Government urged to improve financial education in schools

Ten years after financial education was added to the national curriculum, a new Education Committee report calls on the government to bolster the subject in primary and secondary schools and at post-16 level. 

Financial education can cover a wide range of skills from reading a payslip, understanding the impact of money on relationships, awareness of online scams and judging financial risks. 

The cross-party Committee’s report makes recommendations to the Department for Education (DfE) on: expanding financial education at primary school level; encouraging schools to appoint financial education coordinators; improving access to quality learning materials; and how the subject could become a key component of the Government’s proposal for all 16-18-year-olds to study maths.

Financial education has formally been part of the national curriculum since 2014, and is required to be taught in local authority-run schools as part of the maths curriculum at primary and secondary level, and through citizenship studies from ages 11-16.

Schools also have the option to include it in personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE). The Committee said that many schools find it hard to prioritise areas of financial education beyond basic concepts such as calculations using money.

Despite it having been part of the curriculum for over a decade, many teachers lack confidence in delivering its content.

Education Committee Chair Robin Walker MP said: “Providing children with a financial education that is comprehensive and age appropriate is essential."

He added: "A decade since it was introduced with broad support, 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. There is cross-party support for delivering financial education in schools but it hasn't yet reached its full potential. 

“Since the Prime Minister set out his ambitions for ‘maths to 18’, there is an opportunity to bolster financial education and embed it in the maths curriculum, both as a core part of the proposals for the Advanced British Standard, and as a more accessible, practical alternative for those who wouldn’t choose the equivalent of a maths A level."

He said the period just before students enter the world of work and face key decisions around student debt and accommodation is a vital one for financial education but currently a space where there is "no requirement for it."

One of the recommendations to come from the report was to start financial education early. Experts told the Committee that young children are increasingly being exposed to apps that require subscriptions, financial pressures and adverts for get rich quick schemes. 

They also recommend introducing financial education in the maths curriculum. A 2023 survey of 4,000 young adults by Compare the Market and MyBnk found that 61 per cent had no memory of receiving financial education in secondary school.

The report suggests the government urgently reviews the contents of the maths curriculum to expand the provision and relevance of financial education at primary and secondary levels. 

Other recommendations include improving teaching materials, giving more teacher training on the topic, and co-ordinating financial education across all subjects.