What is Distinctive about Catholic schools?

Catholic Schools; Mandate

Founding Story of Catholic Education in WA

Curriculum of Catholic Schools

Beginnings (1843+)

Perth Population 1846 : 1148 with 126 Catholics

1843: Two Catholic Priests and an Irish Catechist.. No Training

Given three blocks of bush land

Opened St John's college for boys 1844, 1 Pupil attends

Church Built

Expansion (1868+)

Teachers Paid according to Results

1871, Education compulsory for ages 6-18

Government schools 100% subsidised

1880-1895 Catholic schools enrolments doubled

Sisters of Mercy build 4 schools in 7 years

Educated Boys and Girls #

Struggle (1895+)

1895 Government assistance removed for non government schools

Education system more organised

1902 Claremont Teachers' College established

1911 first government secondary school

Catholic schools relied on Religious orders.. No funds for teachers

Catholic community isolated and resented

1962: Goulbourn Catholic School strikes

New Directions (1980+)

Most Catholic schools received 50% funding from commonwealth

New programs introduced

  • Special needs
  • Indigenous students
  • Adult education #

Reemergence of laity Teachers and leaders

Current Funding:

Accepts all students with all beliefs #

Catholic Education Commission established

The Mandate Letter

1. Presence of God

2. Witness of the Catholic Schools

3. Curriculum in the Catholic School

4. The Catholic School Community

NINE learning areas; Religious education is first priority

Students build knowledge and understanding of Gospel values

Values by which Jesus lived by

Sister Bernadine Daly:

  • Passionate teacher
  • Advocated for the Indigenous
    # #

Know and Understand

Value #

Be Able to #

Three pillars support faith development in young students

  • Family
  • Parish Community
  • Catholic School

Church and Catholic schools exists to Evangelise

Do as What Jesus did through witness and word

To transform from within

Catholic schools strive to be good schools

Biggest fear is forgetting why a Catholic School exists

Teach students to integrate:

  • Faith
  • Culture
  • Life

‘doing as Jesus did’ – ‘proclaiming the Good News’,

Do good for others by giving a Christ like love

Christian witness is always "the first act of evangelisation"

"Being a christ like presence to others"

Part of a Schools tradition

Gospel values integrated into the content of the nine Learning Areas.


Religious Education promotes knowledge and understanding of the Gospel

All Learning Areas contribute to ‘evangelisation’ through helping students develop as Christian men and women

  • Freedom
  • Love
  • Faith
  • Humility #

Distinctive through its religious dimensions

Displays the schools Core Beliefs and Values

Educating young people in faith #

Four Dioceses:

"A Catholic school cannot be a Catholic school if it is not a good school" - Archbishop Timothy Costelloe

“The spirit of the Gospel is that we belong to each other and are responsible to each other, where the welfare of one is the welfare of all” - Archbishop Timothy Costelloe

Attentiveness to the needs of today’s youth

Christian culture of the school

Curriculum:
the school’s life and work

Religious education and faith-formation

Catholic Schools more respected

Teacher’s in WA 2005:

  • 3981 Lay teachers
  • Only 26 religious Sisters or Brothers

Guided by the Mandate