Call for better money-management lessons in schools

Financial education in schools needs a complete overhaul, according to a new report.

The cross-party Education Committee has found, despite being added to the national curriculum ten years ago, financial education in schools is still well below par.

What’s the state of play at the moment?

All local authority-run schools have to teach financial education as part of the primary and secondary maths curriculum, and in citizenship studies for those between the ages of 11 and 16.

The committee heard many schools are only covering basic concepts such as money calculations, with teachers lacking confidence in delivering content.

What areas should financial education cover?

Financial education covers a wide range of vital life skills, including:

• understanding a payslip
• how money affects relationships
• judging financial risk
• avoiding online scams

What the report is calling for

The committee is calling on the Department for Education to:

• introduce more lessons about managing money at primary school 
• encourage schools to appoint financial education coordinators to champion the subject
• improve access to quality learning materials
• make the subject a key part of the government’s plans for all 16-18 year olds to study maths

Urgent update

Committee chair Robin Walker said:

“Financial education in England needs an urgent update that takes account of how the schools sector, financial pressures on children and consumer habits have changed.”