TONY JONES, PRESENTER: This week in schools across New South Wales, kindergarten pupils are starting Ethics classes for the first time. Ethics classes started in higher grades in state primary schools three years ago as an alternative to Scripture. Despite early opposition from some church groups, Ethics classes have been adopted by hundreds of public schools in NSW and are being closely watched by other states. John Stewart reports.

JOHN STEWART, REPORTER: At first glance it looks like any other class, but these kindergarten students at Gladesville Public School are doing something new.

BASHI HAZARD, VOLUNTEER ETHICS TEACHER: And then, when the lion began to roar!

CHILDREN: (In unison) Roar!

BASHI HAZARD: I can't hear you.

CHILDREN: (In unison, more loudly) Roar!

BASHI HAZARD: That's better.

JOHN STEWART: Today's class is not about reading or writing or arithmetic.

BASHI HAZARD: First of all, we're going to be talking about questions in ethics. Now you're probably looking at those pictures and wondering what it's all about already, aren't you?

JOHN STEWART: These kindy students are learning to ask their own questions and listen to others. There are no right or wrong answers.

BASHI HAZARD: Can anyone think of another question? Peggy?

PEGGY, STUDENT: Do you like bread?

BASHI HAZARD: Great question! Excellent job! Julian?

JULIAN, STUDENT: Do you like ice-cream?

BASHI HAZARD: Excellent question! Yes, (inaudible).

STUDENT: Do you like carrot?

BASHI HAZARD: Yes! Great!

JOHN STEWART: Bashi Hazard is one of 1,500 volunteers teaching Ethics in NSW schools. The program was introduced three years ago when state laws were changed, allowing Ethics to be taught as an alternative to Scripture classes.

BASHI HAZARD: I've done it for two years now and initially my Year Three class, who's now sort of going into Year Five, and you can see that they're comfortable in bringing in things that were - probably they felt they could never talk about before, issues they felt were very personal or very political, that would make them stand out from the crowd. Now they're just sharing those ideas and they talk about it and they embrace it.

JOHN STEWART: So far, the biggest uptake has been in schools closer to the city, but some country towns are now teaching the course.

ALISSA KELLY, GENERAL MANAGER PRIMARY ETHICS: We're very much driven by demand. We're not evangelising ethicists. We actually require parent contact with us to say we want the classes, and of course in some areas, what we aim to do is provide children who are sitting in non-Scripture with something productive to do with their time. If there are no children in non-Scripture, then that school has no need for us.

JOHN STEWART: Last year, 8,500 students attended Ethics classes in NSW schools. This year the number has grown to 20,000. The curriculum encourages critical thinking and there's a wide range of discussions. Older students are asked questions like, "Should children own a credit card?," or , "Should children be forced to wear certain clothes?" The emphasis is not on moral instruction, but on the reasons why something might be right or wrong.

ALISSA KELLY: Sitting in a circle and listening to other people, it's a skill set i think many adults I know could probably benefit from. But it's one of those things that I think it's something that becomes part of the way that you relate to other people and you think about issues and the way you approach problems.

JOHN STEWART: Other states are yet to introduce Ethics classes, but Primary Ethics says that Victorian parents are showing interest in the course.

ALISSA KELLY: It's perfectly possible. The laws in each state vary slightly, so not all states have a situation where a half hour is dedicated to special religious instruction, so there's not the same application, but the curriculum is certainly transferrable.

JOHN STEWART: The number of schools teaching Ethics classes is expected to continue growing in NSW.

John Stewart, Lateline.