In July 2021, a new report was published by the APPG (All Party Parliamentary Group) stating that UK school children should be taught basic money skills in primary schools by 2030. The APPG, which is made up of 150 MPs and peers from different parties, published the report after it was discovered that only one in three children receive financial education in primary school. The report highlights that this puts young people at risk of fraud, debt and financial abuse.
It's estimated that young Brits (aged 16 - 24) owe £2,000 on average across credit cards and overdrafts, with a staggering 89% admitting that they never received any financial advice on how to use these kinds of products responsibly.
Hardly surprising when despite being part of the National Curriculum (England) since 2014, just 8% of young people said they learnt about money skills in school.
82% of students surveyed by Young Persons’ Money Index said they wanted to learn more about money and finance in school, with 60% of those saying they would like it to be a stand-alone subject. Sadly, a shocking 69% percent of young people say they worry about money, rising to 82% amongst 17 to 18-year-olds.
When looking to source financial advice, 75% of 16-to-24-year-olds say they were more likely to turn to their parents for information, rather than an educational institution (sixth form, college or University). When asked if they had ever received adequate financial education from school, an alarming 79% of those surveyed admitted that their school has failed to provide them with financial advice when looking to understand how financial products work.
While discussions are certainly taking place around financial education becoming a stand-alone subject, companies such as ourselves (and of course money saving expert Martin Lewis) are now supporting schools, centres and teachers in delivering this vitally important topic to students. Currently, only 31% of schools or colleges teach financial education as a separate subject, but most commonly, it is integrated into existing subject lessons.
In Sweet Book 7 – Making Money Work for Me, students will be introduced to the world of finance and learn to understand the different ways in which they can earn money. Sweet learners will explore the meaning of different financial terms in relation to earning money, such as salary, bonus, bursary, grant, pension and benefits. They will also learn to understand the information on payslips, including tax codes, National Insurance, gross pay and net pay.
Not to toot our own horn (OK, well we are a bit), the Sweet resource can be delivered through allocated PSE time, registration time, core subjects (including maths, science, and PE), or even as a standalone option choice. In addition to students achieving a BTEC qualification, there is a whole book dedicated to financial education – something that has been included since Sweet came to life in 2010 – 5 years before financial education was even part of the curriculum.
To find out more about what Sweet has to offer, and the support you will receive to deliver it, click here, or call us for an informal chat on 07874 869690.
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