In a study that will put pressure on the government to make sure children are taught how money works from an early age, only 1% of UK primary teachers believed the majority of their children had an “adequate” level of financial literacy.
Additionally, according to the Social Market Foundation survey, 42% of primary educators said no one among their students had adequate financial abilities.
Financial education was added to the curriculum for regional authority-run secondary schools in 2014 but it is generally included in non-core content, such as citizenship, which are less of a concern for students’ academic development. The course is also recommended for free schools and academies.
According to the report, young people from more prosperous background were therefore “more good to had received some form of monetary education.” It demanded that the government adopt a “whole school approach, ” which would bring the UK in line with nations like Finland and New Zealand.
Politicians have warned that young people’s lack of basic math trust just adds to the pressure on them during a cost of living problems.
According to Dani Payne, a top scholar at the SMF and one of the report’s authors, financial education has been linked to better physical and mental health, supports the accumulation of wealth, and may also lower the risk of people becoming victims of fraud and debt.
“Unfortunately, the UK currently has low levels of financial literacy compared to other developed countries, and rates of financial knowledge tend to track existing socio-economic imbalances. ”
According to the report, financial education, as well as a “digital northern hub of quality assured education programs and classroom resources,” should be incorporated into the initial teacher training education.
The former Labour government minister Lord David Blunkett, who is now one of the party’s plan advisers, stated in the report’s preface that: “We can guarantee that we are setting up our children for a prosperous future by promoting financial knowledge more prominently in the primary school education and committing to correct investment in instructor training, support, and funding for school provision.”
Several charities, including the FT’s Financial Literacy and Inclusion Campaign, have pressed the government for proper provision of financial education.
Should Labor win the next general election, Labor has pledged to conduct a curriculum review that will give added weight to real-world math skills. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a year ago that math instruction would be extended to 18-year-olds.
The House of Commons education select committee is expected to make recommendations for how financial education could be more effectively incorporated into the national curriculum in a report that is scheduled to be released soon.
“The government claimed in a statement that primary schools already have an important foundation for understanding finances, adding that many primary schools also adhere to the non-statutory curriculum, which covers topics like how to save for the future and how to spend money.”