Free childcare for teenage mums

Teenage mothers will have to take up training or education

Teenage mothers are to be given free places for their child with a childminder if they agree to stay on in training and education.

The £3m three-year pilot project aims to reduce the rate of school-age pregnancies in the UK - currently one of the highest in Europe - by breaking the cycle of teenage pregnancies.

At present 90% of teenage mums live on benefits and they are more likely to stay on benefit for longer - we must change that

Margaret Hodge, Education Minister

The scheme will pay for childminders in four areas with high levels of teenage pregnancies and low levels of participation in education: Greenwich, Barking and Dagenham, Blackpool and north east Lincolnshire.

Priority will be given to teenagers who have been in care or who have little family support.

The childminders will be recruited to work in networks, whose quality will be checked by the National Childminding Association (NCMA).

'Unacceptable levels'

Education Minister Margaret Hodge said the government was working with other agencies to reduce the UK's "unacceptable levels" of teenage pregnancy.

"Teenage mums were often themselves born to teenage parents and if they have daughters, they are likely to become teenage mothers.

Coronation Street's Sarah Louise is having to juggle her education with care of her baby

"We want to break that cycle by helping this generation to raise their educational attainment levels, raise their expectations and move out of poverty and into work," Mrs Hodge said.

"At present 90% of teenage mums live on benefits and they are more likely to stay on benefit for longer. We must change that."

Clearer and stronger messages were being outlined in schools about the damaging effects of premature sexual activities on young women's lives, she said.

The government is anxious not to appear to be "rewarding" teenage pregnancy.

Mrs Hodge stressed that anyone in the scheme who dropped out of education would lose their childcare support.

Childminders' welcome

An independent evaluation of the scheme will monitor how effective the provision is in improving the life chances of both mother and child.

The NCMA said it was delighted to be working in partnership with the government for the scheme.

Its chief executive, Gill Haynes, said: "The government's backing for the project is a wonderful endorsement of the important work of registered childminders in providing high quality childcare.

"And it recognises the extended role they can play in providing parenting support to the people who need it most," she said.

'Not enough'

The scheme has also been welcomed by the Professional Association of Nursery Nurses but it says it should be extended to provide more childcare places for all parents and should include all forms of childcare providers.

The association's Tricia Pritchard said: "The idea is admirable, but I fear that providing 16 hours of care is not sufficient.

"We must also be careful not to alienate young, low-income couples who have a genuine urge to work without claiming benefits but who are struggling to meet childcare costs.

"There isn't enough good quality registered childcare to meet the needs of every parent.

"Affordable, accessible childcare should be available for all parents, and so we would urge the government to address the whole childcare issue and not to focus just on one needy group."

The announcement came as up to 400 childcare and after-school activity projects received National Lottery money totalling nearly £24m.

The funding, from the lottery's good causes pot - the New Opportunities Fund - will pay for almost 33,000 new childcare places.

Most of the money - £18.8m - will go to projects in England, while Scotland will get £2.9m, Northern Ireland £1.29m and Wales £969,000.