The Melbourne schools that cater for teen mums and their bubs

If the brain-busting stress of Year 12 isn’t tough enough, throw in sleepless nights, a screaming baby, endless nappy changes and breastfeeding breaks.

If the brain-busting stress of Year 12 isn’t tough enough, throw in sleepless nights, a screaming baby, endless nappy changes and breastfeeding breaks.

That’s the reality for a small but hardy bunch of Victorian teenagers, for who two of life’s most demanding experiences have intersected.

Conventional schools rarely cater for mums and bubs, meaning many drop out and never return to complete their studies.

But tucked away in suburbs around Melbourne, determined mums as young as 15 are balancing books and babies through innovative programs that support their complex needs.

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Conventional schools rarely cater for young mothers and their babies.

Melbourne City Mission and Swinburne University are among those running tailored Year 11 and 12 courses for young mums and pregnant students in classrooms set up with porta cots, toys, desks and changing tables.

Although teen pregnancy rates are dropping — with 235 babies born to Australian mums aged 15 and under in 2017, compared to 505 in 2009 — programs like these are changing lives.

The trend is continuing among older teens, Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show, with the number of new mums aged 16 and 17 halving from about 3300 in the same period.

Among them was Shelley Jones, now 18, who gave birth to her son Levi in 2017.

Refusing to let motherhood get in the way of a career, she enrolled in Swinburne’s Young Mums program in Croydon when Levi was just three months old.

Three days a week, Shelley boarded the bus in Boronia with Levi, a pram and bags stuffed with baby food, nappies, toys and schoolbooks for the 1.5 hour round trip.

“When I had Levi, I thought I was going to be stuck at home,” she recalls.

“I saw this and went ‘OMG I need to do that’. I really wanted to finish my education.”

Having a baby does not have to mean the end of your education.

Students are required to attend the campus for 18 contacts hours a week and complete their work in class, and can do extra work from home if required.

About 100 students have graduated from the program since its inception 12 years ago, with school nurses, education support workers, counsellors and volunteers on hand to assist with the challenges they face.

For Shelley, it was a great way to meet other mums in her position and build friendships while earning a qualification.

She graduated with her Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning last year and is now studying to be a youth worker at TAFE.

“I loved the whole thing and encourage my friends to go there,” she says.

“They helped me a lot with my son, the staff were always there to support you through everything.

“Even when I was having problems at home, they were there for me.”

The Young Mums Program fills an important gap in the education and welfare system, the website says.

“Schools often can’t deal with pregnant students, so it’s lucky that we exist for them,” she says on the uni’s website.

“Typically, a school might be able to keep them there until they’re about seven months pregnant, and then they send them home.

“After they’ve given birth, they are meant to return to school without their baby, and just be a normal student. But that’s just not right — they are mothers now, and it disconnects them from their babies in that important first year.”

Some students require help with parenting methods.

Stories of dysfunctional upbringings are common in the classroom, from domestic violence to disengaging from school, substance abuse and mental health problems.

Swinburne’s manager of youth and secondary programs, Susan Elmasri, says some students require help with parenting methods, one of the many extra services they offer.

Students study business and retail industry skills as part of their certificate, giving students practical skills to enter the employment market.

The school has set up its own micro business called Snuggle Boxes, and recently won a grant through the state government’s Pick My Project program to further develop the baby welcome boxes.

“We have really refined what it is that we are training these women to do, and identified these two skill areas as the most applicable,” she says.

“One of the students has since set up a home business making wellbeing products with the skills she learned here.”

The determination to succeed is admirable, she says, with girls making comments like: “I don’t want my baby to have the life I had”.

The programs are a good way to meet other mums and build friendships while earning a qualification.

It’s a similar story at the Hester Hornbrook Academy, an independent school for students aged 15 to 25, run by Melbourne City Mission in Prahran and Braybrook.

A youth worker is stationed in the classroom and the school is linked with other services including parenting and housing support, mental health liaison, counselling and assistance navigating Centrelink.

The school also has a scholarship fund to help cover student fees, buy computers and make-up kits when they leave, and provide ongoing pathway planning.

“Our model is to have an educator and a youth worker side-by-side to support both their wellbeing and academic needs in a holistic program,” says principal Tim Knowles.

“The number of graduates is only one measure of success at the Hester Hornbrook Academy. Other measures include improved parenting, improved attitudes to education that have lifelong impact on their children, increased community engagement which has potential to lead to long term supports, and empowerment of the students as young women.”