In Parliament this week I talked about the importance of financial education like making informed decisions in everyday life like opening a bank account to selecting an appropriate mortgage to investing into a pension plan for old age.
Understanding how to manage money well is a key life skill that is required for all aspects of adult life and it’s a subject that I think should be part of the school curriculum from an earlier age because research shows that from the age of 7 children develop habits with money that stay with them for life.
According to research published by the APPG, over half (56%) of secondary school teachers in England who have a statutory duty to deliver financial education were not aware that it is on the curriculum. More needs to be done to support teachers to ensure all young people receive strong foundations in financial education to equip them for the future.
I’m pleased I could highlight the work of programmes like Young Enterprise and Unify, our local Credit Union who go into school to speak to children about money matters and I urged the Government to increase support for schools at KS2 to allow them to cover more elements of financial literacy.
