Access Ministries under scrutiny after 'inappropriate and offensive' material given out at Victorian primary school

Updated

Victoria's Education Department has launched an investigation into what it calls "inappropriate and offensive" religious material distributed at a primary school.

The ABC understands religious educators handed out material at Torquay College last year that instructed children to seek counselling if they had homosexual feelings.

The material also claims that girls who wear revealing clothes are inviting sexual assault and that masturbation and sex before marriage are sinful.

The so-called Biblezines were given as graduation gifts as part of a program run by the state's Christian education provider Access Ministries.

Naja Voorhoeve, whose seven-year-old child received the material from an older student, says special religious instruction (SRI) providers should be banned from public schools.

"If the SRI providers were prepared to breach our trust in this matter, you have absolutely no idea about the other things that they're doing, about instances in other schools where this material might have been handed out," she said.

"My personal position is that SRI volunteers should not be allowed in schools because their programs cannot be adequately monitored.

"What they do is not part of the curriculum... so they're basically let in on their own."

The department says it has launched an investigation into the material and the actions taken by the provider.

"The materials are totally inappropriate and offensive and have no place in our schools," it said in a statement.

"The department has scope to review the accreditation status of providers once our investigations are complete."

Scott Hedges from the Fairness In Religion In Schools lobby group says changes are needed.

"The practice of accredited religious organisations to go into our schools invites this kind of behaviour to happen. It's a consequence of what's going on," he said.

"In fact, the department has said 'if anybody wants to come into the schools and reach the kids, we'll let you do it'. Well, we don't think they should be doing that."

Access Ministries has been contacted for comment.

Topics: primary-schools, education, subjects, states-and-territories, government-and-politics, christianity, religion-and-beliefs, community-and-society, torquay-3228, vic, australia

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