§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the linkages between personal health and social education and targets to reduce teenage pregnancy rates. [127458]
§ Jacqui SmithThe Government have launched a wide-ranging programme to tackle the unacceptably high level of teenage pregnancies in Great Britain. The Department for Education and Employment will shortly publish new sex and relationship education guidance which is an important part of this broader strategy, and will assist schools in educating young people so that474W teenage pregnancies are reduced. The guidance will be firmly rooted in the PSHE framework and National Curriculum published in autumn 1999.
This programme includes funding a number of local education authorities through the Standards Fund to reintegrate school age mothers back into the education system and support age-appropriate educational projects aimed at reducing the rate of teenage conception by raising pupils' self esteem, exploring issues of choice and responsibility and peer pressure. We aim to ensure that these initiatives are integrated with individuals schools' Personal, Social and Health Education frameworks and other approaches such as Sure Start and child care pilots for 16 and 17 year olds.