Here at Learning with Parents, we are excited to announce the launch of our new, whole-school Financial Literacy programme. This is currently being piloted with a group of our schools and we are thrilled by the enthusiastic response we have received from families so far.
What is financial literacy?
Financial Literacy is the ability to understand money and to make informed decisions about finances. It is far broader than learning to add and subtract – it encompasses all the knowledge, values, attitudes and emotions involved in managing money. At primary school age, children can learn about things they can do now, with their pocket money, such as saving and spending, planning, budgeting, judging value for money and considering risks. They can also start to have conversations that build understanding for the future, such as how to choose a job or how a credit card works.
This term, our programme topics are all about the different types of money. Early Years classes are looking closely at coins, Key Stage 1 are comparing all the ways you can pay, and Key Stage 2 are discussing online shopping, historic money and foreign currency. Just like our Maths and English programmes, parents receive a short video of children explaining the topic and are then given 3 practical activities to do as a family.
“Sanvi loved the activity and learnt what’s needed for online shopping.”
Family comment
Why build a financial literacy programme?
Learning with Parents is committed to closing the educational inequality gap – it’s why we exist. This gap is particularly stark when it comes to understanding money. Families with more resources have more conversations about money, and this is reflected in their children’s knowledge. A fifteen-year-old from a low-income family has a similar financial understanding to an eleven-year-old from a more socio-economically privileged background. (Anders, Jerrim and Macmillan 2022). It’s crucial that families begin talking about money when children are young. Research has shown that the habits of mind that influence financial behaviour are formed as early as 7 years old (Whitebread and Bingham 2013) and the OECD found that one of the best predictors of financial wellbeing was the age at which people started learning about money (OECD 2022).
Learning with Parents is well placed to offer this programme because we:
- engage parents, who are the key influencers of children’s habits and attitudes.
- work with children from Reception to Year 6.
- involve real life, relevant experiences, just at the point children are ready for them.
- design our activities to be accessible to all families, whatever their incomes or cultures.
What makes our programme different?
Our programme is specifically designed to be inclusive for families that don’t have much money to spare. Most of our activities don’t involve spending any money at all; they involve conversations, role plays and games. While we do believe it is important to include ‘real’ experiences, any activities we suggest that do require money can be done with a pound or two.
Money can be a sensitive and emotional subject. Different families have very different approaches to talking about it. Our activities are open and flexible; they encourage families to participate in a way that suits them and to have the conversations they want to have. We have tips for parents on how to react if children ask questions they are uncomfortable answering and advice on how to turn the deflection itself into a positive conversation.
“I really enjoyed playing this game with my sisters and pretending to play shopkeepers. It was really fun.”
Child comment
What do our families think?
We spoke to many parents, grandparents and carers at our schools across the country before designing this programme. They were overwhelmingly positive about the idea. These parents believed they had a key role to play in educating their children about money and wanted to equip them with good habits, but were unsure where or how to start. They welcomed the idea of being given some age-appropriate activities to get them started.
We are looking forward eagerly to seeing families engaging with the rest of the pilot. Each child will be offered six activities during the year and we’re already receiving some more great feedback.
“Ayaan had lots of fun doing this activity, and also learnt about how the money has changed since his parents time. He also was very excited to know about how money was dealt with during his grandparents time, when he spoke to them and questioned them. This was a very informative and fun activity.”
Family comment
Are you interested in how our financial literacy programme could help your school? Speak to us today:
