Financial capability in England

The National Curriculum is under review. Whilst this is taking place current arrangements remain in place.

• The primary curriculum to be taught in schools in England currently remains unchanged from the National Curriculum published in 2000. Full details of the current primary curriculum can be found by clicking the link to the ‘Primary Curriculum – QCDA website’ below.
• Teaching about money is recommended in the non-statutory guidance for personal, social and health education (PSHE) which was published alongside it and in mathematics. The detail of where financial capability is included in this can be found on the ‘England - primary education’ page.
• The primary curriculum has though been recently extensively reviewed by a team led by Sir Jim Rose.  Their final report was published in April 2009 and was open to public consultation until July 2009.
• The Rose Review final report recommends a primary curriculum with six new areas of learning where ‘learning about money’ is detailed in the programmes of learning for mathematical understanding and for understanding physical development, health and wellbeing.   Information on the Independent Review of the Primary Curriculum is available through the link below. If approved by Parliament, this curriculum will be implemented in schools from September 2011 onwards.
• The secondary curriculum in England was last revised in 2007. Full details of the current secondary curriculum can be found by clicking the link to the ‘Secondary Curriculum – QCDA website’ below.  
• The secondary curriculum contains two non-statutory programmes of study for what is now called personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE education), one for personal wellbeing and one for economic wellbeing and financial capability.
• Financial capability is also referred to explicitly throughout the secondary programmes of study for mathematics and in a number of other subjects. Public money is covered in the programme of study for citizenship. Full details of how financial capability fits into the secondary curriculum can be found below and on the ‘England - secondary education’ page of this site.
• In January 2011 a systematic and comprehensive review of the National    Curriculum in England for 5- to 16-year olds was announced. Full details of this review can be found by clicking the link below.
• In addition, a separate internal review of PSHE Education is being carried out by the DfE to determine how schools can be supported to improve the quality of teaching the subject.  
• The Government also recently consulted on whether PSHE education should become a statutory foundation subject within the secondary curriculum, however unfortunately Parliament did not approve this change.