The confluence of education and children's spirituality in New South Wales

This paper will look at the underpinnings of spirituality, with particular reference to the relationship between, and context of, spirituality and religion. This will be done by looking at education as a microcosm due to education’s role as a lens for future societal direction. Specifically, the New South Wales public primary school system will be viewed through this lens, due to current practice within this system. Particular reference will be made to the federal government’s National School Chaplaincy Program, which was instituted to attend to children’s spiritual wellbeing, with consequent linkage to the New South Wales Primary Ethics program, which runs parallel to Special Religious Education (SRE) in the New South Wales curriculum. Future directions aimed at increasing the functionality of the programs will be put forward.