pfeg - Developing financial capability in young people

Financial education for the financially excluded, Bolton

Urban schools bring a hugely diverse group of children together and teaching them personal finance is a challenge for most primary school teachers. Red Lane School in Bolton has been meeting the challenge head on by looking at the specific needs of children from a range of backgrounds.

Situated in a deprived area, in the middle of a large council estate, Red Lane is an extended school dealing with over 450 children from the age of 6 months. New housing in the area has brought children from varying backgrounds to the school and over half of each year group is on the Special Educational Needs register.

Assistant Head teacher Ross Peacock and his Year 5 team have looked at the issue from both ends of the scale by teaching personal finance in the classroom and working with Bolton Literacy Trust to teach basic skills, including finance to whole families through the medium of healthy eating.

"Teaching personal finance to such diverse children means that you can't take anything for granted" says Peacock "There's a lot children know, but in a very inconsistent way and many of their families do not have access to conventional financial services. We've got round these sensitivities by creating a fictional family - the Hopkins - who are an ideal testing ground for children's attitudes and knowledge about money".

Children have learnt about money through the concept of food shopping - something they do regularly with mum and dad. Through this they have learnt about essentials versus luxuries, where money comes from, where it goes to, what banks do and what credit unions do. The school has worked closely with a volunteer from their local HSBC branch and a Credit Union volunteer to show children how these services work.

Sue Hoey and her team at the Bolton Literacy Trust has continued this work with families in three 2-hour sessions looking at a healthy diet for the family which doesn't break the bank.

"Children can use what they've learnt in the classroom to work with their parents on budgeting for the weekly food bills. We've also taught them basic cooking skills and the value of healthy eating" says Hoey "As a result parents' confidence about how to manage their money has really increased and demonstrated to their children how important it is to learn about money in school".

The approach used in Bolton, drawing on outside expertise in the form of family learning tutors and the financial sector, has helped the school to develop resource materials they can now build on in the future.

Ross Peacock and the school team involved in delivery have been delighted to have been part of the project.

"This isn't just a flavour of the month activity" says the Assistant head teacher "This is real learning and something that will equip children for their lives ahead".

Mapping money into the curriculum, Cambridgeshire

In early 2007 the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Ed Balls pledged his support to a 'planned and coherent programme' of financial education in schools as part of the Treasury's 10 year financial capability strategy. Now, as Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families he is even more committed to financial education but still recognises that it must be planned properly to succeed. This principle is at the heart of an innovative project in Cambridgeshire where 21 teachers from 18 primary schools have put together a framework for including financial teaching in maths and PSHE (personal social and health education).

The framework centres around a series of questions that work across year groups under the headings of Financial Understanding, Financial Competence and Financial Responsibility. Questions range from What is money? At the foundation stage to What is debit and credit? In years 5 and 6.

Advisor, Jackie Harvey has been working with teachers to create the framework and ensure that financial education is embedded in key subjects: "This is real education, asking real questions that relate to real life" says Jackie. "The framework is like the dough that holds the currants - the learning activities- together".

With ten schools already using the tool Jackie is confident that this method of working can be used in any primary school - making the aspiration of planned and coherent financial education programmes a reality.

Adding Value in the Classroom - involving volunteers in financial education, Coventry

Teaching personal finance can be a daunting task when you're not 100% sure about financial terminology or processes. In Coventry the Local Authority and Schools have teamed with local volunteers from HSBC to help teachers plan and teach personal finance, drawing on financial sector expertise.

"A lot of teachers don't feel confident about teaching money matters" says Sandra Shipton from Coventry Local Authority "by bringing them together with volunteers from the financial sector we help them put the pieces of the jigsaw together".

Over 20% of primary schools in Coventry are keen to work with financial volunteers and Sandra and colleague Marie Dallas have been running training workshops for the volunteers which can be replicated in any local authority wishing to use this valuable resource.

"A large part of the training is about what's going on in primary schools today" says Marie "They are completely different places than they were twenty years ago and volunteers really need to know about the educational context - the Every Child Matters Agenda, working with vulnerable groups, the importance of being CRB checked and finding their way through the maze of education acronyms - just to give a few examples!"

Volunteers taking part in the training were relieved to learn that they are not expected to stand in front of a class and teach but rather to support teachers in teaching personal finance and enhance their lessons with practical examples from the world of finance. pfeg project manager, Fiona Hogarth is delighted to see this valuable support for teachers in action. "Initially teachers have been sceptical about working with representatives from banks" says Fiona "but volunteers' expertise and knowledge is invaluable in making finance clear without marketing specific products and services".

The volunteer programme will continue with schools in Coventry in the coming academic year and the training model and accompanying resources will be available for other local authorities to use from March 2008.

Establishing children’s understanding of money, Essex

Teaching children about personal finance can seem a complex task - especially in areas where there is a mix of affluent and financially excluded families. Knowing where to start is crucial in teaching finance lessons that will stick.

Essex Local Authority has recognised that need and, working with Dr Jenny McWhirter has developed a 'draw and write' project where young children express their attitudes and ideas about money through pictures and stories. This gives a very clear picture of pupils' financial knowledge and behaviours and helps teachers develop lessons to move these ideas on.

373 children took part (166 boys and 207 girls) progressing through to year six. The level of financial knowledge among young children was impressive but there was still a significant level of misunderstanding. Children knew what credit cards were but were very unclear as to how they worked. They recognised that they were convenient to use and "You don't have to carry heavy money around" but they also recognised the potential pitfalls of credit - "You have to pay later when you might not have the money" one year six boy commented. There is still a lot to learn.

In Colchester children lacked confidence that they would be able to count out money in shops and other paying situations before they left primary school. Their teachers also recognised that there needed to be a planned transition from children understanding cash and money to learning about money in more abstract forms like credit and debit.

Everyone learnt a great deal from the project and are now developing the tool for use in every classroom. "Understanding children's understanding of money is key to teaching them more about it" says Jenny McWhirter. "Everyone undertaking this research needs to respect what children tell us, celebrate that understanding and help them understand what they almost know. From there we can gently challenge their beliefs and teach them things to fill in the gaps in their knowledge".

Turning money into poetry, Hartlepool

Located on the outskirts of Hartlepool, Fens primary school is the largest primary in the area. It is in the top 5% in the country in terms of results but, like any school, also has its share of special educational needs children.

In response to the need for financial education in the school Gillian O'Sullivan and Margaret Andrews are the pioneering Local authority advisor and teacher who decided to tackle the issue through literacy and oracy.

"The school had already had a money awareness week" says Gillian" so the idea of learning about money was, to some extent, embedded. But we wanted to look at money more creatively - without it being automatically about maths".

Making money matters more creative took the form of the school engaging Andy Croft, a writer and poet, to explore the vocabulary around money with pupils and get whole classes writing as a group. "It had to be a creative project first and foremost" says Andy "for the kids to know that I respect them as writers".

"The children with special educational needs got a great deal out of the project" says Margaret Andrews "They didn't have to think about maths and their ideas were really valued. You could see those children blossoming".

The poetry project explored the difference between needs and wants, the concept of value and what is precious - which is not always about cost, and the kinds of monetary terms that children would come up against in their daily lives. The pupils also developed a monopoly-like, trading game which showed them how different commodities have different values according to what is happening in the world and in different markets.

But it was the poetry that really engaged the pupils and helped them understand money and how it works:

"It's about listening to the words that are already there" says Andy Croft "building on their existing vocabulary and introducing new ideas to them".

And the poetry that emerged as a result was stunning: The Bling King, Give and Take, The Money Tree in Spring and Autumn and new versions of the King Midas story were just some of the ideas to come out of the project.

"The bark is as wrinkled and scrunchy as Scrooge's face" is a description of the money tree in Spring - and in Autumn " The bark is as hard as a miser's heart".

Engaging young children in such a fun and exciting project meant learnings about money took root far more effectively than a more conventional approach to financial capability teaching. One child remarked "All of us learnt new things about money that we can use later on".

And as for the poet and writer Andy Croft, he is convinced that learning about money through literacy is the way to go and that the approach can be replicated in other schools throughout the country:

"I would love to do this again in other schools as it really captivated the children's imaginations" says Croft " Do I think literacy is a way to bring personal finance education into primary schools? Absolutely".

Family learning in finance, Hertfordshire

"Is a pair of designer trainers a want or a need?" asks Local Authority Mathematics Advisor, Fran Bradshaw as part of a family learning session in Hertfordshire.

And the answers she gets are not quite as straight forward as you might expect. "And what if I told you you could get a pair of trainers in the market for a tenner and I would still give you the whole £50 they actually cost to spend on whatever you like?"

The answer is still the same - the designer trainers are a need and the financial investment must be made to maintain their street credibility.

Mrs Bradshaw's work is part of an extended schools project in Hertfordshire where parents and children work together to learn about what money is, where it comes from, earning money and making informed choices about how they spend or save it.

The sessions have taken place in areas of deprivation with varying results : "Some parents have been reluctant to engage in the sessions as the whole issue of finance is still so emotive" says Mrs Bradshaw "But where they have attended, the benefits for parents and children have been excellent in increasing confidence about how to manage money more effectively".

The sessions are part of pfeg's (Personal Finance Education Group) What Money Means project - finding creative ways to teach personal finance in primary schools. The teaching materials developed for the project will be made available to primary school teachers throughout England from March 2008.

Financial capability and mathematics, Medway

"When you've planned something yourself, there's an extra edge to it" pfeg consultant Bradley Wray enthuses as he describes creative approaches devised by teachers in the Medway Towns to teaching financial education. The lessons were developed to teach financial skills through the renewed Mathematics Framework in infant, community primary and junior schools. "Our task was to use and apply mathematical skills in a real life context using real prices - and the varied methodology teachers came up with showed that you really can be creative in teaching personal finance" says Wray.

Schools in the Medway area were encouraged to take up team challenges where they had to explore the financial issues involved in different scenarios and present their findings to a 'panel of experts'. One team posed as travel agents and researched and presented the costs of different holidays - including insurance and value for money which put their probability skills to the test.

Stoke Community School on the Hoo Peninsula decided to become entrepreneurs as their team challenge - developing products to sell at their summer fair. Head teacher Carolyn Cassettari, became the 'Alan Sugar' of the primary sector, listening to their business plans and deciding whether or not to allocate teams money from school funds to develop and sell their products.

"The children had to think very carefully about everything involved in creating products to sell" says Cassettari " the overheads involved in producing items including interest on the loan, the cost of marketing them - and most importantly making a profit without pricing themselves out of the market. When I told all the teams they had been successful in securing their funds - all based on the financial skills they had demonstrated - you could hear the cheers on the other side of the Medway".

The different approaches developed by schools in Medway will be available as classroom materials for teachers from March 2008.

Financial Capability in PSHE - developing classroom activities and materials, Tower Hamlets

With a high proportion of ethnic minorities making their homes in inner city London, the London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a centre for diverse communities. Built just 18 years ago Halley Primary School reflects this trend with 97% of its intake coming from the Bangladeshi community.

The school is located in a high crime area and learning about money and the impact financial decisions have on our lives is a crucial part of the pupils' education. With this in mind Halley primary were delighted to take part in pfeg's (Personal Finance Education Group) primary school project, What Money Means, to develop an approach to teaching personal finance in a way that fits their school's needs.

It was essential that financial education related to the pupils' real lives so teachers Mich Maflin and Sally Martin devised a programme of finance teaching around the key elements of 'me, school, my classroom and the wider world'.

Children in year three were allocated a classroom budget of £60 to buy the stationary and supplies they needed to use in their lessons.

"It was a good exercise in defining what is an essential and what is a 'nice to have'" explains Mich "as children started off with the fanciest pens possible and then realised that they had a budget to meet".

"They researched the items they wanted based on real prices and developed budgets for the things they needed".

With a balance of £1.11 in credit the children were feeling pretty smug until they were told that they had to finance their school picnic with the balance.

"It was obvious that they would have to 'borrow' the money or raise it another way" says Sally "which led us into teaching them about debit and credit and what it means to be in debt. The children learnt that it is not a comfortable feeling to owe money and they decided to have a toy sale to raise the £20 they needed to pay the school back".

With their toy sale raising £14.50 the children had to reduce their picnic costs to pay back the balance but found the whole experience of managing their money a fun and useful lesson.

"It's the best thing we've ever done in school" said one Year 3 pupil and with such encouragement every class teacher has a financial project planned for the coming academic year.

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