LMM in action
Essential finance skills for schoolgirl mothers
At Moat House School, a Pupil Referral Unit in Stockport, a personal finance education day was held as part of a course on 'Preparation for working life'. Many of the students are young mothers. A pfeg consultant worked with teachers to devise a timetable taking the pressure off lesson planning and pointing them in the right direction for accessing resources. Staff from a local bank and credit union also came along to help.
In one practical exercise, the girls were challenged to design a nursery on a budget of £700. They had to decide upon all aspects of the room from choosing colour schemes and the amount of paint needed to comparing the costs of cots and curtains using real websites.
What people said:
- "The Finance Day provided the girls with important information about bank services and opening bank accounts. The 'Design a Nursery' activity enabled the girls to put these lessons into practice and they became very good at carefully costing the essential items to enable them to provide the luxuries they wanted." (Brian Wainwright, pfeg consultant)
Learning about different kinds of money
Weighing up needs versus wants and personal budgeting are just a some of the topics that a pfeg consultant helped teachers at Brookfields Special School, Cheshire to develop in their lesson planning. Many of the pupils have some level of autism or learning difficulties, and lessons were tailored to their needs.
The Colossal Cards resource - which has pfeg's Quality Mark approval - was used to introduce the students to different payment methods and coin denominations. Pupils also watched a 'virtual tour' of the Bank of England, learning about keeping money safe and what services banks offer.
What people said:
- "The discussions with the pfeg consultant gave me the opportunity to reflect on current and future provision and enabled me to be more creative in applying and extending the curriculum with my post-16 students. I found the pfeg website extremely valuable." (senior teacher, Brookfields)
How David Beckham's legs can make insurance fun
Verulam School is an all boys comprehensive school in Hertfordshire, where most pupils come from a fairly affluent area. Teachers invited them to suggest financial topics which they needed to understand better, and insurance came out top.
With the help of a pfeg consultant, two teams of six teachers (one for each year group), were drafted in. What might have been a dull look at insurance jargon became a fun 'true or false' quiz looking at celebrities' insurance of their own body parts, such as David Beckham's legs. Pupils also looked at pet insurance websites, and senior pupils helped the teachers deliver material to younger groups. Each teacher delivered one topic and could refine the session structure to suit their own style.
What people said:
- "I relied on the consultant's expertise and knowledge of the resources available to get this up and running, and I am now in a position to reproduce this programme again." (teacher, Verulam School)
Balances, budgets and banking
At Lady Lumley's school in Pickering, North Yorkshire, 11-14 year olds have been learning about the importance of banking, budgeting and balancing their finances in a series of one-hour lessons.
An assembly helping pupils understand why financial know-how is important both now and when they leave school was followed up with specific lessons on bank accounts, spending and saving, and mobile phone tariffs. The pupils were so enthusiastic they ended up saving to buy a goat for an African village.
What people said:
- "When I was at school I can't remember doing anything like this. We are educating students so that they can manage their finances and do not get themselves into debt." (Lorraine Phippen, assistant head teacher)
- "Learning about money eases your worries because you understand it more and it doesn't seem as scary" (Tom Brickman, pupil, Lady Lumley's School)
How a financial game helped overcome pupils' anxiety
At Sheringham Woodfields School, a community special school in Norfolk, the sixth form manager sought pfeg's help in designing two days of activities to encourage financial capability. The consultant was able to build on the close personal relationships the students enjoyed with staff to enable them to improve their financial skills and participate in activities without anxiety.
One activity was the construction of a board game which incorporated photographs of local shops. The game enabled students to reinforce their skills in saving, spending and handling real money and to recognise their local area. Players collect an allowance at the bank and make purchases or save money in each round, and they are actively encouraged to help one another.
Learning to earn
More than 400 year 9 students from Cramlington Community School, a large mixed comprehensive in Northumberland, took part in a 'Learn to Earn' day as part of the school's multicultural week. Throughout the day students took part in a number of activities focusing on issues such as:
- wants and needs
- cultural diversity
- spending and priorities
- the consequences of having too much or too little money
- understanding value for money and shopping around.
