Agenda item

To receive a report from the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health and the Director of Public Health, and to consider and endorse or make recommendations to the Cabinet Member on the proposed decision to approve the Kent Teenage Pregnancy Strategy 2015 – 2020.

Mr C Thompson, Consultant in Public Health, was in attendance for this item.

1.            Mr Thompson introduced the report and explained that the strategy had been prepared to address the ongoing challenge of reducing rates of teenage pregnancy across Kent. The Cabinet Committee had considered an earlier draft of the strategy and asked that it be amended to take full account of the recommendations of the PSHE/Children’s Health Select Committee, which had reported in 2007. The Children’s Health and Wellbeing Board had also asked that the strategy include data for the under-18 conception rates and the rate of abortions, by district. Mr Thompson, Mr Scott-Clark and Dr Khan responded to comments and questions from Members, including the following:-

a)    the quality and content of PSHE teaching in secondary schools across Kent was inconsistent and did not include teaching about emotional development and relationships. Mr Scott-Clark agreed that good PHSE teaching, including emotional development, was essential, but must be supported by good service provision, to which young people could be signposted. For example, a mobile phone App made information easy to access. Improving the quality of PSHE teaching was a key priority for the school nursing service.  Mr Thompson added that Belgium and the Netherlands both had very low rates of teenage pregnancy and very robust sexual health education in school;

b)    an opinion was expressed that PSHE classes should be taught by suitably-qualified staff, preferably from outside the school, as young people often found it uncomfortable to be taught PSHE by a teacher who also taught them other subjects;

c)    young people needed to be given a realistic picture of parenting and the huge commitment this represented. Asking teenage parents to visit schools and colleges to talk to students about their experiences would help this.  A scheme in which young people helped at a local toddler group was another way of showing them the reality of looking after small children. In another scheme, teenagers were asked to take home and look after a computerised baby doll which was programmed to cry until given appropriate care and attention;

d)    the rate of abortions among teenagers in some areas of the county was also a matter of concern. The emotional and physical impact of abortion also needed to be made clear, and may help deter young women from becoming pregnant. Post-abortion counselling was also important, as well as building resilience, so young women felt confident and able to say no to sex. Mr Scott-Clark clarified that post-abortion counselling and contraception were both part of the new sexual health service.  Building emotional resilience was supported by the emotional health and wellbeing service;

e)    teenage parents needed to be deterred from having a second child.  Families might manage to support one baby, financially and in terms of childcare while a young mother returned to school or college, but would struggle much more and would possibly not be able to cope with the additional burden of a second child;

f)     contraception did not seem to be as visible and available in retail outlets as it had previously been.  Dr Khan explained that the sexual health service had quite recently been re-commissioned. The new delivery model was an integrated sexual health model, bringing together contraception and sexually-transmitted infection testing, diagnostics and treatment. The extended delivery in contracted pharmacies provided Kent women aged 30 years and under increased access to a choice of free Emergency Hormonal Contraception (EHC, or the ‘morning-after pill’) through pharmacies. Brook would be working with schools in areas of greatest need to support staff to deliver sex and relationships training, and with young people vulnerable to child sexual exploitation. Commissioning of termination of pregnancy services was the responsibility of the seven clinical commissioning groups in Kent. The public health team in the County Council was in discussion with the commissioners to explore the possibility of a pilot medical termination service in East Kent; and

g)    a local mobile information and guidance scheme in Folkestone, run by youth workers, was showing success at reaching young people as it operated outside the school environment and was thus seen by young people as being more accessible.

2.            The Cabinet Member, Mr Gibbens, thanked Members for their comments and undertook to take account of them when taking the decision to approve the strategy. He also thanked those Members of the committee who had served on the Select Committee in 2007 and contributed their views and experiences to the debate. He suggested that an update on progress in addressing the rate of teenage pregnancy be made to the committee in twelve or eighteen months’ time.

3.            RESOLVED that:-

a)     the decision proposed to be taken by the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health, to approve the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy 2015 – 2020, after taking account of comments made by this committee, be endorsed; and

b)    an update on progress in addressing the rate of teenage pregnancy be made to the committee in twelve months’ time.