Young Foundation March 2009
13 Meet the Parents
Context
3.1.4 Contraception and sex education Formal sex education in the UK begins in its simplest form for pupils aged 7–8 years in primary school, and continues in Personal and Social Education (PSE) lessons in secondary school through to ages 13–14 years. The National Curriculum covers reproduction, contraception and relationships. The quality of PSE is often very variable, and the experiences of Lewisham teenagers who had received sex education is a key part of this research. Connexions centres (for young people aged 14–18 years) and sexual health workers (often based within clinics and schools) offer contraception advice to young people. Young people in Lewisham can access free contraception through sexual health clinics, some of which have extended opening hours to encourage them to attend. A 2006 UK study concluded that young people aged 16–22 often expressed attitudes of ‘positive ambivalence’ to contraception. Although the need for contraception in preventing pregnancy seemed to be understood, stopping the use of contraception was not necessarily recognised as being connected to the potential for pregnancy. Nationally the oral contraceptive pill and condoms are the most popular methods of contraception for women aged under 30.17 3.2 Lewisham context The dedicated work of LB Lewisham, Lewisham Primary Care Trust and its partners over the last nine years mean that the rate of teenage pregnancies in Lewisham has fallen by 14.8 per cent between 1998 and 2006, two per cent more than the national average at the time. However, the average reduction in inner London is 16 per cent, with some boroughs seeing a drop of 25–30 per cent (LB Hackney and LB Hammersmith and Fulham), as Figure 3 shows. Data released this month shows that there was slight increase in the number of conceptions and births during 2007. Local practitioners suggest this is also the case in 2008, but such a trend has yet to be verified.
Sources 17 See http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget. asp?id=326 18 ONS and Teenage Pregnancy Unit (2008).