A balanced portrayal of young parents as individuals and as a group within society needs to take place if information, advice and support services are to be administered in a way that is relevant, accessible and effective.

· Those who learn about sex mainly from school are less likely to become sexually active under age than those whose family and friends were their main source.

· Good, comprehensive relationships and sexuality education does not make young people more likely to become sexually active at a young age.

· Sex education needs to be supported by open attitudes and a positive approach to the sexual health of young people.

· Ignorance about sex is a key risk factor in teenage pregnancy which needs to be addressed.

· There is still societal disapproval of teenage parenthood.

THE INDIVIDUAL IN CONTEXT

The individual needs of teenage parents should be considered within the context of their family and their immediate community.

· The needs of pregnant and parenting teenagers vary greatly depending on individual circumstances including age, social support and financial situation.

· The individual needs and attitudes of teenage boys and girls must be acknowledged, and services should be tailored appropriately.

· Teenagers in isolated rural areas are often overlooked and yet may experience similar difficulties as teenagers elsewhere, which are further compounded by their relative geographic isolation from a number of services and facilities.

SPECIFIC PROGRAMMES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

The development of teenage programmes could reduce the burden of social exclusion.

· As teenage parenthood rates are highest in areas of social deprivation there is a real need to target such interventions in these areas in partnership with local communities.

· Teenage programmes should be tailored to the needs of individual communities and could include health promotion information and advice, especially on risk behaviours, access to peer education, links to health and social services, and information on housing and employment.

· Personal development should be a pivotal aspect of teenage programmes as confidence and positive self esteem will underpin so many decisions made by young people.

YOUNG MEN

Efforts to reduce teenage parenthood must recognise and respond to the needs of young men.

-	Young men need access to reliable information and advice that will facilitate responsible personal decision making with regard to relationships and sexual activity.
-	responsible personal decision making with regard to relationships and sexual activity.
-	They may also need specific information about the consequences and responsibilities of fatherhood, including the responsibility to support their children.

SELF ESTEEM

Promoting positive self-esteem among young people should be a goal of all parents and those who work with children and young people.

Young people with positive self-esteem are much less likely to become teenage parents.

Efforts to reduce teenage parenthood rates in both the short and long term must focus on improving self-esteem among young people.

COMMUNICATION

Programmes aimed at parents or jointly at teenagers and parents should be encouraged.

Informing parents on the context of school based programmes on relationships and sexuality would be helpful.

MEDIA

The potential of the media as a resource should be explored and utilised to provide messages that are factually correct and deal sensitively with adolescent issues.

· In this information age, children and young people have access to a wide range of media including magazines, television and the Internet.

· It is vital for those in contact with young people to acknowledge that they are constantly being bombarded by sexual imagery in the media and that the messages, either explicit or implicit, are powerful in influencing behaviour.

· There is an unexplored opportunity to include educational material in lifestyle and leisure magazines aimed at both young men and young women.

RESEARCH & EVALUATION

Developing a sound research base and a database on evaluated intervention will be critical in informing future programmes and interventions.

· Historically there was limited local research into pregnant and parenting teenagers.

· Recently there has been an increased focus on research but there remain significant gaps, particularly with regard to the evaluation of initiatives.

EDUCATORS

A specialised programme of in-service training should be developed for teachers who are nominated to teach Relationship and Sexuality Education(RSE).

-	In schools, an effective Personal and Social Education (PSE) Programme which includes RSE is essential in giving young people the confidence to assess situations and recognise risks.
-	Teachers play the central role in teaching PSE although other professionals, for example school nurses, health visitors and other visiting professionals contribute to that role.
-	It is essential that teachers who are to teach RSE are comfortable doing so and receive training to equip them with the necessary skills.

PEER EDUCATION

Accredited Peer Education should be made available and widely utilised. All Peer Education programmes should be evaluated.

-	Peer education offers access to and significant influence within disadvantaged communities and excluded groups.
-	Peer education may be one model of addressing the issue of teenage pregnancy and parenthood and therefore should form part of an integrated approach.
-	Peer educators must be trained, preferably to accredited standards, and be confident enough to talk to other teenagers

YOUNG MOTHERS AND EDUCATION

All pregnant and parenting schoolgirls should be encouraged to stay in school. Flexible arrangements for education and childcare should be available to facilitate this objective.

-	Education is the key to improving the life opportunities of all young people. For all young parents education provides a possible route out of poverty and into the workforce.
-	While some schools are very supportive others implicitly discourage young pregnant women from staying at school.
-	Young women of compulsory school are regally required to remain in education. They must be offered whatever support is needed to make this possible.
-	Young women over compulsory school age must also be encouraged and facilitated to continue their formal education.
-	The lack of childcare provisions is cited by most young mothers as the single most important factor in determining whether or not they can return to school after the birth of their baby.

HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES

Sexual Health services must ensure that they are tailored to the needs of young people and young men in particular.

· Young people’s perceptions of family planning services are crucial lb whether or not they use them. Services must ensure that they are tailored to the needs of young people, specifically that they meet the needs of young men.

· Some young people may lack the confidence to visit a family planning clinic or doctor’s surgery for advice on contraception. They are concerned about how they will be perceived and treated by staff and whether they will be given advice at all.

· Where services are targeted to young people a more user-friendly title could replace family planning.

· In socially deprived areas teenagers may encounter specific obstacles, such as the expense of transport, in accessing services. Ensuring that services are provided locally will help to remove such obstacles.

CONFIDENTIALITY

Clearer guidelines on confidentiality should be developed for health care professionals, teachers and others who work with young people.

· Young peoples’ concerns about confidentiality can result in their reluctance to seek information and advice and to use contraceptive services. They may fear that if they consult a doctor their parents will be informed.

ANTENATAL CARE

Antenatal and Parentcraft needs of teenage parents should be identified and met.

· In general teenage mothers have poorer antenatal care than older mothers.

· Teenage parents in general and teenage fathers in particular have proven reluctant to attend parentcraft classes.

EMPLOYMENT

Initiatives should be developed to facilitate employment related training opportunities for young parents.

· The majority of teenage parents want to work. In reality, however, too few are able to do so.

· For many young parents, childcare and benefit dependency continue to be barriers preventing access to employment opportunities.

· For those teenage mothers who have left education without formal qualifications employment opportunities are further limited.

SOCIAL SECURITY

· Teenage mothers are more likely to rely on benefits as their sole income and more likely to remain on benefit for a longer period than any other group.

· Despite popular misconceptions, the amount of benefit payable to teenage mothers is not generous and many young parents find it difficult to bring up a child on benefit.

· The complex nature of the benefits system can often lead to confusion on the part of a prospective claimant as to which benefits they may be entitled to and for which they should make a claim.

HOUSING

As far as possible teenage mothers, where appropriate, should be rehoused as close to their families and communities as possible and access to necessary support services should be facilitated.

· Following the disclosure of pregnancy and the birth of a child, a teenage parent is more likely to run into difficulties with regard to remaining in the family home.

· This can cause difficulties as lone parents may be rehoused in areas unfamiliar to them, removed from the traditional support structure of family and friends and with inadequate arrangements in place to promote access to necessary support services.

NEEDS OF SPECIFIC GROUPS

Information and services should be fully accessible to young people from ethnic minority communities.

· Young people from minority ethnic communities may face additional barriers in regard to attitudes towards teenage sexuality and teenage pregnancy and access to information and services. In particular there may be difficulties in accessing information and literature in their first language.

· Teenage mothers who are from the Traveller community encounter particular difficulties both in terms of access to support services, and educational and employment opportunities.

· Those with physical or learning disabilities may have very specific and individual needs which must be addressed by service providers.

THE CHALLENGE

The real challenge is to provide young people with opportunities for the future, so that they avoid risk-taking behaviour today in the hope of a better tomorrow.

· For young teenagers the challenge is to equip them with the knowledge and skills that will help them build self-esteem and strong relationships while postponing sexual activity

· For older, sexually active teenagers, the challenge is to motivate them to practice safer sex and to ensure that sexual health services and advice centres are accessible, tailored to their needs and welcoming.

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