The provision of education and opportunities for future employment for pregnant schoolgirls and schoolgirl mothers in the UK

Abstract

1 This paper will report on the results of three recent surveys into educational provision for pregnant schoolgirls and schoolgirl mothers: these surveys have examined the position in England and Wales, and for the first time, in Scotland and in Northern Ireland. As well as reporting what is currently available for young mothers in the UK, the paper will raise issues of entitlement to a full education for these young women, issues of equal opportunity and issues of access. It will seek to point to questions that need to be considered in terms of policy for young mothers and their children. The political debate in the UK has recently centred on the notion of these young women being a drain on the national purse. This paper will seek to address this notion, and will point to the need for access to credible courses leading to employment and childcare in order to increase the chances of these young women becoming taxpayers, and good parents. #