Teenage mums’ journey back to school
A bouncy castle, magician and balloon artist were all part of the 20th birthday celebrations at the Upper Hutt school for teen parents.
While most schools wait till their 50th to celebrate, Titiro Whakamua (Looking Forward) is not like other schools, principal and teacher Debbie Whitely said.
The teen parent unit (TPU) was set up in 1997, the second in the Wellington region.
After starting one afternoon a week at Orongomai marae several location changes later, Titiro Whakamua became a satellite of Upper Hutt College in 2000, teaching unit standards towards national certificates five days a week.
A Ministry of Social Development and Auckland University of Technology study of 6711 pregnant teens ,from 2006, shows 11 per cent of women enrolled at a TPU were not going to school when they became pregnant.
Chance Mahukia, 16, is one. She says the school is a ‘‘second chance to get your life on track, which you don’t get often’’.
‘‘I wasn’t at school when I found out I was pregnant, but I knew I wanted to come here.’’
New Zealand has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the OECD, but rates are slowly dropping Statistics New Zealand reporting teen birth rates have fallen by half since 2008.
Today, 16 out of every 1000 teenage women have children. For them, a teenage parent unit is the biggest opportunity to continue their education.
The MSD report found 35 per cent of pregnant teenagers were enrolled at a TPU school after the birth of their baby.
Zoe Hailwood (19) learned about the TPU through her doctor. She enrolled a few months into her pregnancy and is studying with her four and a half month old baby, Juniper.
‘‘This school makes you like things you didn’t before. At school I hated maths and now I’ve started to like it.
‘‘Because of Te Kura [corre- spondence school] you can work at your own pace and take your time learning.’’
The TPU moved to a purposebuilt facility in 2004 which provides for up to 35 students and their children.
It has a fully licensed early childhood centre on site and a clinic for Vibe, the Hutt Valley Youth Health Service, for antenatal check-ups and support for the young mums.
Youth worker Lisa Cutfield supports the girls to transition out of the TPU – hopefully into more education or work, said Cutfield.
‘‘These girls are often working against their family or social structure,’’ she said.
Cutfield has been working at the TPU for eight years, helping students find and pay for childcare and accommodation and navigating Studylink and other government services.
Janice Norton, a TPU teacher and social worker, feels strongly about the opportunity for alternative education. ‘‘The reality is that mainstream education doesn’t serve these women’s needs.
‘‘We encourage the girls to carry on their schooling – it’s an issue of momentum. The concept of learning while parenting is very counter-cultural and it can be very difficult to pick it up again later.’’