Financial Services: Education

(asked on 22nd October 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to (a) improve the financial education curriculum and (b) increase delivery of that education at primary level in the context of the economic situation as a result of the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.


Answered by
Nick Gibb Portrait
Nick Gibb
This question was answered on 6th November 2020

Education on financial matters helps to ensure that young people are prepared to manage their money well, make sound financial decisions and know where to seek further information when needed. In 2014, financial literacy was made statutory within the national curriculum for the first time, as part of the citizenship curriculum for 11 to 16 year olds.

The Department also introduced a rigorous mathematics curriculum, which provides young people with the knowledge and financial skills to make important financial decisions. The Government has published statutory programmes of study for mathematics and citizenship that outline what pupils should learn about financial education from key stages one to four.

In the primary mathematics curriculum, there is a strong emphasis on the arithmetic that pupils should have. This knowledge is vital, as a strong understanding of numeracy and numbers will underpin the pupils’ ability to manage budgets and money, including, for example, percentages. There is also some specific content about financial education such as calculations with money.

We trust schools to use their professional judgement and understanding of their pupils to develop the right teaching approach for their students, drawing on the expertise of subject associations and organisations such as Young Money.

The Department will continue to work closely with the Money and Pension Service and HM Treasury to consider how to provide further support for the teaching of financial education in schools.

Schools should have resumed teaching an ambitious and broad curriculum in all subjects from the start of the autumn term. This means that all pupils will be taught a wide range of subjects so they can maintain their choices for further study and employment. The latest guidance on teaching to support children is set out here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools.

The Government has made £650 million of catch-up funding available, as part of a wider £1 billion COVID-19 catch-up package, to be shared across schools over the 2020-21 academic year. Details of the catch-up package are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/billion-pound-covid-catch-up-plan-to-tackle-impact-of-lost-teaching-time.

The Education Endowment Fund has published a COVID-19 support guide to support schools to use this funding effectively.

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