Key questions to ask
• Have you got a locally tailored strategy for tackling teenage pregnancy in place? Ensure
it is a priority at strategic and delivery levels and is part of a collaboration with all
partners, including schools.
• Have you defined what success looks like for your local area? The JSNA and JHWS are
seen as critical in establishing a clear vision for local communities.
• Poor self-esteem, lack of aspiration and alcohol misuse increase the likelihood of a
teenage girl falling pregnant. Does the work you do address these issues?
• Those who work with young people often lack the confidence and skills to address sex
and relationships. Consider providing training for staff not directly involved with teenage
pregnancy work, such youth workers, social workers and foster carers.
• Are your contraception and sexual health services in the right place, open at the right
time, well publicised and trusted by young people in the area?
• Are there adequate engagement mechanisms in place, for example through
Healthwatch, to get the views of young women and men about teenage pregnancy?
• Are you supporting teenagers who do become parents? Co-ordinated care through
midwives, health visitors, children’s centres and education – as well as, of course,
via family nurse partnerships – have proved invaluable in reducing some of the poor
outcomes associated with having a baby at a young age.