ABSTRACT
In 2005, the independent evaluation of the first phase of the strategy and monitoring of the data prompted a mid-course review. The mid-course review was an important milestone for the strategy. First, the contrasting progress of very similar areas made it clear that continuing high rates were not inevitable. Second, it confirmed the underlining principle of the strategy that the complex issue of teenage pregnancy had to be addressed through a collaborative 'whole systems' approach. In essence, teenage pregnancy needed to be everybody's business, and, if the right actions were taken, everybody benefited. The Teenage Pregnancy Strategy wasn't just successful in reducing teenage conceptions and supporting young parents, it also rewrote the book on how to effectively deliver complex, often believed impossible, changes within society. The model of integrating national policy with local implementation created strong vertical links through national, regional and local coordinators, but also wove together diverse services across local areas.
