How well do you think financial education is taught in schools?

Former_MSE_Will · 26 February 2016 at 6:22PM

Martin's giving evidence to MPs later this month on the topic of how well financial education is taught in schools.

If you're a teacher, parent, or school student he'd love to know what you think.

How well is financial education taught?
Is financial education is preparing students for handling money in the real world?
What are the barriers to financial education in schools?

UPDATE: Thanks so much for your comments so far. The conversation's now moved to Martin's new thread, please carry on the discussion there.

If you haven’t already, join the forum to reply.
[purplesignup][/purplesignup]

joey2307 · 1 March 2016 at 10:16PM

I am a maths teacher in East Anglia.As far as I am aware our school, which is an Academy, does not teach financial education in any regular way. There may well be the occasional financial point made in PSHE lessons but it will not be in the detail required to properly prepare youngsters.
There has been no mention of this in the maths department nor has the department been approached by anyone within the hierarchy to put a programme together.
The VI Formers used to have a one day off timetable student finance day but not sure that happens anymore.
I have used the pfeg resources with someone of my classes - many of their little faces turn to shock when I tell them I've made £600-£700 by switching banks in last 5-6 years, they seem to think I'm teaching them an illegal trick !

System · 1 March 2016 at 10:56PM

Going back 15 odd years now, but when i was at school there was ZERO fininacal education. Id have loved to have learned about budgeting etc, as at 29 i'm now in a financial mess and really wish someone had taught me about it. In part i guess it should have been my parents responsibility but my parents were and are to this day very private about their finances so help in school could have made the difference.

I really hope things have changed for the better now.

Faith177 · 2 March 2016 at 12:58AM

xXMessedUpXx wrote: »

Going back 15 odd years now, but when i was at school there was ZERO fininacal education. Id have loved to have learned about budgeting etc, as at 29 i'm now in a financial mess and really wish someone had taught me about it. In part i guess it should have been my parents responsibility but my parents were and are to this day very private about their finances so help in school could have made the difference.

I really hope things have changed for the better now.

Same here I had none learnt everything from my mum in the end

My school were more worried about you putting your NRA folder together (national record of achievement) Does anyone else remember them? We were lead to believe these would be the most important things in our future mine hasn't left the drawer in nearly 14 years!

I would have killed for financial lessons at school but as that never appears on tests schools just aren't interested

Anatidaephobia · 2 March 2016 at 1:07AM

It's not at all. When I was at school, we were taught how to write a CV but we weren't taught about budgeting or paying tax, rent, bills, etc. As far as I know, it's not much different now.

In particular, I really think it's important that schools teach the basics of paying tax and how the system works because most people are clueless and don't learn until their pay is short one month or they receive a letter about an underpayment.

mgdavid · 2 March 2016 at 1:38AM

Walk before run.
Let's have them all able to read, write and count first.

[Deleted User] · 2 March 2016 at 1:52AM

I agree. I don't remember my son mentioning being taught anything about money managment at school at all. It was all GCSE work.

I've just had to rescue my 20 year old from a small financial crisis because he didn't understand that paypal payments come out three days later than debit card payments (he ordered some expensive goods from a website, paid via paypal, got the money refunded because they turned out to not be in stock, paid for them via debit card on Amazon, and then went overdrawn because the refund needed another week or more to get into his bank account).

Money is still pretty meaningless to him. Budgeting less than meaningless lol. But I expect he's started the learning curve now! He has always tended to say he's doing ok, but a bit more questioning reveals he doesn't really know what his bank balance is, what payments are coming out when etc. I do talk about such things, but right now, as he's living at home, it doesn't really mean much to him.

I remember he ran a fictional business.., I'd love it if they went through a few months of running a fictional home, with budgets, fuel payments, finding cheaper options etc. with awards for whoever managed to survive (buy enough food to live on, pay rent or mortgage and cover bills) and save the most. Awards could be given for fuel savings too (like getting homes insulated to save energy etc). A really good course could include cooking lessons, how to plan a varied healthy diet, reuse uneaten food in a new menu etc.

Lunar_Eclipse · 2 March 2016 at 7:19AM

Parent.

Not much. But I'm fine with that. Part of my job. Schools are focussed on academic teaching, life skills fall to the parents. They can't do it all.

I got a good financial grounding from my parents, who sent me off to uni with a budget we'd drawn up together. Similarly, my kids have picked up basics from having pocket money from a young age and interests/a social life to fund. They've also studied some useful topics at school based around investing in the stock market, the costs of borrowing money and kitting out their bedrooms in Maths Key Stage 3.

dirty_magic · 2 March 2016 at 9:06AM

I do think people need more education on money. The amount of adults that don't know how their tax and NI is calculated is ridiculous!

The problem with teaching it at school is that a lot of them probably wouldn't be that interested. To them it's probably an adult problem to worry about in the future.

I still think they should teach about managing money though, even if they don't really care some of it might sink in.

Pollycat · 2 March 2016 at 9:54AM

dirty_magic wrote: »

I do think people need more education on money. The amount of adults that don't know how their tax and NI is calculated is ridiculous!

The problem with teaching it at school is that a lot of them probably wouldn't be that interested. To them it's probably an adult problem to worry about in the future.

I still think they should teach about managing money though, even if they don't really care some of it might sink in.

Do people really need to know how tax & NI are calculated?

I'd have thought teaching the fact that if you earn £x but spend £x+1 is going to eventually land you in the s**t far more important.

I wasn't taught financial management at school but I learned pretty quick when I was earning my own money (45+ years ago).

Is teaching financial management really going to stop young people getting into debt?
Today's society is a 'I want it and I want it now (regardless of whether I can afford it)' mess.

FBaby · 2 March 2016 at 10:02AM

It's taught appallingly, but considering talking about finances with fellow adults, let alone children remains quite a taboo matter in this country, it is not surprising.

How well do you think financial education is taught in schools?

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