A great way to teach your child about money and how much things cost.![]()
Parent
Why teaching children about money matters
Research shows that financial education has the greatest impact on children facing the biggest barriers, and that starting early is crucial. Habits of mind that shape financial behaviour are formed as early as age seven, and the OECD has found that one of the strongest predictors of adult financial wellbeing is the age at which people first learn about money.
Yet affluent families tend to talk about money earlier and more often, while children from poorer families start at a clear disadvantage. By the end of primary school, socio-economic gaps in financial understanding are already stark: a 15-year-old from a low-income family typically has the same level of financial skill as an 11-year-old from a more advantaged background. Supporting all families to have early conversations about money is vital.
Our Money Skills programme
Money Skills is our whole-school financial education programme, designed to equip primary school children with the confidence, knowledge and experiences they need to make smart money choices as they grow.
Grounded in the Young Money Financial Education Planning Framework and the PSHE Association Programme of Study, our curriculum has proudly been awarded the Young Enterprise Quality Mark – a recognition of its strong educational value, accuracy and relevance for young people.
Most importantly, Money Skills opens the door for families to start meaningful conversations about money, giving parents and children the tools to explore these topics together.
Oh my what fun we had with this game, it kept us busy with questions for ages!![]()
Grandparent
How it works
The Money Skills programme consists of 42 topics, six for each age group from Reception to Year 6. These are arranged into six strands; one strand is released to families each academic term across the school year:
Types of Money: understanding coins, notes, bank cards and electronic money, money from the past and from different countries
Saving and Spending: choosing what to buy and how to save
Planning and Budgeting: staying in control of money
Making Choices: understanding adverts and our choices
Risks and Emotions: feelings about money
Money in Society: jobs and income
Each topic consists of a short video, under two minutes in length, and three practical, off-screen activities for families to do together.
Activities can involve conversations, role plays, games or exploration, and some give children real experiences, such as making a choice in a shop or starting to save for something. All activities are designed for very limited budgets, and families are encouraged to adapt them for use in their own contexts and routines.
Teachers schedule topics for their class, and then parents receive an email with a link to view the videos and activities. Parents can then view the videos and activities on their devices. After trying them, families can provide feedback and upload photos for the teacher to see.
There is an adaptable assembly presentation to launch each strand. Schools are also provided with information packs for teachers and school leaders and letters to send parents to introduce the programme.
We ran the first Money Skills assembly in the last week of term and the children were brilliant at recalling all the money knowledge they had learnt across the year, which proves that they are embedding it.![]()
Cat Mellersh, Teacher
Example activities
Here you can try out some sample topics from our Money Skills programme, with various activities to choose from. Click on either the heading or the video to open each link:
How to sign up your school
Our Money Skills programme builds on our core programmes in Reading, English and Maths. With the generous support of the Aberdeen Charitable Foundation, we are able to offer the Money Skills programme free of charge to all schools who sign up for our Digital Reading Log or Maths and English programmes.
To learn more, or to sign up your school, get in contact via our online form: