Agenda item

The report informed the Committee on the progress of the implementation of the teenage pregnancy strategy over the past ten years and the outcomes of the evaluation of the young men’s project.  Strong supporting evidence and an independent review had indicated that the work had a positive impact on young men.  The evaluation contained evidence that the project has been successful in that:

o       Young men were interested in sexual health where they needed to protect their own or sexual partners

o       The service appealed to young men since it offered what they wanted, not what service providers wanted or choose to offer

o       The numbers of young men attending the service represented good value for money

o       Young men were demonstrating a change in behaviour 

o       65% were already c card registered and they informed the project that they did use it. 

o       Interviews undertaken in March 2011 with young men during the project evaluation indicated that 75% of the young men regularly use condoms as a direct result of the information they had received through the project confirming that the project has had a positive impact in terms of the uptake of condom use.

As a result the learning from the project had been used to re-commission the project but with a wider remit including targeting young women with risky behaviour.  The current project was being delivered by NACRO.  The teenage pregnancy figures had remained static.

Observations and questions were raised and discussed including:

·         What age is sex education taught in schools?  The officer could not confirm the age but believed it was between the ages of 13 and 16 years old.  Young men had commented that the sex education received at schools was more from a biological approach.  What had been taught at NACRO had been more about emotional and risky behaviours.  Young people were being trained to peer educate.

·         Will this project show us returns in the near future?  The project would target hard core young men and would challenge their behaviour.  It was difficult to say if this would change behaviours in the short term.

·         The teenage pregnancy rates in Peterborough were still one of the highest in the country. Members felt that young men and young women should be targeted together. The Youth Council could be used to get the message across.  When the project was re-commissioned the brief had included young women as well as young men.  Young people were also being used to deliver the message to their peers through the youth inspectors programme.

·         Had the programme looked at focusing on young peoples aspirations?  The early intervention programme was being refocused to include looking at the aspirations of young people and would also include alcohol and substance misuse.  Evidence had shown that there was a link between inappropriate sexual behaviour and lack of aspiration.

·         The report had mentioned ‘the success of the implementation of the Teenage Pregnancy strategy over the past ten years’.  The figures for teenage pregnancy had not improved.  How would you therefore define success?  Members were advised that it had been difficult to assess success as it would be difficult to know what the figures would have been like if the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy had not been introduced. Teenage pregnancies may have escalated without the strategy in place.  The c Card had been a success in that 75% of young people were using it.  The figures had remained relatively static.

ACTION AGREED

That the Head of Commissioning report back to the Commission in twelve months time on the impact and progress made with the Young Men’s Project.  The report to also include the outcomes of the refocus of the Early Intervention Programme.