It was 10 years ago that Hilary Pannack, recognising the lack of information being provided to young people on the implications of teenage pregnancy, decided to set up Straight Talking. But while advice on contraception is now more accessible to youngsters, the charity's chief executive stresses that it still has to fill the knowledge gap many young people have on the realities of falling pregnant at an early age.
The charity, based in south London, relies on peer education to get its message across, employing 60 teenage parents to deliver courses in secondary schools. The courses, aimed at years nine and 10, concentrate on relationships and the realities of teen parenting.
Despite one of the main aims of the government's teenage pregnancy strategy being to halve the under-18 conception rate by 2010, the UK still has the highest instances of teen pregnancy in Europe and the second highest (after the US) in the developed world, with 40.4 conceptions per 1,000 girls aged between 15-17. The strategy, launched in 1999, also highlights the need to re-engage teen parents into education and employment.
Straight Talking works to meet both objectives, and 95% of the young parents it employs have gone on to education, employment and training. Pannack lists examples of those who have completed degrees and masters, while chosen career paths include community policing, teaching and banking.
Gennie, a Straight Talking peer educator, became pregnant at the age of 19. Now 24, she works at the charity's HQ and runs three courses in Oxted, Surrey. She says: "Straight Talking has been a big stepping stone in helping me get back into employment. What people don't realise is that there are plenty of young parents out there sat at home, but wanting to go to work."
The courses are designed in conjunction with the teen parents. "We are not a sex education course," Pannack stresses. "This is peer education, and that's what makes it so powerful."
The work is interactive and the young people find out for themselves about teen pregnancy. The programme, which usually runs in schools for five weeks, reached 4,000 students in 2007. Courses currently take place in nine boroughs across England.
Mark Krantz, a citizenship coordinator at Lostock college in Trafford, says: "This project addresses one of the main shortcomings identified by young people regarding sex and relationships education - that it is over-mechanical and lacking a real-life context."
Gennie agrees: "All aspects of teen parenting are covered - from the pregnancy itself to housing and benefits. We are talking about it, not hiding it."
The charity has earned approval from Beverley Hughes, the minister for children and young people, for its work in Barking and Dagenham, contributing to a significant drop of 12.8% in the area's teen conception rates for 2004-06.
The award will provide Straight Talking with the funds to obtain National Open College Network accreditation, which would allow the charity to certify the work of its teen parents and offer them qualifications. Pannack says: "It's not Straight Talking winning - it's the young parents winning. They are so proud of themselves."
