@Home - Primary Ethics

@Home for parents bulletin – Term 1 2026

Welcome to @Home bulletin for Term 1 2026, where we let families know what your children, from kindergarten into secondary school, are exploring in their ethics lessons this term.

Subscribe here to receive our @Home email bulletin once a term.

The topics we show below are based on classes which begin at the beginning of the year – this can vary as schools start their ethics programs at different times. If your child tells you they are discussing a topic you don’t see in this bulletin, you can also look at the Curriculum section of our website.

We hope the students talk about ethics with you at home – ask them questions about it!

Kindergarten: Being curious and asking questions: Young children are curious about countless things and a goal of our curriculum is to nurture this curiosity so that they’re motivated and confident enough to think critically for themselves about issues that matter to them. Our first topic of the year encourages kindy students to start thinking about why we ask questions. Students will also consider why it can sometimes be hard to ask questions out loud when we’re worried about looking silly.
Later in the year, students will consider questions about sharing, fairness and doing harm without meaning to.

Stage 1 (Years 1 & 2) Pride: In our first Stage 1 topic of the year students explore some big questions to do with pride. What does it mean to be proud of something? Is it okay to be proud of our accomplishments? What about being proud of the things we’re given, like gifts and rewards – is that okay? And why are we sometimes proud of other people?
Later in the year, students will reflect on the importance of having good reasons and discuss the ethics of laziness.

Stage 2 (Years 3 & 4) Being selfish: In our first Stage 2 topic of the year, students delve into the ethics of being selfish. Is it okay to act selfishly or is it always wrong? If you’ve put lots of effort into something or you’re worried it could get broken, is it okay not to share it? What does it mean if you help someone but for selfish reasons – is that misleading or deceitful?
Later in the year, students will think about how to disagree respectfully and whether it’s okay to keep animals in captivity.

Stage 3 (Years 5 & 6) A fair society: In our first Stage 3 topic of the year, students ponder what it means to have a fair society. Do we have a responsibility to make sure everyone can go to school and receive medical treatment? What are some of the challenges involved in providing such opportunities? And do governments have a responsibility to address inequalities that are the result of good or bad luck?
Later in the year, students will consider whether it’s ever okay to challenge a rule or piece of advice given by an authority.

Stage 4 (Years 7 & 8) Role models: Our first topic of the year invites students to consider the place of role models in our lives. What makes someone a good role model? Must someone to be a good person to be a good role model? Is it fair to have higher expectations of someone just because others consider them a role model? Can having a role model, even if it’s someone you’ve never met, help you navigate life’s moral challenges?
Later in the year, students will discuss whether the voting age should be lowered and some ethical dilemmas around friendships.

Each term brings new ideas and questions, and we hope these topics spark interesting conversations at home as well!

@Home bulletin Term 4 2025

Welcome to @Home bulletin for Term 4 2025, where we let families know what your children, from kindergarten into secondary school, are exploring in their ethics lessons this term.

Subscribe here to receive our @Home email bulletin once a term.

The topics we show below are based on classes which begin at the beginning of the year. If your child tells you they are discussing a topic you don’t see in this bulletin, you can also look at the Curriculum section of our website.

We hope the students talk about ethics with you at home – ask them questions about it!

Term 4 curriculum selections

Kindergarten: Does telling the truth matter? Children often face tricky moments where honesty and kindness pull in different directions. This term, they’ll hear stories about friends who tell small untruths to spare feelings or avoid trouble and discuss whether it’s ever okay to make something up. They’ll explore why truth-telling matters, how lies can affect friendships and trust and whether it’s possible to be both kind and truthful at the same time.

Stage 1 – Years 1 & 2: Being kind Our Stage 1 students will explore what it really means to be kind. Through stories about Oli and her missing pet bird Tiwi – and other children trying to help in different ways – they’ll reflect on why people act kindly, what it means to understand how others feel and whether helping still counts as kindness if it’s done for the wrong reasons or only because someone told you to.

Stage 2 – Years 3 & 4: Cheating Fair play and honesty take centre stage this term. Students will unpack what it means to cheat – and whether it’s ever acceptable – across settings like backyard games, card matches and online competitions. They’ll consider why people bend the rules, when cheating seems less wrong and whether it’s possible to cheat yourself in a solo game.

Stage 3 – Years 5 & 6: Why should we trust science? Stage 3 students will explore how we decide what to believe and why science deserves our trust. They’ll learn about scientific ideas that changed the way people saw the world – like Galileo’s discovery that the Earth moves around the Sun – and discuss what makes a good scientific explanation. Along the way, they’ll consider how our beliefs about the world can shape our choices and actions.

Stage 4 – Years 7 & 8: The cost of a human life Our high schools will tackle one of the most challenging ethical questions of all – how to weigh the value of a human life when making decisions. They’ll explore why governments sometimes assign a dollar value to life, how those figures influence policies and what happened when these ideas were debated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Students will discuss fairness, dignity and whether every life should be valued equally, while considering whether it’s ever right to reduce human life to numbers.

Each term brings new ideas and questions, we hope these topics spark interesting conversations at home as well!

Find out more about ethics classes

Inquiring Minds Spring 2025

Welcome to Inquiring Minds for spring 2025, where we bring you stories and reflections from our ethics classrooms and our volunteers, as well as recent Primary Ethics highlights.

In this issue we collected stories from our wonderful volunteers, such as:

we hear from two professionals who put their skills learnt as ethics volunteers into practice at work
you can watch the video of our panel discussion on critical thinking and empathy in the age of AI
and we share a letter from a supporter whose father asked for him to be removed from Religion lessons in 1965.
Plus many more stories!

To receive the next Inquiring Minds direct to your inbox, make sure to subscribe to our newsletters.

Join our volunteers in your local school

@Home bulletin for parents Term 3 2025

Welcome to @Home bulletin for Term 3 2025, where we let families know what your children, from kindergarten into secondary school, could be exploring in their ethics lessons this term.

Subscribe here to receive our @Home email bulletin once a term.

The topics we show below are based on classes which begin at the beginning of the year. Schools start at different times of the year, some lessons go faster or slower than others, some schools skip ethics for the first and last weeks of the term while others teach every single week – and so on.

We hope the students talk about ethics with you at home – ask them questions about it!

If your child tells you they are discussing a topic you don’t see in this bulletin, you can also look at the Curriculum section of our website.

Kindergarten: Changing your mind
Sometimes we change our minds – and sometimes we don’t want to. This term, young students will explore what it means to change our mind and why we sometimes hold onto ideas even when new reasons are offered. Is changing your mind a sign of weakness or strength? They’ll practise recognising when it’s time to rethink and when it’s okay to stand firm – and why good reasons for having an opinion matter.

Stage 1 – Years 1 & 2: Stereotyping
This term, Stage 1 students will explore the idea of stereotypes. They’ll start with playful examples – like assuming all wombats are grumpy – before turning to more serious ones, such as assumptions about people based on how they look. They’ll consider whether it’s fair to judge someone before getting to know them and discuss why generalisations can be both helpful and harmful.

Stage 2 – Years 3 & 4: Intentions
When someone causes harm but didn’t mean to – is it still wrong? And what if someone tries to do something wrong but ends up helping? Stage 2 students will explore how much our intentions matter and whether we should judge actions based on what people meant to do or what actually happened. They’ll reflect on praise, blame and the difference between accidents and choices.

Stage 3 – Years 5 & 6: Stealing
Most kids know that stealing is wrong – but what counts as stealing and why is it wrong? Is it stealing to use someone else’s Netflix account? What about watching a fireworks display you didn’t pay for? Stage 3 students will examine different types of stealing and think about whether something can be morally wrong even if it’s not illegal – and whether stealing is always wrong in every situation.

Stage 4 – Years 7 & 8: Does it matter if everyone disagrees with you?
Teenagers are often encouraged to ‘think for yourself’ – but what happens when everyone else disagrees? Does that mean you’re wrong? This term, students will explore disagreement and confidence in our own views. They’ll discuss examples from food, art and ethics and consider whether some opinions are just a matter of taste – or whether it’s possible to be mistaken, even about your own point of view.

Each term brings new ideas and questions and we hope these topics spark interesting conversations at home as well!

Find out more about being a volunteer ethics teacher

@Home Bulletin for parents Term 1 2025

Welcome to @Home for Term 1 2025, where we let families know what your children, from kindergarten into secondary school, could be exploring in their ethics lessons this term.

Subscribe here to receive our @Home email bulletin once a term.

We hope the students talk about ethics with you at home – ask them questions about it!

If your child tells you they are discussing a topic you don’t see in this bulletin, you can also look at the Curriculum section of our website.

Kindergarten: Being curious and asking questions
Young children are naturally curious and our curriculum is designed to nurture their curiosity, thinking and questioning skills – helping them grow into confident, independent thinkers. In their first topic of the year, students will explore why we ask questions and consider why it can sometimes feel difficult to ask questions out loud, especially when we’re worried about looking silly.

Stage 1 – Years 1 & 2: When is it fair?
Our Stage 1 students will explore fairness, starting with a story about some animals baking bread – where all but one help with the work. Should the animal who didn’t help still get to share in the bread? Later, they’ll discuss fairness in different contexts, including how to divide slices of cake. Through these discussions, they’ll consider different ways of thinking about fairness and what makes something feel fair or unfair.

Stage 2 – Years 3 & 4: Being greedy
Stage 2 students will think about what it means to be greedy, starting with the story of King Midas, who wished that everything he touched would turn to gold. They’ll also explore stories of children collecting things and discuss questions like: Is it wrong to want more toys than you can use? Is there anything wrong with wanting to be the richest person in the world? They’ll consider different perspectives on greed and whether wanting more is always a bad thing.

Stage 3 – Years 5 & 6: Voting
Our Stage 3 students will explore questions about voting, beginning with student elections. Should you vote for someone just because they’re your friend? How should we balance self-interest with the needs of others when deciding who to vote for? They’ll also consider whether voting should be compulsory or voluntary.

Stage 4 – Years 7 & 8: You’re not the boss of me
Stage 4 students will reflect on how much control they should have over their own lives. They’ll start by considering screen time – who should decide how much is too much, and why? They’ll also look at smoking laws and explore why some rules exist to protect individuals from harm. What right do parents, adults and governments have to limit teenagers’ freedoms? Why do we have age limits? Is it ever okay to stop people from doing things for their own protection? These discussions will encourage them to think critically about rights, responsibilities and personal autonomy.

Each term brings new ideas and questions and we hope these topics spark interesting conversations at home as well!

Become a volunteer ethics teacher!

@Home bulletin for families Term 4 2024

Welcome to @Home for Term 4 2024, where we let families know what your children, from kindergarten into secondary school, could be exploring in their ethics lessons this term.

Subscribe here to receive our @Home email bulletin once a term.

The topics we show below are based on classes which began at the beginning of the year. Schools start at different times of the year, some lessons go faster or slower than others, some schools skip ethics for the first and last weeks of the term while others teach every single week – and so on.

If your child tells you they are discussing a topic you don’t see in this bulletin, you can also look at the Curriculum section of our website.

Kindergarten: Does telling the truth matter?
Our youngest students will begin to consider when – and if – it’s important to tell the truth. What if the truth might hurt someone’s feelings, like when choosing to go to one friend’s birthday party over another’s? They’ll also reflect on what it feels like when friends lie and how repeated dishonesty can impact friendships.

Stage 1 – Years 1 & 2: Ownership
Our Stage 1 students will dive into questions about what it means to own something. Can we claim to own a shell found on the beach or a sandcastle we’ve made? What about animals, like pets or creatures in the wild? Can we own a picture of someone else or even the smell of food we make? These questions will help them explore different perspectives on ownership.

Stage 2 – Years 3 & 4: Breaking a promise
Our Stage 2 students will discuss the meaning of a promise and how it differs from simply agreeing to do something. Is it ever acceptable to break a promise? They’ll consider how trust plays a role in friendships and reflect on the importance of keeping their word.

Stage 3 – Years 5 & 6: Should we take circumstances into account?
In Term 4, our Stage 3 students will wrestle with whether it’s always wrong to do certain things – like lying or breaking a promise – or if circumstances should be considered. For example, they’ll discuss whether cultural traditions, like eating whales in some cultures, influence what we think of as right or wrong.

Stage 4 – Years 7 & 8: Being yourself
Stage 4 students will reflect on what it means to be yourself. Can we be different people in different contexts and is that necessarily a bad thing? They’ll explore the importance of self-expression and how being labelled can impact a person’s sense of self.
Each term brings new ideas and questions and we hope these topics spark thoughtful conversations at home as well!

@Home bulletin for parents Term 3 2024

Welcome to @Home for Term 3 2024, where we let families know what your children, from kindergarten into secondary school, could be exploring in their ethics lessons this term.

Subscribe here to receive our @Home email bulletin once a term.

We hope the students talk about ethics with you at home – ask them questions about it!

If your child tells you they are discussing a topic you don’t see in this bulletin, you can also look at the Curriculum section of our website.

Kindergarten: Disagreeing
Disagreements happen all the time, both big and small. In Term 3, our Kindergarten students will dive into the ethics of disagreeing with others. Is it okay to tell someone they’re wrong? Are there good and bad ways to voice disagreement? Our curriculum aims to help children think about their ideas and those of others. By listening to different viewpoints, especially ideas that challenge their own, students learn that respectful disagreement is an important part of learning together.
Later in the year, they’ll tackle topics like owning up and being truthful.

Stage 1 – Years 1 & 2: Being brave
In Term 3, our Stage 1 students will explore what it means to be brave. Can you be brave if you aren’t afraid or does being brave mean overcoming fear? They’ll also think about a special kind of courage – moral courage. When is it important to stand up for what we believe is right?
Later in the year, students will think about saying sorry and forgiving people.

Stage 2 – Years 3 & 4: Understanding diversity
In Term 3, our Stage 2 students will reflect on some big questions about cultural diversity. Why do different groups of people have different laws? Is it because they have different moral values or is something else going on? And is it fair that the punishments for crimes sometimes differ? For example, in Australia, we might fine someone for stealing, while in traditional Inuit culture, they might banish the person from the tribe.
Later in the year, students will reflect on whether we should always strive to avoid harming living things.

Stage 3 – Years 5 & 6: Getting ahead in sport
In Term 3, our Stage 3 students will discuss the ethics of sports and unfair advantages. Athletes use various methods to gain an edge, but what exactly counts as an unfair advantage? Is loading up on carbohydrates before a race fair? Drinking coffee? Training at special high-altitude camps? Wearing a special swimsuit? Or taking performance-enhancing drugs?
Later in the year, students will consider whether we can blame people for their actions when they have no other options.

Stage 4 – Years 7 & 8: Lizard people and fake news
The internet is full of all kinds of information, some of it quite strange. How important is it, therefore, to think carefully about what we believe? Why do so many people fall for conspiracy theories? Why might politicians spread fake news and does fake news harm democracy? Do media organisations have a duty to combat fake news? In Term 3, our Stage 4 students will dive into these questions, learning how to navigate the complex world of online information responsibly.
Later in the year, students will discuss the ethics of being ignored and whether it’s important to be true to oneself.