Did we change public opinion? You bet we did!

These were the words of Caroline Woodroffe, General Secretary of Brook from 1971 - 1986 at the 50 Years of Brook Witness Seminar hosted by the Wellcome Trust on Friday 6 February to launch the Brook archive, which is now held at the Wellcome Library and is available for researchers to access. It was an honour to be asked to Chair this Witness Session in which the following witnesses told some of their personal memories of Brook.

1. Dilys Cossey, who was at the Family Planning Association AGM in 1964 when it was agreed that Brook would be established, then become an employee and later Chair of Brook
2. Caroline Woodroffe, General Secretary of Brook 1971 - 1986 
3. Christine Watson, a doctor at Brook and a funder of our services in South East London between 1982 and 1997
4. Wendy Thomas, Chief Executive of Brook London 1988 - mid 1990s
5. Suzie Hayman, Press Officer, 1976 - 1984
6. Polly Goodwin, Trustee, Birmingham; Chair, Brook Birmingham; Vice Chair, Brook late 90s - ongoing
7. Mary Crawford, Director, Brook Northern Ireland 1992 - ongoing
8. Alison Hadley, Nurse, Brook London, Press and Information Officer and Policy Manager - 1986 - 2000
9. I also read out a memoir from Dorothy Keeping (Bourbas) who was general secretary of Brook Avon 1974 - 1984 and David Paintin who was a board member in the early 90s.

Dilys kicked off the proceedings with memories of the FPA AGM in which it was agreed that a separate service for the unmarried woman should be established. And hence Brook was born. Dilys reflected that she thought FPA rather stuffy at the time for not wanting unmarried women to use their services, but realises with the passage of time that this was a necessary approach to secure contraception free of charge on the NHS. Dilys reflected on her personal experience of accessing services which illustrated the need for a non judgemental service like Brook offered.

Caroline continued talking about the early days of Brook and the importance of contraception in achieving equality for women. She reflected on the societal changes that happened during the first few decades of Brook - the disgrace of 'young unmarried sex' gone, mother and baby centres closed, adoptions reduced and the place of women in society improved. Within Brook, the range of services offered varied across the different services: some groups of people paid for certain services and others received services free of charge. Caroline talked about the brilliant people who worked so hard and so passionately to set up and develop the services in Bristol, Birmingham, Coventry, Edinburgh and London. My favourite line from Caroline: Did we change public opinion? You bet we did!

Christine Watson went next and talked about what an inspiring bunch of people worked at Brook and how important it was to recognise that the services Brook provided complimented those services provided by the health trust, and the early days of educating young women before they got to the clinic. Christine told a rather joyful story about a school that is delivering very good, up to date and helpful sex and relationships education and how this had been very encouraging, given the inadequacy of sex and relationships education in the 80s and 90s.

Wendy Thomas started her talk with her memories with a reminder of Helen as both wonderful company and in need of managing, particularly in the media. She talked lovingly of the hazardous East Street building which saw thousands and thousands of clients and really emphasised, like the witnesses before her that it was the people who made Brook such a wonderful place for clients and for staff. She also talked about the generosity of Brook's supporters including Pamela Sheridan.

Suzie Hayman next talked about her proud moments - a paper about sex and how bizarre it was that you could not advertise condoms on TV kicked off her tenure, while her time at Brook concluded with overseeing the production of just such an advert. She also talked of how Brook became the 'go-to' place for media to go to for comment about young people, sex and sexuality. She then focused on Brook's response to Victoria Gillick's legal challenge to young people's confidentiality, and how personal it sometimes became, and how important it was to be robust in defence of young people's right to confidentiality but never personal however personal the 'anti crew' got - which they did (sounds familiar!).

Polly Goodwin took up two of the previous themes; the importance of being feisty and the importance of Brook's core values including confidentiality. Polly talked about her dismay and surprise that some of the issues in the late 80s and early 90s - consent, exploitation, gender equality - had not moved on as much as she wished they had, and thought they might. Polly also talked about the importance of being open and transparent, inviting those who object to your work in to see what you do.

Mary Crawford continued with the theme of protestors and objectors, Northern Ireland, of course being the Centre that has received the most objection and challenge during its 22 years. Mary showed photos of graffiti on the building where Brook was described as scum, a letter from an objector sent to every person in Mary's home street accusing Mary and Brook of killing babies, and pictures of Brook picketers with inaccurate images of foetuses. Mary also reflected that the first time you get a horrid letter sent to your street, your lock superglued or any other incident it can take you by surprise, but soon you become wise to the 'tricks' and incredibly resilient because the work is based on values and on the rights of young people.

Alison Hadley concluded the witness statements by returning to the theme of confidentiality and how the Gillick case had rocked young people's and professionals' confidence, which was why it was so important that Brook led such a major programme of work on confidentiality, working in partnership with the BMA, RCN, Health Education Authority and others to produce a confidentiality and young people briefing that went to all GP practices and specialist services, a leaflet for young people, and a number of guides and training events to help ensure professionals and young people were confident about confidentiality. Alison picked three key stand out Brook features: keeping the balance between the positive (sex as healthy and enjoyable) and the challenges (exploitation, abuse and harm); involving young people in all that we do; and ensuring we have people who enjoy working with young people and are committed to the aims and values of Brook.

It was a privilege to read the memories of both Dorothy Bourbas and David Paintin. Dorothy, now 90 years of age, described Helen Brook as a revolutionary with a quiet voice whose achievements have had far reaching positive implications. She concluded that she has seen many social changes, and how she wished Brook had been around when she was 18. David reflected on how he had learnt about the importance of sex education at Brook and really understood how central the ethos of providing confidential services was at Brook. He congratulated Alison Hadley on taking the ethos and approach of Brook into the government's teenage pregnancy strategy and applauded the progress of the strategy.

The audience were a mixed group of researchers and people including some who had worked at Brook including Margaret Jones who had been Chief Executive through the 1990s. Their participation also focused on their personal memories including the care and attention clients received, the joy of expanding services across the North West and the importance of being open to the critics and also asked when Brook chose to exclusively focus on young people and what drove the move from working from the unmarried to the young.

To conclude I asked all the witnesses to ask what they would like to see Brook be and have achieved in 25 years. They included - to still be here, being innovative and strong; to have finally got Personal, Social and Health Education on the curriculum; to continue being brave and speaking out for young people, and helping young people speak out; to remain at the forefront, showing how it should be done; to see the 1967 abortion law protected in Great Britain and extended to Northern Ireland; to continue being positive about sex and maintaining that mission of enabling young people to enjoy their sexuality without harm.

After thanking all involved I closed with the words of Rosa Parks: "You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right." It seemed a fitting way to end given how the fantastic women on the witness panel, many who participated in the seminar and many more who were unable to be there, have demonstrated tenacity, wisdom and courage to improve the lives of women and of young people because they know it is the right thing to do.

Thank you to Dilys Cossey, Caroline Woodroffe and Stephanie Whitehead who worked so hard to make the archive happen from Brook's end, and to Dr Lesley Hall, senior archivist at Wellcome for her work in diligently creating the Brook archive so the truly stunning and life changing work of Brook is on record. Another one of those days when I felt enormously proud, privileged and humbled to be part of the Brook movement and a powerful reminder that all of us working at Brook now stand on the shoulders of giants.

A number of people suggested we need to do a second session focusing on the last 15 years or so - what happened during the time government was broadly supportive of Brook's work, and what can we learn from that period about what needs to happen next in a different policy, political and fiscal environment? I will talk to Dr Lesley Hall and see if there is an appetite for a second Witness Seminar focusing on the later years of Brook.

In the meantime, this has made me want to produce a compilation of people's experiences and stories about Brook through the decades. If you want to contribute email me at simon.blake@brook.org.uk.

As 2014 comes to an end my ten lessons for 2015

For the last few years I have done my own partial and subjective review of the year as it relates to young people, sexual health and well being. This year that feels like an unhelpful and almost impossible task – impossible because operating in the context of localism means it is rather difficult to state whether there is progress or otherwise so instead here are ten things I believe we must keep front of mind as we move into 2015. 

2014 has been an interesting and in many ways peculiar year – on the plus side there is so much activism and noise in support of young people’s sexual rights including PSHE and services, so many reports emphasising the importance of efforts to promote positive relationships and good sexual health outcomes.  Yet again it is a year where lots of people have worked really damn hard with results at local and national level and I am grateful for all the work done by Brook teams, colleagues and collaborators which set us on course to deliver our mission of enabling young people to enjoy their sexuality without harm.

So here are my ten lessons as we move into 2015.  In no particular order I believe we must;

1.       Ensure the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child underpin and foreground all our work: this year was the 25^th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. We can really helpfully talk about children and young people’s rights more and use them to frame our policy and practice and drive improvements in participation in decision making, education, protection and delivery of services.  

2.       Talk about contraception and abortion as much as we can and emphasise the importance of both in women’s lives. Both are life changing and cost effective – we know that every pound spent on contraception saves £12.50 to the health system alone. Any reductions in access to full contraceptive choice are really short sighted as they will inevitably cost more in the not very far away long term as access to contraception is key to preventing unintended pregnancies (sounds obvious I know, but seemingly not to everyone).  Its time to call time on protestors harassing women accessing abortion services and continue to drive for equity of provision across the UK. 

3.       Decision makers must continue to invest in HIV Prevention and Sexual Health Promotion - HIV prevention and sexual health promotion works. It is cost effective. Crossed wires or otherwise despite the threat to the HIV Prevention England budget we have, for now, had reassurance from Minister for Public Health that the national HIV Prevention England budget will be protected. There are lots of reasons that funding should never have been in doubt. The fact that HIV infections have almost doubled amongst young gay men over the last 10 years is one of those. It is appalling and an urgent reminder that we must renew our prevention efforts.

4.       Put into practice our knowledge about how to identify, assess and prevent Child Sexual Exploitation - the increasing focus on Child Sexual Exploitation is really important and we must do all that we can to ensure this particular form of sexual abuse is eradicated. We have so much evidence about what places young people at risk of CSE and we must use that to inform the design of mainstream and targeted education and other health services.

5.       Stand firm together and insist that government make Personal, Social and Health Education statutory in 2015 – Brook, the Sex Education Forum and the PSHE Association and many others have demonstrated the strength of professional opinion (almost every relevant report and every credible body called for statutory PSHE in 2014) and public support (almost 9/10 parents showed support for statutory PSHE) for statutory PSHE.  Remarkable then that government has not yet taken this advice and still hasn’t committed to make PSHE a statutory part of the curriculum in schools so all children and young people learn the foundations about relationships, sex and human sexuality. Next year government simply has to catch up with public opinion, make PSHE a statutory part of the curriculum so organisations with limited resources can stop trying to influence government to make the right decisions and get on with the real job – helping parents and schools deliver high quality PSHE.

6.       Find ways to work with the new accountability frameworks: I was always a fan of national targets – taken with a healthy dose of scepticism, common sense and professional accountability they drove many improvements in sexual health at local level as seen with the 48 Hour Waiting Time for GUM and the Teenage Pregnancy targets. Recognising the challenges that are emerging in the context of localism the All Party Parliamentary Group on Sexual and Reproductive Health set up a much needed inquiry into accountability for sexual and reproductive health outcomes.  I look forward to the report which I hope will shine a light on the challenges and identify some solutions which can be easily implemented.

7.       Listen to young people and involve them in everything we do: in November young people told the board of Brook that they want high quality SRE, online and face to face services they trust and feel confident accessing, and parents to be trained to talk openly about relationships and sexuality. They weren’t that interested in how we make it happen and believed that if as a society we decide it is important we will find ways to make it happen. It is refreshing having young people present in more policy meetings because they cut through the professional niceties but we cannot mistake their involvement in the meetings for delivering the change they demand.

8.       Make sure that all sex that young people have is not perceived as bad sex - whilst public health and policy drivers change there remains an undercurrent and tone that all sex young people have is bad sex, which of course is simply not true.  Whilst policy changes our task remains the same: to enable young people to enjoy and take responsibility for their sexual choices and be their staunch advocates – trusting them, empowering them and remembering what it feels like to be young. However old we are, if we remember what it feels like to be young, we will like and trust young people more which will doubtlessly improve our judgement.

9.       Use all the levers, systems and processes available to make sure we commission what we value, not value what we can measure and procure. I believe wholeheartedly that there is always room for improvement and innovation, and that we must invest in what works. Good commissioning lies at the heart of effective service delivery. There are some examples of really good commissioning, and there are too many examples where strict adherence to perceived procurement rules and an expectation to go out to market may prove to be counter productive. We must learn the lessons from those examples where commissioning and procurement practices have been financially costly, disruptive and worked against integration and against the provision of specialist services delivered by specialists. There are EU rules which enable specialist services to be commissioned in proportionate and helpful ways, and examples of best practice within Local Authorities which create exciting opportunities for change, and perhaps more radically examples where Local Authorities are doing what is necessary to protect and preserve what already works in their local sexual health economy.

10.   Trust technology as a driver for good and ensure we do not demonise it in the way we sometimes demonise young people. Technology did not invent misogyny, abuse, bullying and foul behaviour but it did open up new information channels and networks that can literally be life saving for young people. We must focus on developing positive attitudes and behaviours rather than be wrongly diverted by the medium through which those behaviours are expressed.

Brook turned 50 this year: I am grateful to everybody who has been involved in Brook’s efforts to improve the lives of young people over the last 50 years.  We have come a long way and we have a very long way still to go. Particular thanks to the staff teams, supporters, funders, donors and collaborators who have worked with us over the last year. If you, like me, believe we can do better to protect young people please do think about becoming a friend of Brook www.brook.org.uk/friends - we stand stronger and better together.

2014 – I blinked and you were gone. That is almost a wrap. Happy New Year! I hope 2015 brings you lots of contentment, learning and laughter (talking of which, have you got your ticket for our Comedy Sex night on January 10^th – its hosted by Al Murray with a cracking line up and sure to get you in the mood www.brook.org.uk/events/sex-appeal-4-the-fourth-coming.

PSHE: a liberating mandate

This week I had the pleasure of speaking at a Westminster Briefing Event about Personal, Social and Health Education.  I was fourth to go in an impressive line up of speakers so when planning my presentation I was pretty sure there would be a whole lot of duplication if I wasn't careful.  I therefore abandoned powerpoint so I wouldn't be a slave to it come what may.  I went with a few key messages, and a view to identifying and addressing the issues delegates raised throughout the session.

This approach can be a bit unnerving but it has always served me well in the past, and so it proved this time too.  Joe, Jenny and Janet from PSHE Association and Ofsted were excellent and did indeed cover all the issues I would have and more had I prepared a powerpoint.

If you read no further, here is a key message from the session - Ofsted is clear there is a correlation between outstanding PSHE and outstanding schools.  This is an important piece of evidence and a big carrot for anyone trying to get more curriculum time and resources for PSHE.  It also seems to have been missed by many in the recent PSHE report 'Not good enough yet' from Ofsted.

Here are some of the other key points from the morning.

1. DfE have published their revised National Curriculum proposals (consultation ends first week of August). It is not proposed that PSHE is a compulsory subject, however there is a clear expectation and mandate that PSHE should form part of a balanced curriculum. For the first time ever it is clear that maintained secondary schools are required to provide sex and relationships (my emphasis) education which is excellent.

Not unexpectedly there was a consensus from speakers and delegates that schools can only fulfil their requirements to provide a broad and balanced curriculum, and support their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development if they provide PSHE.

Once the final National Curriculum is published, as far as PSHE is concerned DfE is not going to do much more.  We therefore need to look to Ofsted with confidence to ensure that provision for personal, social development is part of the inspection regime.  Janet Palmer from Ofsted emphasised that children and young people are much more involved in the inspection process than previously and so their health and well being does come to the fore more during inspection.

With the expectation from DfE that PSHE will be delivered, and the knowledge that DfE will not be producing further guidance we are now liberated and mandated to get on with it ourselves. The teachers and partners who work within them are free to get on and deliver without the shadow of politicisation on the subject.

It will be up to schools to develop and deliver a curriculum that meets their children's needs, and it will be beholden on us to find out where it is working well and share examples of best practice.  Organisations such as The PSHE Association, Sex Education Forum and ourselves at Brook will continue to share learning from schools across the country, and provide training and support.

We must use this opportunity that has been created to generate a new dialogue that helps senior leaders recognise and understand the value of PSHE in creating safe schools where all children can achieve, develop and grow with confidence, and that teachers are supported and trained to deliver PSHE confidently.

2. The major teaching Unions are all increasingly supportive of the need for PSHE.  That increasing support is really welcome and their influence and leadership will help improvement.

3. Whilst some young people do experience disadvantage and can be extremely vulnerable to abuse and violence as a result, we have a heightened and disproportionate sense of risk and danger to, and threat from young people that is out of step with the evidence of what life is really like.  We also sometimes expect PSHE (and school) to be a panacea for all societal problems which it cannot be.

It is important to remember we live in the most peaceful times ever.  Most young people, with the right support and care, navigate their way through adolescence successfully, and demonstrate incredible talent and resourcefulness along the way.  PSHE and access to confidential sexual health and support services is a universal right and entitlement for all children and young people. Additional targeted support can and must be provided for those young people who need it both within and outside the classroom.

To help professionals realistically assess harm Brook has an online safeguarding Traffic Light Tool which can help professionals to identify and assess sexual behaviours - it can be found at www.brook.org.uk/traffic-lights

4. We must helpfully stop calling some issues 'sensitive'.  There are a cluster of issues including homosexuality, sexual exploitation and FGM which are often referred to as sensitive.

If we frame them as sensitive issues they will continue to be perceived as such for generations to come.  Some adults may find issues difficult to talk about, and of care always needs to be taken when discussing these issues in the classroom but that does not make it a sensitive issue.  Sexual exploitation and FGM are both abuse and must be talked about and must be described as as such.  Schools have a duty to promote equality and in the words of Stonewall, 'some people are gay, get over it'.

5. There is absolutely no legislation that says certain issues cannot be talked about in the classroom - as with all lessons, the school policy provides the framework within which teachers use their professional judgement about what to say and how to say it.  If the teacher considers it inappropriate to discuss an issue or answer a question in a classroom environment it is the teachers responsibility to either speak in a 1:1 setting or signpost the young person to somebody who can help them.

6. To end where I started, there is a clear link between educational attainment and PSHE.  This combined with our moral imperative to ensure children and young people have the skills and resourcefulness to move with confidence through puberty, into adolescence and adulthood makes this mandate and fresh commitment from DfE to the relationships part of sex and relationships education a welcome one.

Useful websites www.psheassociation.org.uk, www.sexeducationforum.org.uk and of course www.brook.org.uk

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Basically we need sex and relationships education everywhere

There has been a lot of discussion and press coverage recently about pornography and its impact on young people's values and attitudes and their understanding of healthy relationships, consent and sexual violence and safety. The Office of the Children's Commissioner published  'Porn is basically everywhere....' (hence the title of this blog). As I write this weekend Woman's Hour is discussing pornography, sexual violence and the importance of sex education as fundamental in protecting young people.

As you would expect there is a very wide range of different views about pornography and its impact on attitudes and behaviour. The evidence is in fact pretty unclear (see http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jun/30/ban-pornography-and-you-promote-censorship).  It is crystal clear however is the back drop against which young people develop an understanding of sex and sexuality is changing dramatically in the digital age and access to pornography is getting easier.

Pornography comes in all shapes and sizes. Some of it portrays illegal, abusive and dangerous activity and that of course requires a particular response.  And despite much of the concern focusing on 'hard core porn' the confidence and concerns of a lot of young people are likely to be centred around images of 'perfect' bodies and and overly competent sexual activity that creates anxiety and confusion about pubic hair, ejaculate, breast or penis size etc.

It is also clear that whatever internet controls are available access to and availability of pornography is here to stay.  Our job as sensible adults is to trust young people, keep pornography use in perspective and to ensure that pornography is not the primary sex educator for young people by educating them about pornography ourselves.

Despite what many people believe most young people manage their sexual lives and relationships pretty well. Day in day out at Brook we see hundreds of young people who despite our peculiar culture about sex make an active decision to access education, help, advice and treatment.

Most of them tell us they wish they had better education at home and at school, most of them know the difference between fantasy and reality or are savvy enough to ask the difference if we create safe spaces. And it is our job to ensure ALL of them know the difference between fantasy and reality and have safe spaces to ask through good education and support. That is why I was so pleased to see the recommendation from the Office of the Children's Commissioner that we must improve sex and relationships education in schools.

It is our job to help young people - both young men and young women - feel good about themselves and confident about their rights,  understand what consent is and how to actively give or refuse it, the importance of only having sex they want and choose and know that everyone has the right to say no, to change their mind or to do some things but not others.

And whatever else goes on in the digital age those are values, beliefs and skills we can and must nurture in our young people. To do otherwise is an abdication of our responsibility to young people.

The Sex Education Forum has published a magazine to help us talk to young people about pornography (www.ncb.org.uk/SEF). http://bishuk.com/ also has useful advice and materials.

Youth leadership and participation

I don't know the minute details of what Paris Brown wrote on twitter. I don't want to comment on her specific situation. And of course we have to take responsibility for our actions. However watching the Kent Youth Crime Commissioner story unfold via twitter and the associated press whilst on a health retreat in Thailand, some of the responses compelled me to take a break from the beach to do this blog. It helps, of course, that it has just started raining for the first time in almost two weeks and that I have just finished reading my book (I recommend it - The Quiet Twin by Dan Vyleta). 

My first experience of participating in the community came as a cub in 'bob a job' week; then as a companion and weekly shopper for Edith, and subsequently as a volunteer play scheme worker for children with down syndrome. Would or should I have been denied any or all of those experiences if an adult had heard some or all of the horrible things I am sure to have said in the playground prior to or during that time? Even though I never did anything deliberately hurtful I know now I wasn't always 'nice'. I was young, and I was learning after all.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child provides the framework for children's rights globally. Article 12 provides for the right of children and young people to participate in decisions that affect them. The UK signed up to the Convention almost 25 years ago. Each of the four nations has a Children's Commission tasked with ensuring implementation of those rights.

Across sectors agencies are on a journey; working hard to build a culture of youth participation and leadership in our organisations and in public life. On that journey we have had fun, insight, innovation, trials, tribulations and disagreements, learning copious lessons along the way. All the time trying to make sure that participation is meaningful for both young people and the organisations they are influencing to create better outcomes for individuals and communities.

Pioneering initiatives like that of Ann Barnes, Kent's recently elected Police and Crime Commissioner who created a paid Youth Crime Commissioner role aimed to take the principles of youth involvement and leadership in decision making one step further. This is a sensible idea that is completely workable if adults are sensible.

Young people in substantive volunteering roles and paid internships have significantly influenced Brook's work for the better - their involvement has required us to look at our systems and approaches in partnership with them, and they have effectively created new platforms for our work. They have also challenged some established organisational orthodoxies, habits and priorities. It hasn't always been easy or comfortable but it has always been constructive, rewarding and ultimately positive.

Managed well, putting young people at the heart of decision making in organisations and systems influences better outcomes. Participation and leadership has the potential to influence traditionally adult led structures, systems and approaches in ways that can really improve them for young people. Inevitably creating shifts in cultures will bring some challenges as well as opportunities. We must learn from the good, the bad and the ugly. But we have to make sure we learn the right lessons.

I have a few thoughts below in no particular order based on what I have read:

1. The right to participate

Children and young people's right to participate in decision making and be gainfully employed in the public sector is as Wes Streeting described it a 'laudable goal'. This is something we must continue to get better at in the new public administration systems including health, education, crime and justice.

To question this aim because young people lack experience does not make sense. Some people have said that wisdom and good judgement comes with age alone. This is simply not true. Ask any employer. Wisdom and good judgement are attributable to experience and to previous opportunities and the ability to learn from them.

We know from school and youth councils, peer education and from the Student Union movement etc that young people's involvement makes a difference to individuals, to the organisations we work in and the communities we live. Young people's contributions and talents are too easily overlooked or undervalued. Young people too easily demonised. The work they are doing across the UK shows the contribution they can, and are, making to civil society.

2. The importance of building effective youth leadership

People in positions of power must not start to view employing young people in senior roles in public life as a 'risk' and retreat from creating paid roles for young people. Right now adults need all the help young people will give us to create a fair and just society. And young people need good paid employment opportunities more than ever.

Retreating from pushing the boundaries and innovating in youth involvement and leadership would waste the opportunity their involvement brings to do things differently and it wastes our opportunity to ensure that young people have a stake in their community and society. Forging ahead with innovative approaches will help us find new ways to connect with ALL young people more effectively, build healthy communities and develop and utilise the talents of individuals.

The evidence shows youth involvement can provide greatest benefit to some of the most 'disadvantaged' or 'vulnerable' young people. They may also be some of the young people who have made ill considered remarks or statements at some point in time now mercilessly recorded forever on social media.

I have a particular interest in creating opportunities for the most disadvantaged - it would be self defeating if recruitment systems are designed that could rule out those young people who would benefit most from these experiences, and be the very people with the knowledge, expertise and credibility to help reach those young people we often need to try harder to reach.

3. Demonising young people

We trend towards ever increasing blame on young people for their attitudes and behaviours whilst simultaneously ignoring the adult behaviours they learn from, and failing to create a culture where young people are valued and adults are consistently positive role models. The irony of some of the tweets posted about Paris Brown by adults in respected positions was not lost.

4. Teaching about diversity, human rights and responsibilities, and using social media responsibly

The UK can do so much more to truly embrace the power that diversity brings. We must start early teaching children positively about the value of diversity, about injustice and our shared experience of humanity. Recent parliamentary and public debates will have taught children and young people some of the worst - for example, the hysteria about what schools would have to teach children about same sex marriage if legalised; our Prime Minister telling a woman MP to 'calm down dear', some MPs likening same sex love to beastiality and pedophilia, and the tone of the immigration debates. Children learn from what is unspoken as well as spoken, and that which they see around them as well as what they are taught at home, in school and youth and community settings.

5. The value of good PSHE and Citizenship

What they are taught in school is still left too much to chance. Personal, social, health, and economic (PSHE) education and Citizenship is the curriculum subject where children and young people SHOULD learn about diversity, human rights and responsibilities. It is where they critically analyse what they learn in the media and other sources around them, about different beliefs and traditions, about the law and civil rights and where they learn about the law including the potential consequences of tweeting, 'sexting' and so on. Without decent comprehensive PSHE education and Citizenship that covers all these areas in all schools there continue to be many many children and young people who grow up learning it is acceptable to be homophobic, racist and misogynistic simply because they have not yet learnt differently.

Our National Curriculum currently out for consultation is not as strong as it could be on Human Rights, and PSHE education will continue to be a non statutory subject.

Youth and community settings also have an important role to play in addressing these issues.

6. Understanding children and young people's development

Expressed views are based on an understanding, and in young people's case stage of development at a particular point in time. This is particularly true when thinking about children and young people. We know from our work at Brook, and Diversity Role Models (which I chair), that language and views used by children and young people often reflects a lack of education, lack of empathy or understanding and is often characteristic of peer norms and group think. The evidence from social norms theory shows that young people want to fit in. We have to find ways to make sure that young people know about the consequences of inappropriate use of social media, and ensure they are not fearful of engaging in organisations and public loves because they fear exposure of their 'past selves.'

If we allow that to happen then we will have failed to harness the benefits of social media, we will have failed to apply what we know about childhood development and the development of values systems and we will allow social media to destroy young people's chances and young reputations in unnecessary, unhelpful and damaging ways.

We all live and learn, we all make mistakes and we must all be allowed to learn from them. As adults we must search for and ask the right questions about how to make youth leadership work in order to take the right learning from this and other situations. Those questions that need asking may not be the obvious ones - they probably need to focus as much on adult responses as they do on recruitment processes.

Finally I hope that an aversion to risk does not limit creativity in this domain of public life. I hope that it makes us more determined as adults and young people to continue enjoying developing ways of working together to make a difference for all young people. And absolutely most of all I hope young people will not be put off coming forward to get involved because they think adults are hypocritical and worry we won't keep them safe.

The Politics of SRE - a blog posted on the London School of Economics British Policy and Politics Blog

This is a link to a blog I have written for the London School of Economics about the recent politics of SRE.  I intend to keep it updated as time progresses and politics and policy evolve and unfold. 

Reading this was instructive in that it reminded me of the journey we have been on over the last decade - the highs and the lows. I was recently asked by a friend how I keep on campaigning and fighting on the same issues - I gave a very short reply, because we have to keep on going until ALL children and young people get good quality SRE.... 

http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/2013/01/07/two-steps-forward-three-steps-back-the-current-state-of-sex-and-relationships-education-in-england/

Past, present and future: Brook and FPA's Parliamentary Reception

Last week Brook and FPA held their second joint parliamentary reception which in the age of social media we hashtagged as our #xeslords reception. The reception was hosted by Baroness Massey of Darwen, Brook's president, and the Baroness Gould of Potternewton, FPA's president.

It hardly seems plausible that our last joint parliamentary reception with FPA was almost 18 months ago. How quickly time flies and how quickly things can change. And there is no doubt that things are changing fast in the sexual health world: the combination of national strategies on teenage pregnancy and sexual health and HIV ending, the policy approach of localism, public spending cuts and the increasingly loud voice of the minority who are ideologically opposed to gay equality, abortion, contraception and sex and relationships education is creating an uneasy world in which we could be going backwards when it comes to sexual rights and sexual health outcomes.

And this is alarming and wrong.  We cannot afford to go backwards - it is morally, socially and economically wrong. It is of grave concern to both Brook and FPA that we are hearing increasing numbers of reports that services are being reduced and contraceptive choice is being restricted.  We have therefore launched @xescampaign including the www.wecantgobackwards.org.uk website which is a 'trip advisor' type site which enables people to tell us their experiences - both good and bad - of accessing sexual health and contraceptive services to enable us to do our advocacy and campaigning work effectively.

Speaking first about the present, Baroness Massey talked of the enormous effort that has gone into the partnership between Brook and FPA. She thanked the teams for making the partnership work and I was proud of the teams hard work. Baroness Massey also talked of the importance of adopting a holistic approach and learning the lessons from across different issues to find new ways of working in the future. She concluded by reminding us that sexual health is often the Cinderella service and that it cannot continue to be such.

Duncan Selbie, CEO designate of Public Health England spoke next.  He thanked FPA and Brook for the important work they do to promote sexual health, highlighted the challenges of having less money, transitioning to a new system and said he would find it unacceptable for sexual health to remain a Cinderella service. He said he would be accountable in his role for promoting positive sexual health.

Eve Martin, Chair of Brook, up next promised that we would hold him to account because we believe so passionately in positive sexual rights and sexual health. Eve had the honour of presenting the first Brook and FPA Parliamentarian of the Year award to Stella Creasey MP. Stella had led an outstanding campaign to ensure women in Walthamstow could access contraception in the borough. Unfortunately Stella Creasey was lost in the House and could not find us, but when she did arrive she accepted the award on behalf of the 'Women in Walthamstow' who had played such a critical role in the fight for contraception to be available in their borough.

This is a remarkable campaign to need in 2012 so I was pleased when after the presentations Duncan Selbie commented that it was a great campaign but one that should have been unnecessary. All of us, I am sure would agree.

Val Day, Chair of FPA went next and talked of another outstanding contribution to sexual health - this time by that of FPA's President Baroness Gould who had just celebrated her 80th birthday. Val described just some of Baroness Gould contributions including her work as a Pharmacist, the national abortion campaign, the Women's National Commission and most recently as Chair of the Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health and HIV.

Baroness Gould concluded the speeches with the delightful announcement that she has decided to write her memoirs, of which a part will be about sexual health, tracking the long and windy journey that Baroness Gould has been on in the fight to promote and protect sexual health and HIV policy over the past few decades. She thanked the team at Brook and FPA for making the event happen and Reckitt Benckiser for their support for the event.

We couldn't have had a better group of speakers who in just over 20 minutes highlighted that we need to be vigilant and ever watchful to ensure the hard fought rights that have been won are protected, that the excellent progress is not lost and that we do not go backwards.  The xes: we can't go backwards campaign is much needed.

Throughout the evening we had politicians, sexual health professionals and supporters of Brook and FPA work being photographed to show their support for the XES campaign - if you have a story - good or bad - to tell about your experience of services please visit www.wecantgobackwards.org.uk and follow us @xescampaign

Twitter @simonablake @brookcharity @besexpositive @xescampaign

"The difference I can make to one person can be everything" - a guest blog from Shelby Halliwell, Brook Volunteer

Pete Lawson - introduction

Boards need to listen to young people. It’s as simple as that. Not just by having young trustees, but by providing opportunities to get trustees out into projects, and get young people into the boardroom, to present and discuss and challenge. It’s only through getting the widest and deepest perspective that we can get the clearest picture of what we do and why we do it, and go on to make the best decisions. Decisions that have young people’s needs at their heart.

We had a great board meeting earlier this month, with a chance to learn more about the fantastic BiteSize Brook programme. Dean Cattell, a member of Wirral’s education team, and Shelby Halliwell, a young peer educator, came and spent an hour taking us through several BiteSize exercises, giving us a taster of what it must feel like to be a young person taking part in a session. I always find it inspiring to see any of Brook’s skilled professionals in action – we have the best staff in the sector, whose passion, dedication and skills are second to none. The exercises they took us through were fun, lively, provocative, informative, challenging, and beautifully designed. Both the materials and the trainers are a real credit to Brook. I wish I’d had that when I was at school.

It is equally inspiring to see the journeys that our young people go on. Shelby is clearly an articulate, passionate, and highly skilled youth worker in the making – any pupils who are lucky enough to be trained by her are in for a real treat. It was humbling and moving to have her share her story with us, from when she first came into contact with Brook to where she is now, and so we asked her if she would mind us sharing it. Her story, in her own words, is below. For me, it’s a beautiful, impassioned reminder of why we do what we do.

Shelby Halliwell – a young person and youth worker’s perspective on Brook BiteSize

Thinking back to when I was a year 9 pupil attending school, I got the opportunity to experience a BiteSize session facilitated by Brook’s education team. During the BiteSize session I gained a great deal of knowledge based around Sexual Health and Relationships Education (SHARE) as well as sexuality and homophobia. My friends and I found this an eye opening experience which enabled us to lower the social barrier when talking about these issues. It enabled us to communicate easily with the workers involved and to freely and comfortably voice issues, concerns or opinions we may have had at the time or even not known or understood we had until informed of potential situations in present and future social/sexual relationships.

I personally found it extremely helpful as I was struggling with issues surrounding sexuality and homophobia at the time. Without a doubt my favourite zone in the BiteSize session was and still is ‘Work It Out’ as this zone helped me to understand that as a young person it wasn’t wrong to be different, I didn’t deserve homophobic comments and there was nothing to be ashamed of.  Shortly following the day of the BiteSize event I felt confident enough with my new knowledge to come out to my peers as a member of the LGBT community.  Personally, I think that without Brook’s guidance and understanding I would have lead myself down a negative path battling with homophobia and depression. But thankfully Brook altered my opinion as well as many of my peers.

As a result of the BiteSize I was able to feel confident enough to become a member of the ‘Work It Out’ youth group run within Brook of an evening. This helped me to feel more secure within myself, my sexual identity and allowed me to develop relationships with other young people experiencing similar situations. The most positive outcome of all the help and support I received from Brook, Response and other organisations I feel is the realisation that supporting and guiding young people was something I not only enjoyed, but I am passionate about, this helped me to forge a career in youth work that benefits not only me but other young people in my surrounding community.

When offered a chance to enrol on the SHARE project and become a peer educator for Brook Wirral I jumped at the chance.  I took it in my stride to be the best I could be.  During the programme staff members began to comment on my natural ability and passion for the work, and this enabled me to run BiteSize zones confidently and effectively with minimal staff support. I began to then see BiteSize events from a staff member’s perspective while still maintaining the previous experience and views from once attending as a young person. I feel this gives me a well-rounded understanding of how and why the zones are run the way they are and have the effective, useful content they do. I now frequently get the opportunity to see the difference our sessions make in young people’s lives and the positive effect this has on negative opinions and topics that may have seemed taboo in the past.

I can safely say that without the confidence and knowledge gained within Brook I would have never been offered the chance to embark on the gap scheme and be in the process of studying for my qualification in youth work practice. Without Brook and the incredible work we do I wouldn’t be here today, I wouldn’t be proud of my achievements and the work I do to give back to our community and help other young people as Brook has helped me.

I was recently told a story that has had a significant impact on me. I was told this story by Helen Corteen, our Centre Manager. This is the story…

One day, an old man was walking along the beach in the early morning and noticed the tide had washed thousands of starfish up on the shore. Up ahead in the distance he spotted a boy who appeared to be gathering up the starfish, and one by one tossing them back into the ocean.

He approached the boy and asked him why he spent so much energy doing what seemed to be a waste of time.

The boy replied, "If these starfish are left out here like this they will bake in the sun, and by this afternoon they will all be dead."

The old man gazed out as far as he could see and responded, "But, there must be hundreds of miles of beach and thousands of starfish. You can't possibly rescue all of them. What difference is throwing a few back going to make anyway?"

The boy then held up the starfish he had in his hand and replied, "It's sure going to make a lot of difference to this one!"

This story made such an impact to me personally and professionally because the reason I want to do youth is to help young people, I know there are thousands of young people in need out there but if I can make a difference to just one, it makes all the hard work and dedication worth it. If I can reach out to someone who needs my help and change their life for the better just as brook has done to mine then I can be proud of the person I have become. I may not make a difference to everyone, but the difference I can make to one person can be everything.

What did I learn at the Party Conferences?

So political party conferences are over for another year and as I sit writing this blog I do indeed have the annual post conference cold.

I went to Labour and Conservatives conferences. Both were fun, some interesting meetings, and good to catch up with colleagues and friends, but they were also disappointing in that young people’s health, let alone sexual health was simply not on the agenda.  The only session I attended when I didn’t have to shoe horn a question in was at the Local Government Association and Coop fringe meeting discussing the opportunities provided by the transfer of Public Health responsibilities to Local Government. 

The excellent Hackney councillor Jonathan Mcshane identified there are many potential benefits to public health moving across to the Local Authority, and also confirmed Brook’s fears that sexual health has the potential to be politicised in Local Government, and that work we understand to be mainstream and innovative work could be seen to be too risky for the electorate.  Jonathan gave an example of a Local Authority condom distribution scheme being ‘moved to health’ at the last meeting to avoid criticism and attack.  I know too many examples of Sex and Relationships Education guidance getting stuck at committee stage, and of Council Leaders taking far too active an interest in curriculum materials.  From April 2013 is going to be a different game with a whole lot of educating, influencing and helping those with these new responsibilities – elected members and officers - to understand the issue, and ensure that young people’s sexual health does not become a political football.

The small issue of clinical governance within Local Authorities remains unsolved, and there isn’t much time before handover day.  I await a response from the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency about which bodies will be able to authorise the use of Patient Group Directions which enable nurses to provide contraception and treatment for sexually transmitted infections. I am now writing to the CEO of LGA, Secretary of State for Health, and Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to reiterate the importance of urgent action.  It would be embarrassing for all concerned if sexual health and other services ground to a halt on April 1^st because nurses aren’t able to operate within the law.  It would also be a disaster for the public’s health.

My highlight of the Labour Party Conference was Yvette Cooper unequivocally stating that under Labour PSHE including sex and relationships education would be made statutory.  Yes Labour should have made PSHE statutory during their 13 years in government but they didn’t and as Justin Hancock of Bish Training said ‘we are where we are, even if we don’t like it’.  Given how important sex and relationships education is for protecting and safeguarding children from sexual exploitation and harm, as well as reducing teenage pregnancy and preventing sexually transmitted infections this commitment is welcome.

At the Conservative Party Conference I attended a Health Hotel fringe meeting about delivering world-class health services, and from a young people’s organisation perspective it was terrifying simply by the omission of any reference to young people.  I know Mr Hunt is in the early days as Secretary of State for Health and I also know that professions and charities protect their own interests and are fighting for voice in these forums.  However I really struggle to understand how we can talk about developing a world class health systems and only focus on older people and long term conditions like diabetes to the exclusion of all other groups and issues, including that rather critical group that we don’t currently serve as well as we should - children and young people. I look forward to finding out more about the future of the children and young people health outcomes strategy over the coming weeks. 

The market alone cannot and should not drive world-class health services.  Professions and charities are going to have to change the way they work together to make best use of limited resources, and to understand how to do so in the best interests of patients.  At that particular meeting Clare Gerada got my vote as ‘hero of the match’ for a couple of reasons.  Having been absolutely vocal in her opposition to the Health and Social Care Bill she started her speech by saying lets not go over old ground - the Bill is now an Act, we have to make it work, and we will make it work.  Once that was out the way Clare was obviously feeling mischievous: first she reminded men that if you can’t see your penis you probably need to eat less and do some more exercise to avoid diabetes, then she threw in a curve ball when absolutely out of nowhere she asked the pharmacist on the panel what they thought about delivering services to improve health in the same place that cigarettes are sold. It’s a very good question, but unfortunately didn’t get an answer.

Clare continued to be provocative at a Patient Voice dinner hosted by Bayer Schering and chaired by Nick Golding from Health Service Journal that evening.  She rightly challenged the charities to consider the impact of single issue campaigning and advocacy on the effective delivery of health care.  Whilst I didn’t agree with all Clare was saying and I will be seeking to teach her about charity accounts and where they are published for public scrutiny, there is doubtlessly an issue about single issue lobbying, particularly now resources are tight about what the NHS can, should and will be paying for.  And those decisions cannot be based on ‘s/he who shouts loudest’.

Conservative conference was also of course where Lord Carey and Anne Widdecombe set out vile hypothesis that if we change the law so all people, gay or straight, have the rights to marry  – then we will be heading for a totalitarian state similar to Nazi Germany. The equally vile Coalition for Marriage had a stand at the conference. Against my better judgement I visited to find out a bit more about it, to understand the arguments a bit more and if anyone wants to know how homophobic bullying still exists in schools, you just need to stand by that stall for a while and hear some of the comments that were made about gay people by some of the conference delegates. A few of the pleasantries I overheard were “(they) don’t stay in relationships anyway”, “not safe with our children”, “(they) are everywhere now, on TV, in top jobs and they think they can shove it in people’s faces, marriage is just too far”.

So in the spirit of understanding I went over and asked exactly what their objections are.  There is a whole leaflet about it on their website, but some ‘facts’ stick out; 1. gay people have equal rights provided for by civil partnerships. 2. If you make it legal for two consenting men or women to marry each other it is a slippery slope - the implication being that there will be 'orgies' of people all wanting to marry each other, or people turning up wanting to marry their dog. 3. if you legalise equal marriage it will mean children will have to learn about it in school

Best of all is their proposition that it is a myth that gay people want equal marriage.  Only 39% of gay people say they would get married so its not worth it.  If I was being pedantic I think the same argument would apply to heterosexual marriage and I certainly wouldn’t be arguing against anything on the basis that not everyone wants to do it therefore it shouldn’t happen.

So after supper with Julie Bentley and Clare Laxton to celebrate the excellent work that Clare has done for both Brook and FPA and to wish her well in her new role at Arthritis Research UK, I finished party conference season 2012 very worried where children and young people’s health fits into the thinking of both government and the opposition, and worried that school based Personal, Social and Health Education is dropping off the agenda completely.

So it is timely and important that Brook and FPA have launched XES: we can’t go backwards. This three year campaign is currently focusing on access to contraception, and will turn to other issues over the coming years. Find out more at www.wecantgobackwards.org.uk or follow the campaign on twitter @xescampaign   

A Boat, a Riot and Some Very High Heels

Two weeks ago I was privileged to attend an award event to celebrate the work of young Brook volunteers based in London which was also attended by two of our trustees.  This guest blog is by Pete Lawson, Brook Board member and I absolutely agree with everything Pete says. 

A year ago, the media was full of stories of young people rioting and looting. If only we gave so much coverage to the tens of thousands of young people across the UK who give their time making their communities better. Changing the country they live in – not by ripping it up, but by transforming it around them.

So it was a real pleasure on July 17th to be invited to an event to celebrate the achievements and contributions of young Brook volunteers across London and those working on the V24/24 sex positive campaign (www.sexpositive.org.uk). The venue was plush – a boat on the Thames – the heels were out in force. These young volunteers were celebrating in style!

I went with Dorren Majeed, one of our young trustees. It was a brilliant chance for the two of us to talk to many Brook young people and staff, and hear so much about the incredible breadth of work taking place across London. I can’t imagine how many hours commitment was represented in that room.

What’s crystal clear is that volunteering is fantastic for Brook. It brings young people right in to the heart of what we do, and a chance to learn from and harness their passion, expertise, energy and creativity – whether that’s mystery shopping on condom schemes, delivering peer education projects, creating dynamic campaigns, or advising clinics on how to better meet the needs of young transsexuals. The greatest experts in young people’s behaviour are young people themselves. The evening was full of examples of how young volunteers help Brook get better at what we do well, and move confidently and effectively into new areas.

Just as importantly, volunteering is great for young people themselves. Young volunteers gain a fantastic opportunity to make a real difference to the world around them, to gain valuable new skills which help them progress through education or employment, and to let their voices be heard. It was really inspiring to talk to so many of our young volunteers – and to see how for so many, this has been a real turning point in their lives. Whether it’s an accredited apprenticeship or a chance to be part of a peer education project, so many young people on the night told me that they were now wanting to pursue a career in youth work, in education, in sexual health. Volunteering can give young people a chance to try things that otherwise they have no opportunity to, to develop a passion or uncover a talent, and to discover a new pathway through life. One of our young volunteers has even set up a young people’s sexual health project in Uganda. What an inspiration!

So to all the young volunteers across Brook – not just in London, but far beyond – we celebrate your incredible contributions. And promise to carry on providing a riot of opportunities, not just to harness your energy to create change – but to shout to the world about it. Let’s change the story we tell about young people.

*you can follow Pete on twitter @petelawson68 and you can follow me and the team on @simonablake and @brookcharity and @besexpositive

Lewis and Macaulay take over my blog: Stephen Twigg's visit to Brook in Liverpool

On the 8^th June 2012 we went to Brook Liverpool to meet one of the out gay MP’s – Stephen Twigg. We were keen to meet him because of how influential and supportive he is towards LGBT issues. The room we were allocated was quite big so we arranged different stations around the room in a way that we could showcase all of the work that Brook does. When Mr Twigg arrived at Brook, we were all a bit nervous to start, but as he moved around the room to speak at all of our stations, things got easier.

We talked to Mr Twigg about the impact that the internet and media has on the sexualisation of young people and Macaulay talked specifically about how pornography affects how people view sex, Macaulay also talked about how he learnt about sex from 3 different sources (‘Porn, me Nan and Brook’).

When Mr Twigg got to the ‘Work It Out’ station which looks at LGBT issues, Lewis talked about how common homophobia is in schools, and how some schools don’t tackle it, he also discussed with Mr Twigg about how Sex and Relationships Education is not taught in all PSHE Education Lessons as a core topic, and how some schools do not teach it at all due to religious beliefs.

Overall, we found Mr Twigg to be an open, honest and respectful person who is willing to listen to whatever views we share, we would like to thank him for coming to visit us and we hope to see him again in the future.

Lewis and Macaulay

Work it Out is Brook’s LGBT service for young people who either identify as gay/trans or those who are questioning/exploring their sexuality. Young people aged 14-18 years old meet weekly as a group as well as having the opportunity to participate in regular events and activities. The main aim of Work it Out is to support young people to build a sense of positive identify, increase confidence and self esteem and to provide an opportunity to talk to other young people who are going through similar experiences in a confidential and supportive environment.

Parents and health professionals

Recently in my role as CEO of Brook I have been asked three times whether I have my own children. I assume from the way the question has been asked that this is a shorthand and somewhat peculiar way of checking whether I could have the best interests of young people at heart. In fact I have been told explicitly that I cannot really understand the issues unless I am a parent. In the same period I have been told that health professionals are undermining the authority of parents.

No I am not a parent, and no I do not believe that health professionals undermine parents.

Parents have a unique relationship with their children. Ideally the relationship will be nurturing, loving and caring: helping the child learn and grow, develop their sense of self and their identity with confidence.

And in the best of worlds every single child would experience that care from parents who were confident and able to talk to their children about growing up, relationships, sex and sexuality. Whilst this is true for some young people, sadly it is not the case for many whose parents may have difficulty talking about sex, sexuality and sexual health. In the very worst cases children are hurt and abused by their parents.

But even in a perfect world full of perfect parenting, health professionals would still be needed in abundance because they offer professional expertise that is different to the personal relationship of care that parents have with their children. These health professionals provide clinical advice about contraceptive choices and the different issues that need to be considered when choosing a method of contraception. Clinicians may also need to provide emergency contraception, advice about pregnancy choices, referral for, or provision of, abortion, as well as testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections.

Within and outside Brook health professionals do their work with young people in the context of care and respect for young people's rights. They also encourage and support young people to talk to a parent or another adult they trust. And of course they only provide contraception to young people if they believe they have the capacity to consent as defined against the Fraser guidelines which were established in case law.

The evidence tells us what we need to do if we want young people to be confident in their sexuality, only have sex they actively choose and can enjoy and take responsibility for. It includes

• good parenting where parents talk to their children about bodies, relationships, growing up and sex
• good quality relationships and sex education in schools
• access to confidential sexual health services

In the absolute majority of cases parents know this to be true. That is why there is such a strong consensus in support of school based sex and relationships education and the provision of confidential sexual health services for young people.

That consensus exists despite the fact that many parents don’t find issues of sex, sexuality and relationships easy to address with their children. When I talk to parents they tell me ‘I hope my child does not have sex too early; I hope they are able to talk to me and if they can't I hope they find a professional they trust who will help make sure they are safe.’

Health professionals provide important clinical advice and rights based support to young people who need it day in day out. Some of those who need that support are the most vulnerable young people, some are having sex, some are being hurt and exploited.

I and every health professional or sex educator I know values enormously the unique role that parents must, can and do play in young people’s lives. I have never met a health professional who sets out to undermine parents. I also value the important and different role health professionals play for all young people including the most vulnerable.

I want parents to be children’s first sex educator (see the brilliant Speakeasy book published by www.fpa.org.uk which helps parents talk to their children), and most sensible people want to ensure children and young people have good quality relationships and sex education in school, and access to confidential services as well.

Whether I am a parent is irrelevant, and the view that health professionals undermine parent’s role is not true. It cannot be a coincidence that those same people who ask whether I am a parent often want to promote abstinence-only, abolish relationships and sex education and limit young people’s rights to confidential sexual health services.

By working together we can change our culture so we have high expectations of young people, in order that they have high expectations for the relationships and sex they choose to have, when they are ready to have it.

The National Condom Week challenge, JLS and visiting Brook in Salford

I think National Condom Week was launched in 1996, my first year as a full time, paid employee working in sexual health. If not 96, it was 97 and generally condoms were even less of an everyday conversation than they are now, and far far away from how much of an everyday conversation they should be.

Over the last 5 years or so I have  set a National Condom Week challenge to health professionals and all of us determined to empower young people and protect their sexual rights. The challenge is to say the word condoms in as many different contexts as possible, even where it does not make sense to do so.  Whatever the question, condom is the answer.  Befuddled faces and questions of why this answer can easily be explained when people know it is NCW.

So far I have had feedback that it has made teams of people laugh throughout the day, created useful conversations, and made others want to punch me.  As a challenge it seems it is doing its job, and therefore it would be wrong not to issue the challenge again this year.  So my challenge to you is: for at least one day through NCW get (discussions about) condoms into as many answers to questions and discussions as you can.  And if you choose to accept the challenge do let me know of any interesting stories and experiences that come out of it either on this blog or via twitter @simonablake

Yesterday to mark the launch of National Condom Week, boy band JLS teamed up with Durex and MTV to visit some sexual health projects.  Brook services in Salford was one of those, and teams of staff from Oldham, Wirral and Salford showed Marvin, Oritse, JB and Aston the type of education and clinical work staff and young peer educators do - from wearing the beer goggles, witnessing the rubber relay to finding out about sexually transmitted infections it was a really fun morning where the Brook teams showed off their creativity, skill and commitment to working with young people. I was incredibly proud of the team, all of whom told me they found the boys interested in them and what they do, interesting, easy to talk to and a real pleasure to spend time with.

And that has been true of every single experience of JLS throughout the last couple of years we have worked together - they are genuinely committed to, and interested in the issues - so when the journalist from the Manchester Evening News asked how important they are as role models for young people, I agreed they are undoubtedly so.  And they are also role models for other adults - both celebrities and the 'rest of us'.  In their groundbreaking support for young people's sexual health JLS are paving a way for other celebrities to take young people's sexual health seriously, and use their roles to champion the issue.  At the same time they are helping break down the barriers that mean the average person on the street can be freed from embarrassment and shame and start talking about relationships, sex and sexuality so as a country we continue to get better and better at supporting children through puberty, adolescence and into adulthood.

Another day, another headline, some more myth busting

Yesterday the news was littered with stories about 'girls as young as 13 getting contraceptives without prescriptions in pharmacists'.  I quickly want to put the record straight;

• most young people under the age of 16 don't have sex so the headline about girls as young as 13 is an overly sensationalist headline which perpetuates myths about the average age of sexual activity  
• those young people who are having sex at a very early age can be amongst the most vulnerable who they need and deserve excellent help and advice from a well trained professional whether that be a school nurse, a pharmacist, a community nurse or a doctor
• the pilot scheme run in South East London was as we understand it for people over the age of 16.  It was delivered by pharmacists who were trained and working within Patient Group Directions e.g. strict conditions approved for providing the contraception
• where pharmacists do provide the contraceptive pill, like any professional working with young people under 16 would need the appropriate skills and knowledge, including being able to use the Fraser Guidelines established over 25 years ago to ensure young people are consenting, safe from harm, mature enough to understand contraceptive treatment and to encourage them to talk to their parent, or another adult they trust.  They will not be handing pills out over the counter 'when they ask to get the pill with their Lucozade' as claimed 
• this is not going to be rolled out to every pharmacy in England - only pharmacies that have the right environment and staff with the right skills to provide appropriate support to protect young people and promote positive sexual health should even consider providing this service

And on a second lot of myths that underpinned the story;

• our teenage pregnancy rates are the lowest they have been for 40 years - they are not, at this stage, rising year on year
• there is no evidence that providing contraception, in whatever setting, encourages an increase in sexual activity at an earlier age.  None whatsoever.  All the evidence shows that good quality sex and relationships education at home and school, connected to visible and trusted sexual healths services delays the age of first sex and encourages contraception use when a young person chooses to have sex
• sex and relationships education is still not well established in schools, and much more needs to be done to provide young people with the facts and information, skills and confidence they need to be safe, enjoy and take active responsibility for their sexual and relationship choices, and seek help, advice and treatment from a range of sources when they need it. 

Won't it be fantastic when the headline reflects the reality that we see everyday at Brook that young people want to be, can be and are responsible about sex and sexual health, and that the most vulnerable young people need our care, support and attention, not our condemnation and finger wagging.  I await that day. One day soon.