information for practice

Our ambition is that all children and young people achieve the 5 ‘Every Child Matters’ outcomes – we want them to: Be Healthy, Stay Safe, Enjoy and Achieve, Make a Positive Contribution and Achieve Economic Well-being. Currently, however, the outcomes achieved by some of our young people fall short of this aim. This is particularly true for teenage parents and their children. Like all parents, teenage mothers and young fathers want the best for their children and some manage very well. But the demands of caring for a baby at a time when young people themselves are making the difficult transition from adolescence to adulthood are significant. That is why teenage mothers and young fathers need additional support – from family, partners and services – if they and their children are to avoid the poor outcomes that many of them currently experience.