Jorge Werthein

Realidad que afecta toda América Latina!

Teenage mothers 'forced out' of education

All teenagers will have to stay in education until the age of 18 from 2015 Pregnant teenagers are being forced out of education by a lack of support, a leading children's charity has said. Barnardo's has called for more help for those teenage mothers who have "given up on career ambitions and resigned themselves to a life of low income". A range of schemes in the UK helps young mothers stay in learning, such as paying towards childcare, but there are still many "barriers", it said. The report focused on policy in England but looked at all UK nations. In England, nearly 70% of young mothers are not in education, employment or training (NEETs), according to 2008 figures from the Department for Work and Pensions. In 2015 a new law in England will require all 16 and 17-year-olds - including the 20,000 who become mothers each year - to stay in education and training until they turn 18. 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 Barnardo's spokeswoman Wales: Row over childcare report Barnardo's is calling for improvements to services and support before the new legislation comes into force. Schools Minister Vernon Coaker said: "Barnardo's are right to say that teenage parenthood should not mean the end of education and the abandonment of ambitions." Many of the young mothers interviewed for the Barnardo's report said while they had not been officially excluded from school, they had had "pressure put on them to leave because of unfounded health and safety fears". Other teenage mothers interviewed dropped out because of lack of support and flexibility in schools. In some cases, education authorities failed to offer home tuition or alternative teaching arrangements. 'Knocks and bumps' A spokeswoman for the charity 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. "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." Co-author of the report, Dr Jane Evans, said: "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 young mothers back into education will afford them greater independence and secure a better start in life for their children." Welsh 'most resigned' The Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) has clashed with the charity over claims in the report that childcare support in Wales was inadequate with no dedicated public funding. Barnardo's urged Wales to adopt a similar scheme to the Care to Learn fund in England, which pays up to £160 per week (£175 in London) to registered childcare workers while a parent under 20 is studying. But WAG said it was investing "significant" sums into helping parents access education, and had issued guidance to local authorities on how to support teenage mothers. Some 84% of young mothers in Wales are so-called NEETs, and Barnardo's said its researchers found youngsters there were "most resigned to their lack of prospects" and less motivated than their counterparts in England and Scotland. The charity said its staff in Scotland had successfully accessed money from the Fairer Scotland Fund to help support teenage mothers returning to education and training. In Northern Ireland, they found a "well-managed" system for supporting people through the School Aged Mothers' (Sams) programme.