The battle for financial education in England’s schools is “only half won”
At the start of the next school year, financial education will be a compulsory part of the English national curriculum.
deVere Group has been campaigning for financial education to be included in the national curriculum for many years, and the Department of Education’s decision to do so is great news.
However, although this is a very positive step forward in teaching future generations the importance of financial planning, which will in turn benefit individuals and the economy as a whole, there is still a long way to go yet.
Kevin White, deVere United Kingdom’s Head of Financial Planning, has recently flagged up these concerns in a statement that was covered byFinancial Times Adviser and Economic Voice.
So, what are the major concerns?
Firstly, when you consider that only around half of schools in England follow the national curriculum, there is the strong possibility that 50 per cent of children will still not receive any proper financial education.
Therefore it’s our opinion that head teachers within free schools and academies should be aware of the importance of financial education, and also include it into teaching plans.
Secondly, there are worries about how the subject will be taught. The ‘financial numeracy’ component will be taught as part of mathematics lessons, and ‘money management’, which will include topics such as ‘personal debt’ and ‘public finances,’ will be integrated into existing citizenship classes.
We strongly believe that financial education should be given the same importance as other traditional subjects in schools, such as English and maths, and be taught separately as a subject in its own right.
Following deVere’s years of campaigning on the issue of having financial education included on England’s national curriculum, the Department of Education sent a letter to deVere United Kingdom earlier this month, thanking the company for its “keen interest in the educational wellbeing of children and young people.”
