Ask any parent, teacher, or pupil whether financial education should be part of the school curriculum, and you’ll likely hear the same answer: absolutely, yes. The real debate isn’t whether to teach it, but how to teach it well – and when.
That’s the challenge facing the government’s ongoing curriculum review. Its ambition is for every child to leave school “ready for life and ready for work”. If that’s to mean anything, financial education must be part of the picture. The review should set out what good provision looks like and how schools can deliver it without over-burdening staff.
At present, the picture is messy. While financial education is part of the secondary curriculum, there’s been little leadership on what effective provision looks like, especially in primary schools.
In this vacuum, charities, businesses and financial organisations have stepped in with impressive civic energy to supply their own programmes. This shows how strongly society values financial education, but it has created a fragmented financial education landscape, with a confusing array of options and little evidence about what works.
Starting with the curriculum review, government must provide clear leadership. That means defining what children should learn, how it should be taught and where it fits in the curriculum.
And to achieve that, we need to grow the evidence base so that schools and policymakers can make informed choices.
Our new research is a first step in delivering the latter. We are running a seven-year randomised controlled trial (RCT) of ‘Change the Game’, a financial education programme run by Money Ready.
This is the first “gold standard” RCT of financial education in UK primary schools
This is the first “gold standard” RCT of financial education in UK primary schools. The evaluation will continue as pupils progress through primary school, but the first three years already show promising results.
The interactive, game-based programme combines teacher-led activities with workshops delivered by trained volunteers.
And it works: our evaluation shows that pupils who took part achieved clear gains in financial knowledge compared with their peers, measured through surveys at baseline and throughout their school journey.
After three years, participants scored significantly higher on financial ability (such as understanding money management and the role of money in society) and financial mindset (including attitudes to money, aspirations and goals).
Teachers say they value the structured, easy-to-use resources and that volunteers bring fresh energy and relatable real-world examples. Most importantly, they noticed how much children enjoy the sessions; pupils find learning fun and often continue to talk about saving, spending and money choices after lessons end.
Our research provides three lessons for policymakers.
First, it presents a model for assessing the impact of initiatives through robust evaluation. Only by expanding the evidence base will policymakers be able to offer effective guidance.
Second, it proves that effective financial education is possible, even as early as primary school, and that it works best when it’s engaging and interactive.
Third, it is possible for teachers, with little additional training, to gain confidence in delivering financial education at primary school level when supported by effective resources and volunteers.
In addition, our research appears to confirm a recent article in these pages suggesting maths isn’t the right place in the curriculum for financial education. Change the Game’s focus on behaviours, mindset and attitudes rather than maths ability perhaps points to PSHE being as a more natural home, at least at primary level.
This is not to say the approach can’t have positive impacts on maths; in fact, we are seeing early signs of increased maths confidence among participants, perhaps because financial education makes maths feel more relevant or lowers maths anxiety through shifting mindsets.
I’ve spent nearly a decade researching how people understand the economy. In focus groups and interviews with over 500 people across the UK, I’ve heard the same frustration again and again: “Why didn’t we learn this in school?”
With the curriculum review, the government has a chance to ensure we don’t leave another generation unprepared to tackle financial realities.
Thanks to our latest evidence, we know financial education can be effective, even in primary schools. What’s needed now is leadership and a clear national framework that ensures every child benefits from high-quality, evidence-based financial education so that they are ready to face the challenges of adulthood.
Read the full research paper here
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