Walsall pupil views contribute to teenage pregnancy strategy

The views of school pupils in Walsall are set to make a telling contribution to the way the government tackles teenage pregnancy across the country. More than 13,000 children and young people from the borough took part in a survey about how sex and relationship education should be delivered.

Now, the findings of the survey carried out last year by Walsall Children’s Services, NHS Walsall and Walsall Council are to be used by the Department of Children, Schools and Families as an example of best practice and as a case study in the newly revised national strategy to tackle teenage pregnancy.

Diane Osborne, Walsall’s Teenage Pregnancy Programme Manager, said:  “Reducing teenage pregnancies is a complex issue which requires the work of a number of agencies working together to support young people. This key issue is both a cause and consequence of social exclusion and continues to be a key issue for us.”

Key findings from Walsall included:

-       Pupils felt that the most comfortable age to discuss safe sex and contraception was between 13 and 15

-       Class teachers were the favourites to deliver sex and relationship education

-       DVDs and TV programmes were the most popular ways of getting the messages across.

Latest government figures show that there were 288 conceptions under the age of 18 in Walsall in 2008. 

Councillor Rachel Walker, cabinet member for children’s services at Walsall Council, said: “We will continue to work very hard with our partners on this complex and challenging issue as part of our goal of making growing up in Walsall as good as it can be. I’m particularly pleased to see that others across the country are looking to us to help solve the challenges of teenage pregnancy and we will continue to reflect on our approach and seek to build on good practice developing elsewhere."