PSHE education
PSHE education is the main subject area with explicit content on financial capability
PSHE (personal, social, health and economic) education includes the majority of the curriculum's explicit financial capability content. It is focused around the National Curriculum's economic wellbeing and financial capability programme of study. This programme of study brings together careers education, work-related learning and enterprise, and outlines what young people are expected to learn in order to develop financial capability. Pupils explore key concepts and processes, that include financial capability, in order to acquire knowledge and understanding, skills and attitudes relevant to managing personal finance.
From 2008 teachers will need to incorporate financial capability into PSHE education in such contexts as managing risk, personal financial decisions and career choices. pfeg’s Learning Money Matters initiative offers free consultancy, support and teaching resources to help with this.
Extracts from the programme of study
Key concepts:Career:
- understanding that everyone has a 'career' (and that this will affect personal finance)
- exploring what it means to be enterprising
- learning how to manage money and personal finances
- becoming critical consumers of goods and services
- understanding risk in both positive and negative terms
- understanding the need to manage risk in the context of financial and career choices
- taking risks and learning from mistakes
- understanding the economic and business environment
- understanding the functions and use of money.
Key processes:
Exploration:
- identify, select and use a range of information sources to research, clarify and review options and choices in career and financial contexts relevant to their needs
- assess undertake and manage risk
- demonstrate and apply understanding of economic ideas
- manage their money
- understand financial risk and reward
- explain financial terms and products
- identify how finance will play an important part in their lives and in achieving their aspirations.
Range and content (Key Stages 3 and 4):
- personal budgeting, wages, taxes, money management, credit, debt and a range of financial products and services
- risk and reward, and how money can make money through savings
- investment and trade
- how and why businesses use finance
- social and moral dilemmas about the use of money.
Curriculum opportunities:
- use case studies, simulations, scenarios, role play and drama
- have direct and indirect contact with people from business
- engage with ideas, challenges and application from the business world
- make links between economic wellbeing and financial capability and other subjects and areas.
Personal wellbeing
Personal finance education should also explore and exploit the interrelationship between the economic wellbeing and financial capability programme of study and the personal wellbeing programme. The personal, social and emotional aspects of financial capability should be made explicit in personal finance education.
The context of the curriculum
In PSHE education various curriculum opportunities involve pupils in learning actively, exploring dilemmas and issues from the real world, meeting and learning from adults beyond the school community and making links across the curriculum.
