Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what research they have carried out on how other countries have addressed the introduction of financial literacy into their schools, in particular in Denmark, Norway and Sweden; and whether they have any plans to follow those models.

The government has not carried out its own research into how other countries have addressed the introduction of financial literacy in their schools.

The curriculum in England already includes compulsory financial education within the national curriculum for mathematics at key stages 1 to 4, and citizenship at key stages 3 and 4. Primary schools can choose to teach citizenship at key stages 1 and 2, using non-statutory programmes of study.

Evidence from the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment suggests there is a strong correlation between performance in financial literacy and performance in mathematics; and a positive correlation between financial literacy performance and learning finance-related terms at school. This evidence is available on the GOV.UK website here: https://www.oecd.org/education/pisa-2018-results-volume-iv-48ebd1ba-en.htm.

Since 2014, the government has transformed the way mathematics is taught in schools through the introduction of mastery pedagogy based on top performing East Asian countries. Mastery aims to ensure that pupils secure the deep knowledge and understanding of mathematics which provides the underlying knowledge and financial skills to make important financial decisions. The Maths Hubs’ Teaching for Mastery programme aims to reach 75% of primary schools and 65% of secondary schools by 2025.

Oak National Academy is also developing free, optional and adaptable resources for schools. Oak has published its initial mathematics resources, with the full curriculum available by this autumn. As part of this, Oak is exploring including additional lessons in real life mathematics. Secondary citizenship resources will become available from autumn 2024 and will be complete by autumn 2025.

The department continues to work closely with HM Treasury and the Money and Pensions Service, to support their efforts to coordinate the work of organisations involved in delivering the goals set out in the National Strategy for Financial Wellbeing 2020. This includes monitoring the evidence base for financial education to understand what works and what further support schools may need.