Pregnant teenagers 'forced out of education' - Barnardo's

Pregnant teenagers are being forced out of education because of "spurious health and safety grounds", a children's charity claimed today.

Barnardo's is calling for extra support for teenage mums to help them continue their studies during pregnancy and as young mothers.

In a report published by the charity today entitled "Not the end of the story", Barnardo's claims that many teenage mothers are having to abandon career ambitions and resign themselves to low income lifestyles.

It states that there are too many barriers to teenage mums getting back into education.

The charity found that 70% of young mothers are not in education, employment or training (Neet) compared with about 10% of 16- to 18-year-olds generally.

A spokeswoman said that many of the young mothers interviewed as part of the research had not been officially excluded but had had pressure put on them to leave because of unfounded health and safety fears.

Other mums interviewed dropped out because of lack of support and flexibility in schools regarding their pregnancies and in some cases there were no offers of home tuition or alternative teaching arrangements.

The spokeswoman said: "Teachers are encouraging pregnant teenagers to leave school out of fear of knocks and bumps in the corridor and by saying it is just not safe in school.

"The same arrangements that are in place in the workplace for pregnant women just aren't being made for girls at school.

"We had one girl who was seven months pregnant who was encouraged to leave because she was told the stress of her GCSEs could bring on a premature birth.

"These are teachers saying this, not medically trained staff."

Dr Jane Evans, Barnardo's research and policy officer and co-author of the report, said: "The 20,000 girls and young women under 18 who become mothers each year include some of the most vulnerable and isolated in society.

"If they drop out of education or training it will impact not just on their own future prospects, but on the life chances of their child.

"Schools may worry about pregnant teenagers but it is important that they do all they can to help them complete their studies.

"We're not denying that being a young mum brings extra challenges, but teenage motherhood shouldn't spell the end of the story.

"Helping and supporting them back into education will afford young mothers greater independence and secure a better start in life for their children."

Dr Evans said that extra support would be required when the law changes in 2015 requiring all teenagers to stay in education or training until they are 18.

She said: "Raising the age of compulsory education to 18 puts the issue of support for teenage mothers in even sharper focus.

"We need to look now at what help young mums will need to make sure they do not fall further behind."

The Barnardo's report calls for increased efforts to keep teenage mums in education with certified exemptions being made only by medical professionals.

It also calls for assessment of a teenage mother's housing, childcare and education needs during their first contact with a midwife, increased public-funded childcare and the upper age limit for Care to Learn benefits to be raised.

Teen mother and X factor finalist Stacey Solomon gave her backing to Barnardo's call for extra support for teenage mothers.

She said: "Every teenage mother wants to do the best for their child and that certainly helped motivate me when I took part in the X Factor.

"I also know how hard it is to be a teenage mother. I was lucky enough to have good family support, but many teenage parents don't have that.

"Like Barnardo's, I think that every teenage mother should be given the support they need to get back into education or training.

"That way they can create a good future for themselves and they can give their child the opportunities to succeed."