Redbridge Teenage Pregnancy Strategy

According to the findings in the Every Child Matters paper published by the DfES there are a number of factors that can significantly increase a young persons likelihood of experiencing teenage pregnancy including belonging to an “at risk group”.

Among the most vulnerable girls, the risk of becoming a teenage mother before the age of 20 is nearly one in three.

As part of the deep-dive findings a strong focus on education and support of vulnerable young people was a significant contributing factor to decreased rates of teenage pregnancy in high performing areas.

In Redbridge Vanessa Brennan is the Sex & Relationships Education Outreach worker. Click on the link above to find out more about her role and how to contact her.

Redbridge Youth Offending Team work with young people whose criminal activity has brought them into contact with the Police or the Courts. All work is statutory, so the young people are

• On final warnings / Court Orders
• On bail or in custody

The Youth Offending Team aim to:

• Confront the attitudes and behaviour of those young people who commit offences
• Provide them and their families with support and constructive ways of avoiding further involvement in crime
• Help victims of youth crime and make sure their needs and wishes are taken into account

Part of the team's work involves trying to improve the health, literacy, self-esteem and employability of young people - all factors that have been proven to reduce the likelihood of further offending and link closely into reducing risks associated with becoming a teenage parent.

The YOT a multi-agency team. Police officers, Youth workers, Social workers Health and Education specialists all work together to provide a "seamless service". This compliments the way the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy works to tackle teenage conception rates.

The Youth Offending Team is managed by Ruth Holmes (email). To find out more about more about the work of Youth Offending Teams, visit the website of the national Youth Justice Board. The local Youth Justice Plan provides detailed information about the work of the Youth Offending Team in Redbridge.

Also sometimes referred to as Mpower, YCPS work on the premise that one of the best ways of reducing crime is to stop young people getting into trouble in the first place. They work with children and young people between the ages of 8 and 17 who

• Have received a Police Reprimand, or
• Have been taking part in anti-social behaviour, or
• Have been identified by another agency, such as their school, as being at risk of offending

"We try to identify and help these young people as early as possible - we believe that gives us the best chance of making a real difference."
Young people and their families must agree to work with the Youth Crime Prevention Service. They then use a number of different approaches including:

• Parenting work - giving parents help and support in handling their child's behaviour
• Mentoring - where a local volunteer builds up a trusting relationship with a young person, to try to help them see why there is concern about them, and to do something positive about that
• Youth Inclusion Programme - aimed at high risk young people in targeted areas of the borough, YIP involves them in constructive activities to improve their education, employment chances and social skills
• Fusion - a team which co-ordinates and drives work throughout Redbridge to tackle problems of drug and alcohol misuse by young people

These factors also place young people at risk of becoming teenage parents. The work conducted by Mpower, fusion and the youth inclusion project all contribute towards the teenage pregnancy strategies aims of reducing under 18 conception rates.

Redbridge Teenage Pregnancy Strategy has strong links with the Looked After Children, Leaving Care and Fostering & Adoption social services teams. Living away from home has been shown to be a major “risk factor” in teenage conception statistics and so by maintaining close links and working relationships, sharing resources and planning specific events and interventions, we are working towards lowering teenage conception statistics inline with government guidelines.

	Targeted work with at risk groups of young people, in particular Looked After Children. All 3 High performing areas had examples of Social Services having a strong focus on sexual health issues – in one area Social Services had a local performance target that all Looked After Children (LAC) had access to advice on contraception and sexual health. In the same area, there was also mandatory SRE training for all social work managers, family support workers, foster carers and relevant social workers. And in another, Social Services delivered SRE programmes for young people in care and the LAC Nurse ran a sexual health clinic for LAC.
	Click the link below to download the full report. Teenage Pregnancy Next Steps: Guidance for Local Authorities and Primary Care Trusts on Effective Delivery of Local Strategies

The Looked After Children team has the responsibility for the care and management of all looked after children aged 11 and over.

They are based at:

Visit www.redbridgekids.org.uk for more information on Fostering and adoption in Redbridge.

Strike it Lucky was an event organised by the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy in partnership with the Looked After Children’s Health Advisor. 10 Young people attended a training session on SRE and delay training including discussions on contraception, sexually transmitted infections, negotiation skills & confidence building and a session on STIs delivered by YPP. We then enjoyed an afternoon of bowling and lunch at City Limits in Romford.

If you feel a young person that you know or care for would benefit from a similar event contact us for more information at teenagepregnancystrategy@redbridge.gov.uk

The Top2Toe bag, Launched on the 18th July 2007, is a health promotion pack containing information and goodies. It is for looked after young people who may find it particularly difficult to access mainstream services and is provided by the Looked After Children’s Health Advisor at routine Health assessments. The bags contain some nice toiletries and information on health and local services. It is part of a holistic approach regarding looked after young people’s health and aims to make the health assessment a positive informative experience that they have control over - “being part of not being done to”.

“London Borough of Redbridge Children in Care and Care Leavers Sexual Health and Personal Relationships Guidance with practice guidance for staff and carers”

Redbridge has produced a policy and practice guidance document for looked after young people and care leavers. It covers all concerns raised by professionals and foster carers in consultation events and support staff in the delivery of effective SRE. The Teenage Pregnancy Strategy is providing relevant training following the release of this document. Contact the team for more information.

London Borough of Redbridge Children in Care and Care Leavers Sexual Health and Personal Relationships Guidance with practice guidance for staff and carers

Opened in December 2001 The Foyer in Redbridge has 70 self-contained flats, including 8 flats for Young Parents.

Based in Ilford, Essex the Foyer provides the young people who live at there with a wide range of support and development opportunities.

As well as providing services to Foyer residents, the Foyer provides services to non-residents through local partnerships.

The foyer provides access to an IT suite for the young people of Redbridge. At the front of the Foyer is an advice shop, Ilfomation, which is part of the local Connexions strategy.

For more information visit www.east-potential.org.uk

Enabling Young people to access contraceptive and sexual health information and advice. Legal and policy framework for Social Workers, Residential Social Workers, Foster carers and other Social Care Practitioners. DfES & Teenage Pregnancy unit, 2004