Hi all,
Just wondered if anyone saw the fantastic documentary on BBC2 a few nights back about the Moat House pupil referral unit in Stockport? It followed the lives of teenage mums or mums-to-be that were still of school age and looked at the support they received from teachers and social workers at Moat Hs.
Just wanted to share my thoughts on it. The personal stories were interesting if all too familiar - 13 year old 8 months pregnant, living in poor housing, whose mum was also a teenager when she had her etc - but for me the real stars of the show were the staff at Moat Hs. They showed them teaching the girls about contraception (better late than never) so that they would know for next time, the basics of parenting and birth, and giving lessons with mums and babies so that they could carry on learning and working towards their GCSEs.
You could see the staff grappling with their personal thoughts on the decision these girls had taken in having their babies so young (a mixture of admiration and horror) and at the same time supporting them in their school work and their journey into mothorhood.
It was a really sensitively handled and thought provoking programme and how refreshing to see the positive effects a pupil referral centre (often seen as a ghetto) can have on the lives of these young people. It would be interesting to know the impact Moat Hs has on the two major outcomes: whether the girls have further children in their teens and if it improves their grades???
The one bad thing about the programme - the sensationalist and very unBBC title of Teen Mum High!