Pregnant teens 'forced from school' – Barnardo's

PREGNANT teenagers are being forced out of education because of "spurious health and safety grounds", a children's charity claimed today.

Barnardo's is calling for extra support for teenage mums to help them continue their studies during pregnancy and as young mothers.

In a report published by the charity today entitled Not the End of the Story, Barnardo's claims that many teenage mothers are having to abandon career ambitions and resign themselves to low-income lifestyles.

It states that there are too many barriers to teenage mums getting back into education.

The charity found that 70 per cent of young mothers are not in education, employment or training (NEET) compared with about 10 per cent of 16 to 18-year-olds generally.

A spokeswoman said that many of the young mothers interviewed as part of the research had not been officially excluded but had had pressure put on them to leave because of unfounded health and safety fears.

Other mothers interviewed dropped out because of a lack of support and flexibility in schools regarding their pregnancies, and in some cases there were no offers of home tuition or alternative arrangements.

The spokeswoman said: "Teachers are encouraging pregnant teenagers to leave school out of fear of knocks and bumps in the corridor and by saying it is just not safe in school.

"The same arrangements that are in place in the workplace just aren't being made for girls at school."