Action for Children (with University of Bath IPR) · 2017
This report by Action for Children examines the experiences of young parents aged 25 and under in England, drawing on secondary analysis of the Next Steps longitudinal dataset and focus groups. It finds that young parents face significantly worse outcomes than their peers across education, employment, and mental health — for example, only 11% have attended university compared to 45% of non-parents, and nearly 40% report struggling financially. The report makes 17 recommendations covering childcare funding, welfare support, mental health services, and access to dedicated support groups, arguing that policy attention must extend beyond teenage parents to those aged 20–25.