Schools offering morning after pill


01 January 2007 13:04

Two city high schools have been offering students the morning after pill in a bid to help cut the number of unwanted teenage pregnancies, it has emerged.

Earlham High School and Hewett School are two of the 13 schools across the county currently operating health clinics giving youngsters access to contraception by family planning officers - even if they are below the age of consent.

Health workers say the clinics provide an invaluable service to encourage teens to delay sex, alongside supporting sexually active pupils with advice on contraception and minimising risk-taking sexual behaviour.

But parents of pupils at the school are shocked the service is being offered.

Anthea Tunmore has two daughters at Earlham High school -Leanne, 14, and Annabel, 17 - but does not agree with making the morning after pill available to students. “I personally don't think it's a good idea for the school to be doing that,” she said. “It gives teenagers that little bit of freedom to go out and have sex.

“My youngest daughter is 14, almost 15, and I would be devastated if I thought she was sexually active at her age.”

Mrs Tunmore, who lives off South Park Avenue, said part of the problem was girls trying to keep up with their peers.

Tania Francis, mother of Earlham High School pupil Kerri-Francis Mann, who collapsed and died earlier this month after she suffered a heart attack, said it should be up to parents rather than schools to teach their children about safe sex. It's down to parents to educate their children not to be in that situation where they have to take the morning after pill,” she said. “I think they should always be aware they need to take precautions.”

At Earlham High School one of the clinics opened in November last year. Like the other schools on this list, a consultation was carried out with staff, governors, parents and students.

Letters were sent to parents briefing them on the service and they were invited to a meeting if they had any further questions.

The confidential clinic operates on a Monday lunchtime and is described as “busy”.

A spokeswoman for the school service said: “It's about having health facilities on site. The area that our students come from has a history of young people not accessing services, so it makes sense to have that service on school sites.

Geoff Best, headteacher at Oriel High School, in Gorleston, said the clinics were part of a shift towards schools providing wider help and care to youngsters, rather than just focusing on education.

While Norfolk's teenage pregnancy rate as a whole is below the national average, both Yarmouth and Norwich have been identified as particular hotspots.

The latest figures available show that in 2004 there were 35.8 pregnancies per 1,000 young women in Norfolk, compared to the national average of 45.1. The first time these rates were recorded in 1998 Norfolk stood at 37, so progress has been slow.

Now health workers want to see the clinics drastically reduce the number of teenage mums.

Mark Osborn, Norfolk's teenage pregnancy coordinator, said: “Schools with on-site services report that pupils benefit from being able to have early access to one to one support which many of them are not accessing from traditional community services.”