• Reduce under 18 conceptions in Newham 55 per cent by the year 2010
• Increase the participation of teenage mothers in education, training and employment 60 per cent by 2010

The C-CARD

What is a C-Card?

The C-Card is a scheme that enables young people, up to 24 to access free condoms from outlets across Newham.

How does a young person get a C-Card?

Young people register for the C-Card at a primary provider who does an assessment before signing them up to the scheme. When young people sign up for a card they also receive:

• Information about safer sex
• Guidance on how to use condoms effectively
• Sign-posting to advice and support about relationships and sexual health

What does a young person do once they have a C-Card?

Once a young person has a C-Card they can access condoms from services across Newham. Young people can return to the service that issued the card or they can use another provider, such as a Shine clinic, Connexions one stop shop or pharmacy. The network of providers is well developed to ensure that C-Card issuing venues are available across all of Newham.

When a young person shows their card the service can give out condoms and offer advice and guidance if necessary.

For more information call 0208 430 4033

Newham Children's Rights Service, 134 Church Road, Manor Park, E12 6HL : 0208 430 6215

The Young Parents Support Service [YPSS] works with young parents aged up to and including 21 years, that live in Newham.

We aim to provide a young person centred service that offers one-to-one and group support, advocacy, information and guidance to younger mums and dads to enable them to fulfil their potential and increase their aspirations, for themselves and their children.

We believe in order to achieve this, all services and agencies must work together in partnership to provide cohesive services to young parents, with opportunities to engage in informal and formal learning processes, to build their skills and confidence and to promote their inclusion in the community.

YPSS run a fortnightly Young Parents Group for young parents to share their experiences and opinions with other young parents and to give their views and ideas back to the Teenage Parent Strategy Group.

Young parents are consulted on which guest speakers are invited to their meetings and plan for events and trips.

During meetings, there is a free creche and lunch is provided. This is held at the Forest Gate Youth Zone between 12 and 2pm on alternate Tuesdays - transport can be arranged if this journey is not feasible to make by themselves.

The YPSS also accommodates the Teenage Parent Re-integration Officer who supports young parents of compulsory school age to continue their education with centre-based and home tuition and offers support with future career planning including accessing appropriate childcare and further education opportunities.

We are building strong links with key services in Newham, including Housing, Education, Midwifery, Health Visiting, Early Start, JobCentre Plus, Connexions, training providers and voluntary organisations, etc. to ensure that young parents are fully supported by services and support networks available to them.

Recently, we facilitated a free course for professionals working with young parents regarding benefits appropriate to this client group. A counselling service is available through Children's Rights, which take place at the Connexions shops in Newham.

WATCH THIS SPACE ……..!

From feedback from a questionnaire given to professionals working with young parents, we are compiling a Guide to Working with Young Parents in Newham, looking at facilitating other courses for professionals and looking at effective methods of networking and sharing information. We are also in the process of recruiting a Young Parent Worker who can act as a Mentor to other young parents.

If you would like to refer any young people to YPSS or introduce yourself / your service to our mailing list, please contact us.

ParentsSupportService@newham.gov.uk

Useful links

You can find more useful information on the National Teenage Pregnancy Unit website.