A partnership between pfeg (Personal Finance Education Group, part of Young Enterprise) and Experian has transformed numerous primary schools around the country into national Centres of Excellence for financial education, helping more than 12,000 pupils, parents and teachers improve their money skills.
The partnership, now entering its third year, is helping schools in communities identified as needing this support. So far, more than 5,000 pupils at these schools have benefitted from financial education.
Each school has received free advice and assistance for teachers in areas where financial skills could have the biggest impact on school-leavers’ financial capability. Every school involved commits to sharing financial education within the wider community, and this has helped an additional 3,000 pupils across more than 100 schools.
For the second year of the programme, Experian identified Hull, Bradford, Solihull, Newcastle, Nottingham and Penrith as high priority areas based on low levels of financial literacy and financial services. Schools were recruited in each area and pfeg’s educational specialists then worked with teachers to create tailored and lasting financial education programmes for pupils.
Francis Askew Primary School (Hull), Lidget Green Primary School (Bradford), Cheswick Green Primary School (Solihull), Trinity School Deneview (Newcastle), Whitemoor Academy Primary (Nottingham) and Yanwath Primary School (Penrith) have all achieved pfeg Centre of Excellence status and are now recognised as beacons of best practice in the delivery of high quality financial education.
Many teachers and parents have benefited as well as parents. The programme ensures that teaching staff are equipped with the knowledge, skills and confidence to deliver appropriate and engaging financial education. As a result, over 80% of the teachers involved have been trained to deliver finance lessons.
Ilana le Roux, ‘financial champion’ at Culloden Primary School, said: “The whole outlook of the school has changed, and I mean the whole school, in the approach to money related learning. It’s no longer a one-off but a daily thing. I have seen the change building year on year. There is a clear expectation that we teach financial education to a very high standard.”
Parents play a key role in influencing children’s attitudes and values relating to finance. Therefore all funded schools are encouraged to involve parents within the sharing of high-quality financial education. Through a wide range of organised events the schools have managed to reach over 4,000 parents.
Target areas for the partnership’s third year are now being agreed and, as a result of the success of the partnership, Experian has committed to extend the programme into a fourth year to build on this work. As a result, the four-year partnership will see a total of 26 primary schools across the country developed into Centres of Excellence with many more thousands of pupils, parents and teachers supported.
Chris Clark, managing director of Experian UK&I, said: “I’m delighted we have managed to help more than 12,000 pupils, teachers and parents access high quality financial education during the first two years of this important partnership. Helping people make successful decisions about money and to present themselves in the best possible light sits right at the heard of Experian’s purpose. In view of the success of this programme to date, extending the partnership by a further year makes perfect sense and we look forward to building on this important work and our relationship with pfeg, now part of Young Enterprise.
“There is still a lot of work to do and through this partnership, our high-quality teaching resources such as valuesmoneyandme.co.uk and our classroom volunteers; we will continue to make an important contribution to making sure that young people have the opportunity to gain vital knowledge and skills to make the right decisions about money.”
Michael Mercieca, chief executive, Young Enterprise, said: “We know how essential it is for children to start learning about money from a young age, which is why our partnership with Experian on our Centres of Excellence programme is so important.
“With financial education now on the National Curriculum for secondary schools, our work in primary schools is ever more relevant. Our three years working with Experian has seen 20 schools in targeted areas with issues of social and economic deprivation gain Centre of Excellence status, and our continued partnership means we can help to give more pupils the strong foundations they need as they progress through the education system.”
