Connexions’ policy on confidentiality should be urgently re-examined, the Independent Advisory Group on Teenage Pregnancy has told the government.

Personal advisers working in schools should work on the same model as school nurses, making one-to-one consultations between young people and personal advisers confidential unless there are serious child protection concerns.

A spokesperson for the group said that young people in schools using the Connexions service "must be told of the level of confidentiality they can expect before they disclose information".

The spokesperson also said that the teenage pregnancy strategy was working, and young people were becoming more confident about using sexual health services. The latest figures show a 10 per cent fall in the rate of teenage conceptions among under-18s, and a fall of 11 per cent among under-16s. The teenage pregnancy strategy aims to halve the under-18 conception rate by 2020 and to increase the participation of teenage mothers in education, training and employment by 60 per cent.

The spokesperson said that if the pressure was not kept up these achievements could be jeopardised.

The group’s second annual report states that more needs to be done to engage boys and young men in sex and relationship education in school, which they often feel is irrelevant. Young people from ethnic minority groups also need to be targeted.

The group, chaired by Lady Winifred Tumim, was established in 2000 to monitor the teenage pregnancy strategy and advise government.

The group also recommends that sex and relationship education should start at key stage 1 as part of the statutory curriculum.

It would like to see under-16s have the same rights to confidentiality as adults when they seek advice about contraception, sex and relationships. The group says there should be a new advertising campaign to inform under-16s of this right. Health and other professionals should be given revised guidance to clarify that young people can and should seek advice when they need it without worrying about their confidence being breached.

The group also pointed out that many young parents still have very low incomes, face many obstacles in returning to education and work. It recommends better financial incentives to support encourage them to return to education, as well as affordable and adequate child care and housing.