ITEM CH6
CHILDREN’S SERVICES SCRUTINY COMMITTEE - MARCH 2009
REDUCING TEENAGE CONCEPTIONS IN OXFORDSHIRE AN INTERIM REPORT
Background
In February, the national statistics for teenage conceptions in 2007 were released. As previously predicted by the Department of Public Health, the rate for Oxfordshire showed an increase from 2006. The 2007 rate is 29.6 per 1000 (350 conceptions) compared with 27.5 per 1000 (320 conceptions) in 2006. The 2007 data shows a -5.6% change in rate from the 1998 baseline. However, this change in rate is the second lowest in the Thames Valley and compares poorly with a national change in rate of -10.7%.
In anticipation of this increase in conception rate, the Director for Children, Young People and Families, jointly with the Director of Public Health launched a Confidential Inquiry into teenage conceptions in Oxfordshire. More than twenty invited professionals submitted written evidence and ten key players from across the public sector were interviewed at the Inquiry day on 25th July 2008. This paper will brief members on the findings of the initial review, the action taken to date and plans for a follow-up review later this year.
Findings from the Review
· The governance of the Teenage Pregnancy Partnership Board should be reviewed with clear lines of accountability to the Children’s Trust.
· Existing and new investment needs to be more clearly targeted to teenage pregnancy ‘hotspots’ agreed by the Children’s Trust.
· A detailed analysis of all data related to teenage pregnancy needs to be undertaken with the development of a common performance management dataset.
· Work with schools is required to strengthen the quality and quantity of PHSE/SRE in all Oxfordshire schools but particularly in ‘hotspot’ schools in Oxford City and Banbury.
· Additional working with every Higher Education provider is required to strengthen direct provision of sexual health services for 16 – 18 year olds.
· The Alcohol Strategy Taskforce should be mandated to commission interventions for young people that support the reduction in teenage conceptions.
· Clear and unambiguous guidance for staff and young people on issues of confidentiality will be issued.
· Discussion is needed, with the children’s workforce about feeling comfortable talking to young people about sex and other risk behaviours.
· We need to build on what we know works, to target more interventions at boys and young men.
· There is a need to join up commissioning across agencies so that we have a complete picture of spend, activity and outputs/outcomes across Oxfordshire.
· We will invest in an ongoing ‘conversation’ with young people, to ensure young people’s voices are at the heart of everything we do.
Action to Deliver
Five key actions were identified by the Directors to address the issues raised:
1. Immediate action will be taken in this year to address the issues identified. In order to do this a team of four senior officers has been identified.
2. Mike Simm (Oxfordshire County Council), Val Messenger (Oxfordshire PCT), Sarah Breton (Oxfordshire County Council) and Alison Burton (Oxfordshire PCT) have been mandated by the Directors to take the work forward. They will work alongside the Teenage Pregnancy Coordinator.
3. The senior team will work directly to Janet Tomlinson and Jonathan McWilliam, reporting to the Children and Young People’s Trust and to Councillor Louise Chapman in her capacity as Chair of the Trust.
4. The Teenage Pregnancy Partnership Board will no longer continue in its current format but the work on commissioning effective services will report to the Children’s Trust and Local Partnerships will be expected to have a “reducing teenage pregnancy champion” to ensure action is coordinated at a local level.
5. The most urgent actions identified will have an action plan reported to the Children and Young People’s Trust in November 2008.
Action Planning
As a result of the Confidential Inquiry into Teenage Pregnancy existing plans have been reprioritised to look at potential areas of highest impact. The Children and Young People’s Trust agreed the following recommendations:
· Investment in the direct provision of sexual health services in Colleges of Further Education in both Banbury and Oxford (to include separate provision for both the Oxpens and Blackbird Leys campus’).
· A new enhanced specification for support to Sex and Relationships Education in the six teenage pregnancy hotspot secondary schools in Oxford and Banbury.
· Peer mentoring schemes to enable young people to deliver sex education direct to the most vulnerable young people.
The existing Teenage Pregnancy Strategy was also reprioritized to include:
· Establishing a robust Teenage Pregnancy performance management dataset that clearly articulates the picture across Oxfordshire
· Implementing bimonthly contract monitoring for every existing contract that impacts on teenage conceptions
· Mainstreaming the existing multi-agency training programme (to include the protocol for sexually active under 18’s)
· Coordinating public campaigns and communication plans across the agencies
This work will be completed by the end of April 2009. A follow-up Confidential Inquiry is planned for May 2009, where the Teenage Pregnancy Leadership Team will be held to account for the progress to date and will be making recommendations for future action.
And Finally
It would be short-sighted to ‘take our eye off the ball’ as far as teenage parents are concerned. Addressing those, not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) and strengthening parenting skills through programmes such as the Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) must continue. Oxfordshire has now been selected as a third wave FNP pilot site, bringing new money in to provide intensive, practical support and therapeutic intervention, to every first time mother aged under 20 years in Oxford City. National evidence shows, that this will both support effective parenting and reduce second conceptions, so will have a positive impact on Oxfordshire’s conception rates in the future.
Sarah Breton Lead Officer and Head of Joint Commissioning Tel: 01865 810560 sarah.breton@oxfordshire.gov.uk
On behalf of the Teenage Pregnancy Leadership Team
March 2009
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