Financial education fit for the future: the case for policy change

The Policy Institute at King's College London works to solve society’s challenges with evidence and expertise.

The Policy Institute

With the government currently reviewing the national curriculum, what should the future of financial education in the UK look like?

8th Floor (North Side), Bush House

<h3><a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1048818784217?aff=oddtdtcreator" title="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1048818784217?aff=oddtdtcreator">Can't attend in person? Register for the Livestream &gt;</a></h3> Children and young people navigate an increasingly complex financial landscape. From a young age, they are exposed to subscriptions, adverts and in-app purchases online. Later, they encounter opportunities – and temptations – to spend, contributing to indebtedness.Incorporating financial education into the school curriculum, starting as early as primary schools, could potentially play an important role in building the skills of young people to manage their money, recognise online scams, and develop health spending and saving habits.There is clearly a need for more support: <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/3034e44e-9e70-4175-8bd6-0274f76ef4aa" title="https://www.ft.com/content/3034e44e-9e70-4175-8bd6-0274f76ef4aa" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">just 1%</a> of primary school teachers believe the majority of their pupils possess adequate financial skills.It’s in this context that the Policy Institute is conducting an independent evaluation of a financial education programme run by the charity <a href="https://redstarteducate.org/" title="https://redstarteducate.org/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">RedSTART Educate</a>.It is the largest randomised controlled trial of financial education ever undertaken in UK primary schools, involving 61 schools and more than 6,000 children, with <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kcl.ac.uk%2Fresearch%2Fevaluation-of-the-financial-education-programme-change-the-game&data=05%7C02%7Cgeorge.may%40kcl.ac.uk%7C852524e1af464f2242f008dcdc80d663%7C8370cf1416f34c16b83c724071654356%7C0%7C0%7C638627693111967092%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=vvibpJWMKY%2BNd6oTpMdnOEAWBeLsdPGFtuPNpRanYoQ%3D&reserved=0" title="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kcl.ac.uk%2Fresearch%2Fevaluation-of-the-financial-education-programme-change-the-game&data=05%7C02%7Cgeorge.may%40kcl.ac.uk%7C852524e1af464f2242f008dcdc80d663%7C8370cf1416f34c16b83c724071654356%7C0%7C0%7C638627693111967092%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=vvibpJWMKY%2BNd6oTpMdnOEAWBeLsdPGFtuPNpRanYoQ%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">initial findings</a> showing statistically significant improvements in pupils’ financial knowledge after just one year.At the same time, this topic is gaining traction among policymakers. The Commons Education Select Committee recently called on the government to bolster financial education, including at primary school level, and the new education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, has pledge to expand the teaching of “real-world” maths skills in schools.But progress has been slow, and significant challenges persist in effectively integrating this into the curriculum. There is also a lack of concrete evidence on how to effectively teach financial literacy across all age groups.With the government currently reviewing the national curriculum, what should the future of financial education in the UK look like? And how can we convert political interest into change at the classroom level?Speakers<ul><li>Susannah Hume, Director of Evaluation at the Policy Institute, King’s College London </li><li>Baroness Sally Morgan, former Chair of Ofsted, and Director of Government Relations in 10 Downing Street, 1997–2005 (chair) </li><li>Jonathan Slater, Permanent Secretary at the Department for Education, 2016–2020 </li><li>Ruston Smith, Chair of Tesco Pension Fund and the Lifetime Savings Initiative School </li><li>Bernice Warwick, Headteacher at Beulah Junior School in Thornton Heath</li></ul> This event will be live-streamed and recorded. The recordings may be used for promotional and archival purposes. If you do not wish to appear in the live stream or recordings, please notify us at policy-institute-events@kcl.ac.uk before the event.

Our {communityGuidelinesLink} describe the sort of content we prohibit on Eventbrite. If you suspect an event may be in violation, you can report it to us so we can investigate.

To report other categories of prohibited or illegal content, submit {link}

Financial education fit for the future: the case for policy change

More events from The Policy Institute

Follow organisers to get events picked for you

Financial education fit for the future: the case for policy change

More events from The Policy Institute

Follow organisers to get events picked for you

You might also like...

Sign in for personalised recommendations