Walsall’s teenage pregnancy team works hard to keep its schoolaged clients in education. The team liaises closely with teachers to support pupils – and last year helped two-thirds stay in school. This case study is an example of the work that councils are doing to support young parents.
The challenge
A teenage pregnancy increases the risk of poor educational attainment and even dropping out of school altogether. Schools are legally required to ensure girls who become pregnant before year 11 are supported to complete their studies. In Walsall teenage pregnancy rates have more than halved since the late 1990s. But the young women who do become pregnant often have the most challenging circumstances. Walsall Council funds Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust to run a teenage pregnancy team. As well as focussing on prevention, the team works to support young parents.
The solution
All women who fall pregnant before they turn 20 are referred on to the team. There is a fulltime support worker who works one-to-one with them. For girls under 17 a key part of that is helping them finish their studies. Teenage Pregnancy Operational Lead Carol Williams said: “There are all sorts of barriers. We find some have dropped out of school by the time they get pregnant. We have also had cases where there has been an unrealistic expectation on the girls that six weeks later they will be back in full-time education. “We liaise closely with schools to ensure the right support is put in place and that there is a clear understanding of their needs. Some schools have lead members of staff, particularly those which have had a number of teenage pregnancies in the past. But not all do. “We advocate for them to make sure they get the time off they need for antenatal appointments and attend a parenting course called Mellow Bumps that last six weeks. Schools should make allowances. For example, we have helped girls sit their exams at home or in a small group.” After birth, the team work with the school to facilitate a phased return – often starting with the core subjects Maths, English and Science. If childcare is needed, the support worker can help the mother access help through the government’s Care to Learn scheme, which provides help with costs. “The key is providing holistic support. That is essential,” added Carol.
The impact
While there has been a declining numbers of schoolgirls getting pregnant, the proportion of those that stay in education has remained high. Last year the service worked with 18 schoolgirls – a three-fold drop on the numbers eight years ago. Thirteen of them stayed in school. Carol said: “We have had some really good successes. There was one girl who just would not go back to her school. She said she had been bullied and had been really unhappy there. “We found her another school – a specialist school that accepted pupils with a whole host of challenges, she really enjoyed it and settled in despite it being two bus rides away.”
Lessons learned
Carol believes pregnancy should be seen as an “opportunity” to engage young women. “We often find that they are perhaps more willing to listen and be helped than they were before pregnancy. “They recognise that they want a good future for their children and have higher aspirations as a result for themselves. You have to tap into that. It is wrong to think that a pregnancy means they no longer want to be engaged with school.” Despite this, there also needs to be a recognition that not every client will be willing to engage straight away with school, she said. The service used to run a programme that focussed on preparing pregnant teenagers for motherhood while offering some support with numeracy and literacy. Carol said: “It was a good way of keeping them engaged with learning with a view to returning to complete their studies in the future. You need a range of options – although unfortunately funding has meant we are not able to offer that at the moment.”
How is the approach being sustained?
The teenage pregnancy team now has a specialist worker who can provide support post-16. The Black Country Impact service – previously part of the old Connexions service – is based with the team two days a week. The service helps to identify future training courses, work placements and job opportunities for the young parents as well as providing coaching. “It is important that the support does not just finish when they have finished school. Navigating the next step can be really difficult – and the impact worker is able to tap into a whole range of resources and support for them,” added Carol.
Contact
Carol Williams
Teenage Pregnancy Operational Lead, Walsall Teenage Pregnancy Team
[email protected]