Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has she made of the adequacy of the level of financial education for students in post-16 educational settings.

Financial education is integrated into the curriculum at key stages 3 and 4 through citizenship education and elements of the mathematics curriculum but is not compulsory at key stage 5. However, post-16 education providers are free to teach it if they wish to do so.

There are a range of financial education qualifications available for 16 to 19 year-old students to study. This includes qualifications and courses at levels 1 and 2 for lower attaining GCSE students to support their financial literacy, as well as new qualifications at level 3, such as the T Level in Finance for those wishing to pursue a career in the industry. Level 3 Core Maths qualifications also cover financial literacy.

The mathematics and English condition of funding supports students who do not attain level 2 English and mathematics qualifications at 16, by requiring them to continue to study these subjects as part of their 16-19 study programme or T Level. Students with a GCSE grade 2 or below can study towards either level 2 Functional Skills or GCSE grade 9 to 4. This allows institutions and students with prior attainment of GCSE grade 2 and below to choose which level 2 qualification is most appropriate. The Functional Skills qualification mathematics subject content covers elements of personal finance explicitly and delivers the wider mathematics skills needed for personal finance.