Primary education
An overview of how financial capability is provided for in the primary curriculum.
Within personal, social, health and economic education
Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) Education (currently called Personal, Social and Health Education) aims to help children develop the knowledge, understanding and skills they need live healthy, safe, and productive lives, now and in the future. The non-statutory guidance on PSHE recommends teaching about money in both key stages:
In Key Stage 1, under ‘Preparing to play an active role as citizens’ it recommends that pupils should be taught:
- to realise that money comes from different sources and can be used for different purposes.
Within the breadth of opportunities through which knowledge, skills and understanding are taught, pupils should have opportunities to:
- make real choices (eg. between healthy school meal options, what to watch on television, what games to play, how to spend and save money sensibly), and
- consider social and moral dilemmas that they come across in everyday life (eg. aggressive behaviour, questions of fairness, right and wrong, simple political issues, use of money, simple environmental issues)
In Key Stage 2:
‘Developing confidence and responsibility and making the most of their abilities’ recommends that pupils should be taught:
- to look after their money and realise that future wants and needs may be met through saving.
'Preparing to play an active role as citizens':
- that resources can be allocated in different ways and that these economic choices affect individuals, communities and the sustainability of the environment.
Under the breadth of opportunities section, it recommends that pupils should have opportunities to:
- make real choices and decisions (for example, about issues affecting their health and well-being such as smoking; on the use of scarce resources; how to spend money, including pocket money and contributions to charities).
Within mathematics
The programmes of study for mathematics at both key stages 1 and 2 state that money should be used as a context to help pupils understand mathematical methods. Money provides a relevant and engaging context for the development and application of many mathematical skills. For example:
At Key Stage 1, within MA2 Number - solving numerical problems - pupils should be taught to:
- choose sensible calculation methods to solve whole-number problems (including problems involving money or measures), drawing on their understanding of the operations
At Key Stage 2, money is referred to as a context from which examples can be drawn in several places in the programme of study, At Key Stage 2, within MA2 Number and Algebra , pupils should be taught to:
- 'Numbers and the number system':
understand and use decimal notation for tenths and hundredths in context (for example, order amounts of money, round a sum of money to the nearest £)
- 'Calculations': use a calculator for calculations involving several digits, including decimals; use a calculator to solve number problems (for example, 4 ? x 7 = 343); know how to enter and interpret money calculations and fractions etc
- 'Solving numerical problems’: choose, use and combine any of the four number operations to solve word problems involving numbers in 'real life', money or measures of length, etc.
Taken together, this does not amount to a structured approach to the early development of financial capability and teachers need to be creative when planning for and teaching personal finance education.
Guidance produced by the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) in 2000, entitled ‘Financial capability through Personal finance education’ is helpful in planning lessons and activities in primary education. This can be downloaded using the link below.
Recent developments
In 2009 the primary curriculum was reviewed by a team led by Sir Jim Rose. Their final report recommended a primary curriculum with six areas of learning where ‘learning about money’ is an explicit part of the programmes of learning for mathematical understanding and for understanding physical development, health and wellbeing.
These recommendations have been superseded by a National Curriculum review in two stages. The first of these, looking at English, mathematics, science and physical education, will be ready for consultation in the Autumn of 2011 and will be taught from September 2013.
Alongside this the Department for Education (DfE) is undertaking a review of personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education. As its name suggests, personal finance education is included in this review.
