20/12/2004 - More teenage parents back into education, employment and training

As part of the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy to reduce teenage conception and poverty caused by being a teenage parent, the staff of Connexions Cumbria have been working hard enabling more teen parents to return to education, employment and training. As a result, Cumbria now has one of the highest return rates in England. As part of this process Cumbria is making good use of the ’Care to Learn’ programme which provides funding for childcare for teenage parents. 

Fran Frankland, Cumbria Teenage Pregnancy Co-ordinator said:

"Connexions and its partners has done really well to achieve this. With this increase in young mums engaging with learning and the workplace, we now feel confident that these young families will be less reliant on benefits. Poverty for young families is one of the hardest things to deal with, and teenage parents are very susceptible to poor health and social exclusion."

Connexions Cumbria has introduced a number of programmes across the county to support teenage parents. Connexions Cumbria Personal Advisers support young parents in a variety of ways, including, introductions to first aid, healthy eating plans, money management and bringing groups of young mums together to support each other.

Peggy Lindow, the Inclusion Manager for Connexions Cumbria said:

"Being a parent at any age is a challenging role, which can be even more difficult as a lone parent or a teenage parent. Any young person who feels they would like to talk to a Personal Adviser to offer them support or just for information on issues around benefits and returning to work or training should contact their local Connexions centre for help and advice."

For information about childcare grants for teenage parents contact Care To Learn on 0845 600 2809 or check out the Connexions Website www.connexionscumbria.co.ukwhich has a host of information and help.