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Cornwall Council is to become the first local authority in the country to formally adopt a new “traffic light tool” designed to help children and young people to adopt positive relationships and healthy sexual development.
Brook's Sexual Behaviours Traffic Light Tool, adapted with permission from Family Planning Queensland (2012), with initial funding from the Department of Education, uses a “traffic light” approach to help practitioners working with children and young people distinguish healthy sexual development from potentially harmful behaviours.
Positive sexual relationships and sexual health includes forming and maintaining healthy relationships, setting and understanding boundaries, staying safe, the importance of consent, recognising risk, sexuality and, for older young people, protection from sexually transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancy. Supporting children and young people to develop positive relationships and sexual health requires a workforce and community that are confident, knowledgeable and consistent in their delivery of education and support.
Alexa Gainsbury, Cornwall’s Teenage Pregnancy and Sexual Health Co-ordinator said:
“Positive sexual development is integral to all children and young people’s development of a positive and secure identity, self worth and self esteem. It provides the building blocks to help them develop into happy, healthy and responsible young people and eventually adults.
“By using this tool to identify and address unhealthy behaviour at an early age professionals working with children and young people in Cornwall can help prevent subsequent sexually harmful behaviours from developing and keep them safe, happy and healthy”.
The tool, which will be formally launched at a special conference funded by the Council at Truro’s Health and Wellbeing Innovation Centre on Tuesday, 4 March, uses “green” to reflect healthy development; “amber” to identify a behaviour outside healthy sexual behaviour and “ red” to highlight a cause for immediate concern.
With very little guidance currently available for professionals, the development of the Sexual Behaviours Traffic Light Tool has been warmly welcomed by both national and local agencies and professional bodies working with vulnerable children and young people.
Jack Cordery, Cornwall Council’s Head of Children's Early Help, Psychology and Social Care Services, said:
“I am fully behind the introduction of the Brook Sexual Behaviours Traffic Light tool. It will help frontline practitioners to hold those sensible conversations with young people in a consistent way and this will help to identify any risks to their welfare and safety”.
Andrew Wallis, Cornwall Council’s Cabinet Member for children and young people, is delighted that Cornwall is leading the rest of the country in adopting the new tool.
“Embedding positive relationships and sexual health into our understanding of wellbeing for children and young people is vital for their happiness both now and in the future. Implementing this tool across Cornwall will give practitioners the skills and resources they need to support our children and young people’s healthy development as well as to respond effectively to risks”.
The new tool also has the enthusiastic support of Felicity Owens, Cornwall’s Director of Public Health who said:
“We already have an incredible partnership in Cornwall which is committed to helping all our children and young people to experience positive relationships and sexual development. This tool will help us to achieve this.”
Ed Hart, Education and Training Manager, from Brook Cornwall, has praised Cornwall Council for becoming the first authority in the country to formally adopt the new tool.
“Brook is delighted with Cornwall Council’s response to the Sexual Behaviours Traffic Light Tool. Cornwall Council has set the bar by incorporating the tool into their Relationship and Sexual Health Best Practice Guidelines and sent a strong signal about the value it places on the future health and wellbeing of their children and young people. Brook will be highlighting the example Cornwall has set when working with other local authorities.”
The launch of the Sexual Behaviours Traffic Light Tool coincides with the news that Cornwall’s U18 conception rates continue to decline and are now the lowest they have been since the national strategy began in 1998.
In 2012 there were 26.1 conceptions per 1000 compared to 30.3 in 2011 representing a 13.3% decrease, outperforming a national decrease of 9.8%. The decline in rates is attributed to positive work throughout Cornwall supporting positive education, support and access to contraception alongside ongoing support for young parents. The launch of the Sexual Behaviours Traffic Light Tool will further support the aspirations of the strategy.
To support the Sexual Behaviours Traffic Light Tool, Brook, the UK’s leading sexual health charity for young people, has developed a handy pocket sized guidance leaflet so practitioners have this easily to hand. This and the full poster can be obtained from legacy.brook.org.uk/shop.
Following the formal launch of the Sexual Behaviours Traffic Light Tool on 4 March, a comprehensive programme of training will be carried out amongst staff to ensure that it is embedded into practice.
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Note to editors
About Brook
Brook helps young people to make informed, active choices about their personal and sexual relationships so they can enjoy their sexuality without harm.
Brook is the UK’s leading provider of sexual health services and advice for young people under 25. The charity has 50 years of experience working with young people and currently has services in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Jersey.
Brook services provide free and confidential sexual health information, contraception, pregnancy testing, advice and counselling, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections and outreach and education work, reaching over 280,000 young people every year. legacy.brook.org.uk. Ask Brook helpline 0808 802 1234
For further information about Brook services in Cornwall please visit legacy.brook.org.uk/cornwall or contact 01209 710088.
Contact details
Cornwall Council : Trisha Hewitt, Communications Manager (Media Relations)
Tel: 01872 32 2186 / Mobile: 07785 956 865
phewitt@cornwall.gov.uk
Brook press office - 020 7284 6046 email: press@brook.org.uk
For media enquiries please contact Brook's press office on 07789 682831 or email press@brook.org.uk
Notes to editors
Brook believes that young people should have access to great sexual health services and wellbeing support.
Brook provides free and confidential sexual health information, contraception, pregnancy testing, advice and counselling, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections and education programmes, reaching nearly 235,000 young people nationwide every year.
Read our Strategic Plan 2017-2020 and learn more about the difference we make in our latest Success Report.
