Media Centre
For latest updates check us out on Facebook 
http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=8212930911&ref=ts
______________________________________________________________________________________
Government fails to deliver on 10-year targets to reduce teenage pregnancy, says Straight Talking Peer EducationCharity calls on the next Government to adopt its proposals in order to make a lasting impact on teenage pregnancy.
Figures released today (Weds 24) by the Office for National Statistics, show a slight fall in the teenage conception rate.
The conception rate for women under 20 decreased by 2.8 per cent between 2007 and 2008 from 61.7 conceptions per 1,000 women aged 15-19 to 60.0 conceptions per 1,000 in this age group.
The Government has clearly failed to make a significant impact with its 10-year Teenage Pregnancy strategy.
In 1999, the Government pledged to halve the teenage conception rate and increase the proportion of teenage parent in Education, Employment or Training (EET) within ten years.
But today’s figures show an overall decrease in teenage pregnancy of just 7.8 per cent among under 20s since 1998.
Today, Straight Talking Peer Education has released its blueprint for change.
With an election looming within months, Straight Talking urges the next incoming government to adopt the proposals contained in its policy report “Taking Responsibility for Young Lives” in order to make a lasting change for the future at this critical time.
The charity’s proposals include:
- A National relationship and sexual health drop-in service for young people, staffed by young parents who are fully trained to give contraceptive advice, signpost to other services and offer condoms to young people.
- Implement a national peer education and support programme to address teenage pregnancy and young parenthood across England and Wales
- A National service to provide every young woman and, where appropriate, her partner, facing an unplanned pregnancy, advice and counselling to enable them to take all the time they need to make the right decision for them at that moment and for the future.
- Implement a national policy across England and Wales to meet the needs of young fathers and support their commitment to, and involvement with, their children.
Hilary Pannack, Chief Executive of Straight Talking Peer Education, said:
“It is encouraging that the teenage conception rate has fallen slightly but it is not enough.
Every teenage parent costs the state at least £14,000 in the first year after the birth of their child.
Too much money has been wasted on administration of the Government’s Teenage Pregnancy Strategy and too few resources have gone into frontline services.
We need to review the strategy to include, among other things, a national program of peer education. This is proven to be not only highly cost-effective, but also to change young people’s attitudes towards pregnancy.
Young people need to be taught not only how not to get pregnant but why not to get pregnant.”
______________________________________________________________________________________
Notes to Editors:
1) Straight Talking Peer Education is a national charity which exists to drive down the teenage conception rate as well as to support young parents back into the world of education, employment and training. The charity employs teenage parents as peer educators to work in schools delivering a program which explains the realities of parenthood to young people.
2) The ONS said today (Wednesday 24 February): The conception rate for women under 20 decreased by 2.8 per cent between 2007 and 2008 from 61.7 to 60.0 conceptions per thousand women aged 15–19. Conception rates for women under 20 increased between 1995 and 1998, while over the last decade rates have generally fallen with the exception of slight increases occurring in 2004, 2006 and 2007. For the full figures and the ONS press release, visit: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/cons0210.pdf
Please call Ian Griggs on 07790 926 292 with all media enquiries
ENDS
To read our policy proposals in full, click here.
30th November 2009
BBC News website
Let's talk about safe sex, government urges young
The government has launched a campaign to encourage young people to talk more openly about sex and contraception. Hilary Pannack, chief executive of the sex education charity Straight Talking, agreed young people needed to be more comfortable with talking about contraception. Read the full article
30th November 2009
Morning Star
16th October 2009
BBC1's The One Show
Straight Talking's Hilary Pannack talks about Government plans to put single, teenage mums (aged 16-17) into supervised homes. This is available on the BBC's iPlayer service and is available to view or download here until 23rd October.
16th July 2009
Radio BBC Surrey
Hilary Pannack talks on the Surrey Breakfast programme
14th July 2009
BBC Radio Humberside
Hilary Pannack talks on the Peter Levy Show about teenage pregnancies
19th June 2009
Visit by the Earl & Countess of Wessex to Whitton School to see Straight Talking's work in action.
http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/108769
On their 10th wedding anniversary, The Earl & Countess of Wessex chose to visit Whitton School to see teenage parents deliver the Straight Talking programme. Their Royal Highnesses chatted to teenage parents and pupils taking part and talked with them about the responsibilities of parenthood. Staff and pupils at the school worked enthusiastically with our charity to make the day a real success.
27th May 2009
Straight Talking on BBC Radio 4's Womans' Hour
Young parents go back to school
Over the past decade the charity Straight Talking has persuaded several hundred young parents who left the education system early on to conquer their fears and re-enter school, this time as "peer educators", running five week practical courses on the perils and pitfalls of early parenthood. For possibly the first time in their lives these young mothers and fathers earn a salary and may even be given driving lessons, but they also have to cope with all the practicalities of working life such as organising their own childcare whilst they work. For Woman's Hour, Caroline Swinburne went to meet Jane and Gennie, who became mothers in their teens, to see them hosting a workshop at Oxted School in Surrey and to discuss their experiences of getting involved in the scheme.
Listen to the programme again:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/03/2009_21_wed.shtml
Download the Woman's Hour podcast for 27th May 2009 (.mp3)
(Right-click on the link and select 'Save As' or 'Save Link As')
7th May 2009
Awards
The prestigious 2009 GlaxoSmithKline IMPACT Awards have now been judged and the charity Straight Talking Peer Education has been voted winner along with 9 others. The winners’ ceremony will take place on 7 May. For more details click here: 2009 GlaxoSmithKline IMPACT awards
On December 4th 2008, Straight Talking was presented The Guardian Charity Award 2008 at a ceremony held at the Guardian's new premises in London. The award was presented to us by Sarah Browm. The charity was shortlisted down to five winners from 550 entries. For more information please go to; www.guardian.co.uk/society/video/2008/dec/04/charity-awards-straight-talking
February 2009
Press release
Rise in teenage pregnancy represents a failure by Government to act, says Straight Talking
Teenage pregnancy reduction charity Straight Talking Peer Education reacts to news that under-18 conception rates are up.
New figures from the Office for National Statistics show teenage conception rates have risen throughout 2007 and remain the highest in Europe.
We are failing an entire generation of young people by not educating them properly and they are missing out on their childhoods as well as reducing their future life chances.
The economic consequences of failing to get to grips with the issue are stark: young people relying on state benefits for years to come and perpetuating a cycle of teenage parenting down through the generations.
“The reason teenage conception rates are rising is because young people not only need to know how, but why not to get pregnant, which is why we deliver our programmes in schools,” said Straight Talking chief executive Hilary Pannack.
Straight Talking employs teenage parents and trains them to deliver a programme to 13-16-year-olds about what it’s like to be pregnant and a parent.”
“When you consider the cost of long-term state benefits, it is a lot cheaper to give young people proper sex and relationships education in the first place,” said Pannack.
“We live in a highly sexualised society and if we continue leave sex education to the playground and pornographers, we will see more young people barefoot and pregnant.”
The charity wants the Government to implement the findings of its 1999 report into teenage pregnancy which found that one reason rates were so high was because young people had no understanding about the implications of being a parent.
The report found that ‘the reality of bringing up a child, often alone and on a low income’ is not being taught to children’.
“We are in a growing number of schools around the country but it’s not enough,” said Pannack.
“Our programme needs to be alongside good quality sex education in every school in the UK. No ifs. No buts.”
“The Government’s failure to fully implement its 1999 report has huge social and economic implications.”
Barking & Dagenham
We are very privileged to work with an excellent Teenage Pregnancy Team in Barking & Dagenham who have been working very hard to reduce their very high rates of teenage pregnancy. Straight Talking's programme is an element of the work achieved in the borough and by working together the rates have reduced by 12%.
Young Parents Achieving
A recent audit has shown that 95% of young parents employed by the charity have moved forward into education, employment and training.
President of Straight Talking
We are proud to announce that Baroness Joyce Gould has agreed to become our President. Two of our young parents were invited to join Baroness Gould at the House of Lords for tea to discuss the charity's work. Baroness Gould is a life peer in the House of Lords. She is Chair of the Government’s Independent Advisory Group for Sexual Health and HIV, making her one of the top health policy-makers in the country.
Baroness Gould says;
From the very outset, I was impressed with Straight Talking’s approach and unswerving dedication to the welfare of disengaged young people. What a marvellous way to both prevent teenage pregnancy and support teenage parents back into education and training. I wholeheartedly recommend their programme to any professional concerned with improving the life chances of hard-to-reach young people.
Baroness Gould, Jasmine and Jade at the House of Lords
Text messaging project
Straight Talking is exploring the use of text messaging to give young people an understanding of parenting in ‘real time’. We are currently piloting a scheme in 2 schools. Pupils will receive numerous text messages over a 10 hour period to simulate the relentless responsibilities of parenting. The scheme is already being developed to incorporate further learning.
European Partners
The charity received Socrates funding to participate in a European partnership. Our partners include organisations in Germany, Italy, Austria, Poland and Lithuania. In October 2005 we met in Cochem in Germany to discuss our work in motivating young parents. We continued our work by hosting the group here in London last May and in October 2006, we regrouped in Poland. We are learning a great deal from other cultures and practices and this has impacted on our work. We took two young parents with us to Warsaw, Poland and we were delighted with their level of participation. By including the young parents, we are giving them a voice and believe that this is of vital importance. Young parents are the experts on teenage parenthood and Straight Talking strongly believes in acknowledging their experience. We look forward to our next trip to Lithuania in June 2007.
To see our combined website, please click on the following link;
Web site addresses of our European partners are as follows;