Part 3 - School Education & Well-being in Schools - Education Within an Ecosystem and How This Affects Teachers’ Approaches to Relationships, Sex and Health Education

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Jake

This paper explores education within an ecosystem and how that framing shapes UK teachers’ approaches to delivering sex and relationships education, often with limited training in a sensitive subject area. It considers the DfE directive and revisits core questions about who should teach the subject, how teachers are trained, and how schools align students’ learning and participation with new guidance. It highlights continuing gaps in pre-service and in-service teacher training and in cooperation with parents and diverse social contexts, drawing comments from education stakeholders.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Guidance on SRE delivery

Part 3 School Education & Well-being in Schools Education Within an Ecosystem and How This Affects Teachers ’ Approaches to Relationships, Sex and Health Education Gillian L. S. Hilton Gillian L. S. Hilton, Assoc. Prof. Dr., British Federation of Women Graduates, United Kingdom Abstract This paper explores the concept of education within an ecosystem. It examines how this approach to education affects how teachers in the UK, in particular England, cope with delivering sex and relationships education, in many cases with little training in this sensitive subject area. The new directive from the DfE is noted for its content and suggested approach. Still, this paper returns to previously asked questions, such as who should teach this subject area, how they are trained, and how schools adapt to the new guidelines regarding students’ learning and participation in sex and relationships lessons. Despite numerous attempts to improve how this subject area is delivered in primary and secondary schools, the serious question as to who should teach this material and what training for so doing they should receive is still not comprehensively answered, and teachers and schools are left in many ways to find their own solutions to this challenging area of the curriculum. PSHE coordinators, an older, now retired teacher, who had years ago met this challenge in her own career, and a primary headteacher, were asked to comment on the latest directives from the DfE. It appears that there is still far too little consideration of the need for training pre-service and serving teachers in how to approach and successfully deliver this subject to students, and above all, to cooperate with parents and the context of the society in which students live and learn. It appears there is still room for great improvement in teachers’ knowledge and their ability to cope with a difficult subject and a society whose views are diverse and, in some cases, not disposed to accept how this subject is presented in schools. Keywords: sex and relationships education (SRE), teacher training, educational ecosystem, PSHE, curriculum challenges, parental involvement, DfE guidance, primary and secondary schools Introduction In discussing education as an ecosystem, it is important to consider what and who are involved in educating the coming generations. This approach to education describes the environment of learning as one composed of a collection of different but interconnected systems, linking those who study, those who teach them, families within which the students live, and government and local authorities’ influences on education policies and the resources available in different countries (Newell, 2023) . Shifting to an educational ecosystem both in context and content demands nothing less than a radically different mindset, infrastructure, pedagogy, assessments, etc., that all work together. It is a different way of being in education. Our dialogue points to a shared understanding that the ecosystem is always changing, with or without us. (Lupenui & Chapin, 2019, penultimate paragraph) Much of the rise of this approach appears to have been incentivised by the COVID pandemic and the isolation of many learners as schools, colleges, and universities were closed, or teaching changed to online, not face-to-face learning (Hilton & AchinewhuNworgu, 2023) . Education has, however, always had to consider the society and beliefs that underpin the system involved. An ecosystem approach in education views the learning environment as an interconnected system, where various elements such as students, educators, families, communities, policies, faiths, and resources interact dynamically, within the society in which students are raised and learn. The influences of governments, inspectorate systems, and local influences, plus religious beliefs and attitudes, present a challenge to those who have to deliver the learning in a way that is acceptable to these diverse grou

FAQs

How does the paper define education within an ecosystem?

It describes learning as an environment made up of interconnected systems, linking learners, teachers, families, and government and local influences on policies and resources.

What main challenge does the paper identify for sex and relationships education delivery?

Teachers often face delivering SRE with little training, and there remains insufficient consideration of how pre-service and serving teachers learn to approach and teach the subject effectively.

What role do parents and the wider community play, according to the paper?

The paper emphasizes that schools must cooperate with parents and the social context where students live and learn, since diverse views can affect acceptance and delivery of SRE.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Jake