If we want the next generation to be financially capable and to succeed in work and life, then it is essential that young people leave school equipped with the skills, knowledge and confidence they need to manage their money well throughout their lives.
In September last year, financial education became a statutory part of the national curriculum for England to be taught within both the maths and citizenship syllabuses, and there are now more opportunities than ever for schools to equip students with vital financial capability skills. This landmark achievement was the result of years of campaigning by the personal finance education group (Pfeg), the all-party parliamentary group on financial education for young people and moneysavingexpert.com’s Martin Lewis.
Pfeg’s quality mark is the UK’s only widely recognised accreditation for financial education resources. It is designed to give those delivering financial education confidence that the materials they are using contain accurate and up-to-date information and which is engaging and relevant for young children, as well as being of the highest educational value. Crucially, the quality mark also ensures that no financial education materials that are for direct use by children or young people contain any form of marketing and branding.
With the support of Prudential, Pfeg has been able to adapt and develop this accreditation service in response to the changing education landscape and the requirements of schools. Earlier in the year, the scheme was extended to cover resources used by volunteers, parents, carers and others, in addition to teachers in the classroom.
As well as the quality mark, Prudential and Pfeg have also teamed up to bring the expertise of people working in the financial sector directly into the classroom to help deliver financial education. Input from a finance expert can be invaluable for pupils’ learning, and real-life contexts help teachers connect what young people are learning with life beyond school.
Blessed High Faringdon School in Berkshire was awarded Centre of Excellence status in July 2014. The school has embedded financial education across its whole curriculum in a variety of innovative and engaging ways, including through the use of radio broadcasts, quality-marked resources, and the school’s new debating club. Money and finance can sometimes generate strong opinions, and for this reason, the debating programme incorporated some financial topics such as: ‘An unemployed person walks past a homeless man and gives him £10. A millionaire walks past and gives him £50. Who has given more?’
Prudential volunteers from their Reading office were an integral part of this journey, providing support to Year 8 and Year 9 financial education sessions, as well as collaborating with school staff to develop and deliver eight seminar sessions to sixth-form students. The sessions covered topics ranging from independent living to fraud prevention and were delivered by different Prudential volunteers each week, providing expert financial knowledge and expertise to help prepare the sixth-formers for the future.
St Marylebone Church of England School in London gained Centre of Excellence status in November 2014, having started the scheme in October 2013. As part of this process, the school has integrated financial education into more than 70 per cent of their whole school provision in subjects such as PSHE (the promotion of pupils’ personal and social development), careers and enterprise through both Key Stage 3 and 4. The school has been rated outstanding by Ofsted and a key ingredient of St Marylebone’s success has been the importance placed on financial capability, enterprise and work-related learning by the school’s senior leaders.
In becoming Centres of Excellence, each school has worked closely with Pfeg’s education specialists not only to help create a tailored financial education programme, but also to ensure that teachers are trained and equipped to deliver innovative personal finance lessons and activities. Access to high-quality financial education resources through the Pfeg quality mark and enthusiastic, knowledgeable volunteers, has supported this process, highlighting the synergies that exist between the different financial education initiatives supported by Prudential.
Anna Foster is Head of Services of Pfeg
