It highlighted that Britain has one of the lowest rates of financial literacy in the OECD. Adults were asked seven financial knowledge questions, with only 47% scoring five or more out of seven, compared to the OECD average of 62%. To help improve this, the report recommended that financial education should be introduced at a younger age, as it found that only 1% of primary school teachers believe that their pupils possess adequate financial skills. The report also noted that the “attitudes and behaviours towards money that follow young people into adulthood are already present at age seven, and socioeconomic inequalities in financial understanding can be seen at age 11”.
The key recommendation is that financial education should be integrated into the English primary school curriculum and taught across subjects using a ‘whole school approach’. To help implement this, the Department for Education and Ofsted should set financial literacy as a priority area for schools, and trainee teachers should be given additional support to deliver financial education. The report also recommended that the government should support the Money and Pensions Service to develop a financial literacy data strategy.
As a secondary mathematics teacher and former head of PSHCE, I know that financial education is already a part of the English secondary school curriculum, but it can be patchy. The report states that that the majority of young people wish that they learnt more about money and finance at school.
So how can this be improved?
One suggestion is through mathematics lessons. In Northern Ireland, financial education is primarily delivered via the mathematics curriculum, where some content is taught through a financial lens. The report found that 87% of maths teachers feel very or somewhat confident teaching financial education, so to place financial education within the mathematics curriculum can make sense. The report also highlights that many young children can struggle to see the relevance of mathematics and a richer curriculum could help 'bring maths to life for some learners.
However, despite this, a related Teacher Tapp survey showed that primary and secondary teachers and school leaders believe that financial education should be taught in PSHE: