CompaniesApr 14 2014

Financial education needs to go further: White

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The head of UK financial planning for international advisory firm the deVere Group, said that although it was a “victory for common sense” that from September it will be a compulsory component of the English national curriculum, the battle was only half-won.

Mr White said: “It is a step in the right direction but campaigners, proponents and supporters must remember that the battle has only been half won.

“We have plenty more to do in this area. Indeed, the real fight starts now to ensure the success of this initial step and to remove any lingering doubts regarding its true value and effectiveness.”

The compulsory financial education lessons that have been included in the final version of the national curriculum for 2014/15 will involve ‘financial numeracy’ being taught in mathematics, and ‘money management’, which will include personal debt and public finances, being taught in citizenship classes.

The IFS University College has often warned that limiting financial literacy to maths and citizenship would not help as many pupils as it should, and might cause some school children to disengage with it.

Alison Pask, vice-principal of the IFS University College, said: “We remain deeply concerned that the new curriculum will be little more than a box-ticking exercise that will create good headlines, but little else.”

Mr White added: “Our main concern is that only around half of all children are in schools which follow the national curriculum, meaning 50 per cent of children in England will still not necessarily receive any formal financial education.

“With this in mind, we need to now focus our attention on the academies and free schools. We’re urging the head teachers and teachers of these schools to appreciate and value, as those who teach the national curriculum have now done, the vital importance of focused financial education in today’s world.”