it means in practice.
The second bold goal focuses on literacy and numeracy, with every school expected to achieve above expected progress in both areas.
Mr de Carvalho said these foundational skills went beyond academic achievement and were essential to students’ ability to participate fully in society and engage with the broader curriculum.
Canberra-Goulburn Archbishop Christopher Prowse said the plan provided both a shared vision grounded in Christ and a response to contemporary educational challenges.
The plan also commits Catholic Education to accessibility, including changes to fee structures from 2028 and an aspiration to grow capacity over the longer term.
“We don’t want fees to be a barrier to Catholic education,” Mr de Carvalho said.
“We need to ensure our fee structures are fair and take account of families’ capacity to contribute to the cost of education.”
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Faith to ‘oxygenate’ every classroom under new Catholic Education plan (By Jeanine Doyle, Catholic Voice)
