Financial Capability in Schools

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Financial Capability in Schools

• Building Financial Futures 3
• Thursday 7th February 2008
• Pam Eccles Regional Director
• Karen Fuller Education Consultant

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Aims of todays session

• an introduction to pfeg (the Personal Finance
  Education Group)
• an overview of personal finance education in
  schools
• Information on resources

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pfegs mission

• to ensure that all school leavers are equipped
  with the knowledge, confidence and skills in
  financial matters to allow them to participate
  fully in society

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Key points about pfeg

• pfeg is a registered charity our independence
  and integrity are important
• By supporting teachers, pfeg aims to achieve its
  mission of empowering and equipping young people
  to manage the financial complexities of adult
  life
• pfeg does not have all the answers and welcomes
  working alongside teachers in finding the
  solutions

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pfeg values  

• Inclusive
• Importance of financial acumen
• Recognition of pressures under which schools and
  teachers work
• Partnership approach

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• The 100 Challenge

What would you do?
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• Buy a case of wine
• Do the weekly shop
• Put it in savings account
• Pay off some debt
• Give it to charity
• Have a night out
• Invest in a pension

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• Instant Gratification
• Buy a case of wine
• Have a night out

• Practicality
• Do the weekly shop
• Pay off some debt

• Long term investment
• Put it in savings account
• Invest in a pension

Give it to charity
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The need for financial education

• FSA baseline survey main themes
• Large numbers not planning ahead
• Over-indebtedness
• Poor product choice and exposure to risk
• Under 40s typically less financially capable
• Start at school

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In a recent survey
What percentage
of people find money the hardest thing to talk
about with their partners? of all people, think
an ISA is an i-pod accessory? of the 16-24 age
group do not keep track of their finances? of
partners lie about how much they spend on credit
cards? of British teenagers worry about their
money and spending habits?
74
15
80
32
90
Source www.creditaction.org.uk
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A recent FSA report highlighted

• 29 of 16-24 year olds said they would not know
  how to prepare and manage a weekly budget
• 19 of 22-24 year olds have short-term debts over
  5,000
• One in five students dropped out of courses Of
  undergraduates who considered dropping out
  financial difficulty was a strong factor for
  34.4
• 94 of 16 year olds believe it is important to
  know how to manage money only 53 have been
  taught how to

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• I didnt realise that banks charged you money
  when you borrowed from them

and I think its really sneaky
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What is financial capability?

• Attitudes
• Skills and competence
• Knowledge and understanding

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What is financial capability?

• Attitudes
• taking personal responsibility for financial
  decisions
• wanting to seek advice and gather information on
  available choices
• evaluating advice, product advertising and other
  information
• questioning how far to participate in financial
  products and services
• recognising the importance of the bottom line

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What is financial capability?

• Skills and competence
• day-to day money management
• thinking ahead about financial needs in the
  future
• applying knowledge and understanding about money
  in different situations
• being able to plan and budget and match this to
  actual spend
• using money and financial skills to make money

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What is financial capability?

• Knowledge and understanding
• knowing about basic financial services, e.g.
  savings accounts, debit and credit cards
• knowing when and how I might need them, e.g.
  student loans and mortgages
• understanding broadly how my finances fit into
  the economy as a whole
• understanding the concept of money

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The new structure
PSHE Economic wellbeing and financial capability
PSHE Personal wellbeing
Personal wellbeing supports Every Child Matters
outcomes
Economic wellbeing supports Every Child Matters
outcomes
Be Healthy Stay Safe Enjoy and Achieve Make a
Positive Contribution
Economic wellbeing Enjoy and Achieve Make a
Positive Contribution
www.qca.org.uk
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• Economic Well-being is concerned with
• equipping pupils with the knowledge, skills and
  attributes to make the most of rapidly changing
  opportunities in learning and work.
• learning how to make reasonable risk/reward
  assessments
• developing their ability to informed and critical
  consumers of financial services and to manage
  their finances effectively

• Economic Well-being encompasses
• Enterprise
• Financial Capability

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PSHE Economic wellbeing and financial capability

• Examples
• Understanding different ways of paying for
  clothes
• Understanding wages and salaries
• Writing a weekly, monthly or annual personal
  budget
• Deciding if I need a credit card or a mobile
  phone or a pension and which one?
• Understanding savings and interest rates
• Considering future purchases how do I buy a
  car?
• How much of a risk taker am I?

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Other subjects and courses

• Financial capability can also be incorporated
  into core subjects
• Mathematics calculating types of interest on
  savings percentages of spending on personal or
  national priorities calculating likely turnover
  and profit in a business plan
• English the role of money in literature
  writing letters e.g. to the bank, or as a
  business
• ICT spreadsheets for personal or business
  accounting use of the Internet for research use
  of email e.g. to get insurance quotations

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Other subjects and courses

• and into subjects and courses, which are usually
  optional from 14 onwards, for example
• Sources of start-up capital in Business Studies
• Globalisation in Geography
• Costing products in Design and technology
• The origins of capitalism in History
• Values and attitudes to money in different
  cultures in RE
• An essential element in all vocational courses?
• And many others

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Personal Finance Education atPost-16

• Preparing to leave home
• - loans, grants, bursaries, fees
• Leaving home
• - living costs, advantages/disadvantages
• Later in life
• - pensions, debt issues

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Supporting teachers and school leaders

• Termly newsletters
• Comprehensive website www.pfeg.org
• Classroom resources and the Quality Mark
• Telephone support
• Teacher training events and conferences
• Support from trained and certificated school
  consultants
• Innovative projects

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Learning Money Matters

• 5 year initiative for English secondary schools
  to create a step change in levels of financial
  capability
• FSA funded
• 5 regional offices
• National and local campaign to raise the profile
• Customised support to schools

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Role of school consultants

• Help with
• Developing a coherent scheme for personal finance
  education across the curriculum
• Planning units of work and lessons
• Accessing suitable and readily available teaching
  resources
• Supporting in the classroom
• Providing evaluation and ongoing planning

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Other projects

• What Money Means
• Financial Sector Volunteers

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www.pfeg.org
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www.pfeg.org