Teenage Pregnancy Research Report - 3p Consulting

STATENorthernTerritoryTasmaniaPOLICYPregnant Student Policy and Implementation Guidelines is underpinned by the Commonwealth SexDiscrimination Act which guarantees the right of pregnant students to attend schools, and specifiesthat “terms or conditions” of admission to school should not discriminate against a student’sparticipation, and that a student should not be subjected to “any other detriment”.The policy statesthat all schools should establish procedures to deal with pregnant students, that students who arepregnant should be encouraged to stay at school as long as possible, and that special circumstances,including any special requirements of the student, should be taken into account.It does not collect data on pregnant and parenting girls at schoolThe Tasmanian Department of Education addresses the issue of pregnancy in its Equity in SchoolingPolicy as part of a focus on students who are at risk of leaving school early.It does not collect systemic data on the numbers of pregnant and parenting girls in its schoolseach year, nor track their school and post-school pathways, stating that schools are responsible formonitoring attendance.The Policy Statement on Pregnant Girls and Teenage Mothers identifies the likelihood of earlyschool leaving among girls who become pregnant while at school and who opt to keep their babies.It discusses a range of other risk factors related to teenage pregnancy identified in much of theliterature (welfare dependency, poverty, medical risks, heightened risks of abuse and neglect).The policy statement also identifies the factors which impact on decisions to leave school or stay,factors, it argues, which schools can address and accommodate the demands of caring for a baby,a lack of encouragement and practical support by the school to complete secondary education, andharassment by peers.Information supplied by Tasmania shows that some pregnant and parenting students are enrolledin the Tasmanian Open Learning Service under their exceptional circumstances’ criteria. However,since it is the policy of the Department to retain pregnant and parenting students in their usualschools, these students are only enrolled in Open Learning programs if they are unwilling to remainat school with support.Information for schools is also available as a result of a research project funded by the Departmentof Education in 1996. Pregnant Young Women and Teenage Mothers was published in 1997 anddistributed to high schools and colleges in Tasmania. The report is succinct, easy to read andprovides useful advice about the practical measures schools can take to assist school-aged mothersto complete their education. It makes six clear recommendations about things that need to be doneto assist young women to stay at school:• Making a clear statement of the right of pregnant young women to complete school and theresponsibility of the school to support them to do so.• Providing funding through district services for occasional support to assist young women remainin education;• Options for continuing education through non-school avenues such as distance education shouldbe decided collaboratively by all stakeholders;• The Health Promoting Schools concept be supported to provide information, enhance thesupportive school environment, and improve coordination between health and education services;• School leaving due to pregnancy motherhood should be recorded, and students encouraged toreturn;• A focus on developing skills to participate in the paid workforce should be part of the educationalfocus of young mothers.59