New unit gives mums and babies a great start

JUGGLING school work and caring for a new baby is challenging enough when you're a teenage mum, without having to make do in makeshift buildings. A brand new purpose-built facility at Stratford High School was officially opened last week, and it's hoped the improved surroundings will encourage more young women from throughout Taranaki to succeed as students and mothers.
The teen parent unit was started nine years ago, but the idea came from a chance meeting some months before that. Head teacher Malcolm Harding says he bumped into some former students at McDonalds in New Plymouth who had left school after becoming pregnant.
"I was a maths teacher in those days. . . I asked them if they'd consider coming back to finish their education if they could. They said they would but what about their babies? That's where the idea started," he says.
The teen parent unit was initially set up in the Swansea Rd soccer clubrooms and the girls' babies were cared for at Playhouse Educare next door. Three years on, they moved to the old police station and then eventually to a building on Broadway. Although the unit was a success, some girls dropped out because they didn't like being separated from their babies, and it was difficult for those trying to continue breastfeeding their infants when they were several kilometres apart, says Malcolm.
The new building solves these problems. One side is used by the teenage mothers unit, now renamed Whaimana ako, while the other side houses an early childhood centre called Koru Kindergarten, where the girls' children, along with others from the community, are cared for, so the girls can see their babies whenever they wish.
They have an open plan classroom with specially designed nests of tables and chairs so groups of students can work comfortably, and there's another space used for preparing food and for art activities.
The three teachers help the students with their work, which comes through the correspondence school. Along with lessons, the unit provides life skills for the young mothers.
As well as doing their school work by correspondence, the girls take part in cooking lunches for the unit and are expected to take regular exercise as part of their school day, says Malcolm.
A vegetable garden and fruit trees are being planned and planted in the space beside the unit, so eventually the girls will be able to grow and pick their own salad ingredients and fruit.
Three vans collect the girls and their children from Hawera, New Plymouth and the Stratford area, which means some of them are leaving home at 7.30am, so its quite a commitment to attend, says teacher Tracey Burnell.
The young women have up 12 weeks maternity leave when their baby is born, then return to lessons when they are ready.
"The girls are appreciative of what we offer, especially when they've been at home with baby for a while, they need to be able to meet up with others in a similar situation."
The unit can now cater for up to 30 students, she says.