Five countries, shared priorities: what emerges from Spark’s needs analysis
Spark is an Erasmus+ project bringing together eight organisations from Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, Italy and Portugal. The project aims to strengthen the confidence, knowledge and practical skills of school leaders, practising and trainee teachers, and parents, so that they can provide primary school children with an inclusive, age-appropriate and high-quality education in relationships and emotional well-being. Through research activities, training programmes, a MOOC and a shared resource bank, Spark promotes stronger collaboration between schools, families and educational communities across Europe.
Spark’s partners in the five countries have carried out national needs analyses that provide a detailed picture of how primary school headteachers, practising and trainee teachers, and parents understand and experience relationship and emotional education.
In Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, Italy and Portugal, participants widely recognised education on relationships and emotional well-being as an important component of children’s educational journey, to be delivered with age-appropriate content and methods. Their vision goes well beyond biological and reproductive aspects to encompass emotions, relationships, consent, personal boundaries, respect, diversity, online safety, wellbeing and protection from abuse and violence.
At the same time, the reports consistently highlight a gap between this broad conception and what is systematically offered in schools. In many cases, topics related to relationships and emotional development are only addressed when a specific question, a conflict or a situation concerning child protection arises, rather than through a planned and continuous educational programme.
Teacher training is one of the main shared priorities. Both practising and trainee teachers are calling for practical, evidence-based programmes, age-specific guidance, appropriate language and ready-to-use resources. They also express the need to deal with realistic situations that may arise in the classroom: responding to spontaneous questions, addressing exposure to digital content and disinformation, recognising potential risk situations and communicating effectively with families.
The findings also highlight the need for an approach that involves the whole school and the wider educational community. Sustainable implementation cannot depend solely on the trust and initiative of individual teachers. It requires informed school leadership, collaboration amongst staff, access to qualified external professionals and meaningful parental involvement.
Although teachers and school leaders often feared potential resistance from families, the parents involved in the research were generally in favour of age-appropriate education on relationships and emotional well-being. Many recognise their role as their children’s primary educators, but also admit that they do not always have the vocabulary, confidence or tools needed to discuss the body, emotions, puberty, relationships and online experiences within the family.
However, some significant differences emerged across the various national contexts.
Ireland has the most established curriculum framework, as Relationships and Sexuality Education is a compulsory component of primary education. The main challenge, therefore, does not concern formal recognition, but the need to ensure consistent implementation, inclusive practices and adequate support in all schools.
In Cyprus, relationships and emotional education is formally integrated into the curriculum, but its implementation remains inconsistent. The topic is often addressed primarily from the perspective of child protection, personal boundaries and the prevention of sexual abuse, whilst the broader relational, emotional and inclusive dimensions do not always receive the same attention.
In Portugal, schools can rely on collaboration with health and community professionals, but some teachers and families still regard relationship and emotional education as a sensitive or taboo subject. The findings highlight the need to strengthen teacher training, broaden the content beyond biological aspects and improve communication between schools and families.
In Greece, provision is less systematic and often depends on individual initiatives. Participants highlighted, above all, the need for clearer official guidelines, approved materials suitable for different age groups, continuing professional development and greater institutional and regulatory support for those working in education.
Italy presents a particularly fragmented and politically sensitive context. In the absence of a mandatory and coordinated national framework, provision varies considerably from one school to another and often depends on the initiative of motivated teachers, headteachers, health professionals or third-sector organisations. At the same time, the Italian findings show that issues relating to relationships and emotional well-being are already part of everyday school life, through the questions, interactions, language and digital experiences of boys and girls. The challenge, therefore, lies in moving from occasional, reactive responses to a continuous, developmentally progressive approach that is supported at an institutional level.
These findings will directly guide the development of Spark’s training programmes, MOOC and resource bank. By combining shared European priorities with tools adapted to each national context, Spark will help school communities to deliver programmes on relationships and emotional well-being with greater expertise, continuity and collaboration.
With the launch of the project’s training phase, primary school teachers, teacher training students, educators, headteachers and parents of primary school children are invited to take part in the training activities, either online or in person. You can fill in this form to receive updates on upcoming training courses and the project’s activities.
