My daughter lost her childhood when she had a baby. I don’t want her to lose the school that’s been her lifeline

Plans to scrap a teen mums’ unit have been slammed by campaigners desperate to save the “lifeline” service.

Scotland still has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in western Europe and now the issue has been brought into sharp focus in Dundee.

The Young Mothers’ Unit, in the city’s Menzieshill High, is set to lose principal teacher Norma Seith and move to another campus amid plans to close the school.

The controversial proposals have sparked a fight to save both the school and unit.

Clare McGraw’s daughter Sophia attends the unit. Sophia became pregnant when she was 15 and is now mum to baby Clara.

It’s not what any parent would want for their much-loved teenage girl. In truth, Clare would rather not be speaking about what her family went through.

She worries about the reaction Sophia might get which is why we haven’t identified her in our pictures and she’s highly protective of Sophia. But she is so grateful to the YMU, and the support Sophia and Clara have had there, that she’s launched the campaign to save it.

The argument of Clare and the other campaigners is, if it isn’t broke, why fix it? They believe it isn’t moving to another campus that’s the problem, but taking the nursery out of the school the girls attend and losing its inclusive nature.

Now she’s here, of course, Clara is an adored member of the McGraw family and Clare is a doting granny. But she can recall her emotions on finding out Sophia, now 16, was pregnant as if it were yesterday.

“It wasn’t anger I felt. So many people said to me, ‘I bet you could strangle her’, but I never felt like that. I felt utterly sorry for her.

“My daughter had lost her childhood. It was gone. And I still do feel sorry for her in some ways. She’s got to deal with really adult things.”

Clare, 43, says she became super-protective of Sophia during her pregnancy, admitting: “I hardly let her out of my sight.”

Sophia is from a loving and supportive family. Clare is a mum-of-six, an associate lecturer who works for the Open University and is from affluent Broughty Ferry. She is living proof that it isn’t just underage girls from more deprived families and areas who end up pregnant.

Even though there was never any question they would support Sophia, Clare says the YMU was still crucial for the family.

“I’ve done a lot of research into teenage pregnancy and there’s a Scottish Government paper listing all the disadvantages these girls and their children are facing.

“Many of these disadvantages Sophia isn’t facing. She’s got our support, she’s still with her boyfriend and his family have been great. And yet, I still felt like the school was a lifeline.

“As soon as we went to see the YMU, Sophia made up her mind to go there. It’s the atmosphere it’s homely, caring. The staff are fantastic. It’s exactly what you’d want for this group of vulnerable girls and their babies. Why wouldn’t we want to make it as easy as possible for them to continue their education with that support?

“It gives them the chance of a future, of independence. “The restructure is simply about saving money.”

Of course there are those who believe that teenage girls who end up pregnant bring it on themselves. Clare believes the focus of sex education is wrong and as long as it remains that way, society has a duty to deal with that.

“I would tell children that sex is part of a loving, married relationship,” she says. “But, at the moment, it’s almost taught as if it’s something recreational.

“While we have this culture, then we have to accept there will be difficult pregnancies and have to be prepared to pick up the pieces.

“I’ve lost count of the amount of times women in their 20s and 30s have said to me they ended up becoming pregnant without meaning to. If it can happen to them, it’s going to happen to teenage girls too.”

She pauses before saying: “They’re children having children. If we’ve got this problem, and we’re part of this problem, then we have to be prepared to take responsibility. And the YMU is a great example of that.”

When asked for a response, Dundee City Council directed us to official records of a recent budget meeting.

In it, they stated the Young Mothers’ Unit will be moved to the Jessie Porter Nursery within the new Baldragon Academy campus if their proposal is accepted.

A spokesperson added: “We do not discuss individual personnel issues.”