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Personal Finance Education Awards

June 23rd, 2011 Posted in financial education
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Six schools across England and Scotland are celebrating after winning awards at this year’s RBS Personal Finance Education Awards for Schools, the only awards to recognise those schools that teach students all-important money management skills in an innovative and successful way.

Taking home awards at this year’s event, which was held at Altitude 360 in London, were winning:
– For the Best All-Round Approach to PFE Award (primary): joint award for St Budeaux Foundation Church of England School in Plymouth and Westdene Primary School in Sussex.
– For the Best All-Round Approach to PFE Award (secondary): St Luke’s High School in East Renfrewshire.
– Best Teacher Award (primary): Ms. Eveline Dawson at Waltham Leas Primary in Grimsby.
– Best Teacher Award (secondary): Miss Helen Kemp at Humphrey Perkins High School in Loughborough.
– Best Student Award: Students at Roseberry Sports and Community College in Durham.

Staff and students from the Humphrey Perkins SchoolJudges from across the education and finance industries were impressed by the range of creative approaches schools have adopted to engage students in money management. Entries showcase a variety of activities from the entrepreneurial – challenging students to set up and run a business from scratch and make a profit – to the practical, teaching students about the real value of money through lessons like “What would you do with £1 million?” and showing them the impact that money they have raised can make in developing countries.

Other school programmes recognised in these awards included a peer mentoring system where a select group of students acted as ‘money experts’ for their fellow pupils, offering advice and giving presentations in assembly. Each category winner is awarded £1,500 for their school, and individuals also received a prize such as a laptop.

Founded by The Royal Bank of Scotland Group in association with PFEG (Personal Finance Education Group), the RBS PFE Awards are open to entrants from across England, Scotland and Wales. This year marks the fourth year of the Awards, which recognise best practice and build on RBS’ 17 year heritage in personal finance education.

Primary School Winners

St Budeaux has taken a very progressive approach to learning about PFE, from encouraging good money habits in students, to teaching them how to save and budget, and ensuring they understand the real value of money. During their ‘Money Week’, activities included seeing the difference that money they had raised made to families in Haiti, working with a poet to explore finance creatively through writing, and trying to make a profit selling products from an initial £5 budget.

Westdene Primary has built a programme of activity that appeals to children of all age groups; singing songs with younger groups, creating board games that encompass winning and losing money, and debates among groups on topical issues including “Why pay tax”. Through its strong PFE programme, the school has developed many interesting ways to raise financial awareness.

Secondary Schools

St Luke’s High School, East Renfrewshire has adopted a creative approach to delivering PFE across all year groups. Topics covered in the money lessons vary according to year group and range from ‘What would you do with £1million?’ to ‘Jobs in the real world’, and also covers off practical applications such as how to pay for a holiday and other ‘big’ purchases.

The MoneySense for Schools programme has recently re-launched its website with brand new interactive resources. You can access the new website here: http://moneysense.natwest.com/schools. All resources are accredited by PFEG for their quality and impartiality.

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Financial Education in Schools Debate

March 7th, 2011 Posted in Uncategorized
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Should financial education classes be compulsory in schools in England and Wales?

The video below shows a hotly contested debate about the role and place for financial literacy classes in schools.

Just who should be teaching children about money?

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6 lessons to teach your kids how to stay away from debts in future

March 1st, 2011 Posted in Uncategorized
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Many parents are not particularly inclined to discuss their debt and finance related issues with their kids. As an invariable result, kids remain unaware of crucial financial factors like debt management, savings, account dealings and face severe difficulty to handle these matters in the long run. There are certain skills and habits which every child needs to learn and develop from an early age. Financial discipline is one of them. If your kids come to know how to effectively spend, save and survive today, they can surely attain a better financial future tomorrow. Follow the instructions given below and provide your children the basic knowledge required to stay out of debt in future.

  • ‘Children need models more than they need critics’. The first lesson of money management to kids starts when their parents are not even aware of it.  Kids follow the footsteps of their elders blindly. Manage your finances well and spend your money wisely to set a perfect example to them. To stay out of debt spend within your limits. To teach your kids the difference between wants and needs, live frugally. Being frugal does not mean spending no money at all; it means think before you buy, and wait to buy until you can afford it.
  • Discuss your financial issues with your children. No matter how complicated your financial status are, attempt to make some simple bed time stories with them. Do not evade or ignore any of their queries, answer them clearly. Show them how you pay your due bills and how the ATM, checking accounts or credit cards works.
  • Make your children financially responsible by letting them spend money on their own. Of course, you are there to guide them but, make sure your child grow up making some of their own financial decisions as well. Let them commit mistakes and learn the lessons from them. If needed, confide in them your financial blunders in the past. In this way you may not be able to stop them completely from making any mistakes but at least they will be less likely to repeat these mistakes as adults.
  • Take into account your kid’s feedback and suggestions while you are planning your budget. This will give them an overall idea about the price list and monthly expenses. Make sure it should not make them feel guilty or upset for costing you so much.
  • Young kids love to collect and save pennies, present them with a piggy bank to indulge in this habit. For teen kids you better open a savings account and let him watch it grow. It will generate a sense of interest and excitement in them and they will put more efforts and hard work to save in these accounts. Excitement and anticipation both are essential to make your child keener to save money.
  • Start giving your child a weekly or monthly allowance from an early age. Instruct them not only to manage their weekly expenses within limited means but also to save a portion of it. Trigger their emotions by teaching them to donate a portion of their savings to people who are less fortunate.

All these above mentioned points are lifelong ways to teach your kids about money management. When your child becomes old enough to ask for toys or candy, it means they’re old enough to learn some lessons of financial awareness as well. As soon as they learn to count, you can start imparting your basic lessons about spending and saving. Remember the sooner they learn these lessons and apply them to their lives, it is better for their financial well being.

 

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Lack of Financial Education has cost nearly £250 million

October 1st, 2010 Posted in Uncategorized
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Lack of financial education has cost Brits nearly £250 million in charges and penalties alone, with almost a quarter (24%) having been hit by charges because they don’t understand the terms and conditions of financial products, according to new research from uSwitch.com. Moreover, almost three quarters of Brits (71%) say that a lack of basic personal financial understanding is to blame for debt. And with the level of personal debt already exceeding £1.5 trillion, the Government’s decision to shelve plans to add financial education to the curriculum could be a costly one.

Less than one in ten people (7%) think we are financially educated as a nation. Four in ten people (40%) saywe’re less financially educated than previous generations, while seven in ten (70%) say that personal finance is a lot more complicated today than it was previously. Consumers now face a vast array of products, from bank accounts and credit cards to different mortgages and high interest pay-day loans. But as personal finance has become more sophisticated, our understanding has shrunk, leaving a knowledge gap that is costing people dear.

Despite the fact that consumers can take out financial products such as credit cards and loans as soon as they hit 18, worryingly, on average most people don’t become knowledgeable about personal finance until they are 27 years old. But age offers no guarantees – 16% of Brits didn’t become knowledgeable until at least 35 years old, of these nearly 9% don’t get up to speed until their forties.

The research shows that most people now learn about personal finance the hard way through trial and error. 81% pick up their personal finance knowledge along the way, while just 7% learn from their parents and 4% from banks. With the majority learning as they go and the average age of first time buyers on the rise, this could push the age of financial maturity in Britain even higher.

Consumers are also worried about the future. Less than 5% feel that today’s youth are well informed about basic personal finance and 95% say that personal finance should be taught in schools. Missing the opportunity to educate future consumers could be a costly decision and 89% say that it was wrong of the Government to shelve plans to add financial education to the curriculum.

The Financial Fairy Tales are a series of fun financial education resources for use with younger children wither at home or in primary schools

Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer policy at uSwitch.com, says: “Our poor understanding of personal finance is costing us money and now looks to be getting worse with each generation. While our debt is increasing, our knowledge is decreasing – the situation is a ticking time bomb. The Government needs to start taking this seriously and should urgently re-instate plans to get financial education onto the curriculum. It’s not the only one with a large debt issue to overcome – consumers owe £1.5 trillion in personal debt and need the basic knowledge and understanding to get this back under control.

“It’s also vital that those who are beyond school age stay on top of this too. Taking the time to understand any personal finance product you are signing up to will save you money on interest rates and charges that can catch out the un-savvy consumer. By doing this and keeping an eye on your credit rating, you’ll also be better placed to get the best deals on the market on your credit cards and bank account – which could save you over £400 a year.”

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Money management – attitudes start at home

June 29th, 2010 Posted in Uncategorized
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In the wake of the economic situation, Credit agency Equifax believes that it is more important than ever that future generations are taught financial skills. This belief is reinforced by the findings of recent research* conducted by Equifax amongst parents, where 35% said they don’t think their children have a good understanding of the value of money and 94% believe financial education should be part of the national curriculum.

“Young people now live in a world where debt is a fact of life and research has found that student debt has topped £5,000 for each year of study” says Neil Munroe, External Affairs Director for Equifax. “This makes it absolutely imperative that, as early as possible, young people understand how best to manage their finances. It is therefore very encouraging to see the work of My Money Week, which aims to help schools teach children more about managing money in a way that is practical and relevant to them.”

More than a third of parents who responded to the recent Equifax research on finances amongst young people, believe that their children have a good understanding of the value of money. But almost the same number think this is not the case. When it comes to children’s understanding of money management, 73% of parents said they felt their own parents’ attitude to money and finances had influenced how they now manage their finances.

“Clearly the right attitude about money management starts at home” continued Neil Munroe. “But we believe the school curriculum can play a very important role in preparing young people for the challenges of the 21st century. And that includes being in control of their finances and managing debts more effectively than the generation before them.”

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