Despite new technology such as online and mobile banking, 60 percent of UK adults believe that managing money is more difficult now than it was 10 years ago, with only 12 percent finding that it had become easier. Furthermore, nearly two thirds (63 percent) think that the trend towards a cashless society will make it even more difficult for young people to manage their money well.
As it stands, just five percent of UK adults believe that young people are currently leaving school with the financial skills and knowledge they need to manage their personal finances. This compares unfavourably with their own experiences, with more than three times as many (16 percent) believing they had left school adequately equipped to manage money well.
The research was conducted in the wake of confirmation from the government that after years of campaigning by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Financial Education for Young People, pfeg and MoneySavingExpert.com’s Martin Lewis, financial education will be taught in secondary schools through the new National Curriculum for England from next September. The move brings England more in to line with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Tracey Bleakley, chief executive of pfeg (Personal Finance Education Group), said:
“We usually think of technology making our lives easier, but for many people managing money is actually becoming more difficult, not less. Money is a lot less tangible than it once was, and cashless payments are making it even harder for young people to learn how to manage their personal finances. As a society, we are going to have to work even harder to give young people the financial skills and knowledge they will need throughout their lives.
Financial education’s new place in the secondary National Curriculum will help significantly, but much more needs to be done. We know from our work in thousands of schools that for financial education to be most effective, it needs to start from an early age. Children are also are encountering money much earlier than they used to. This means that we need to ensure that these crucial life skills are taught in all primary schools, as well as at secondary level.”
A previous ING survey conducted in October found that UK demand for financial education in schools is the highest in Europe, with 88 percent of UK adults in favour. ING and pfeg’s new research tested public support for financial education from an earlier age, in primary school, for the first time.
Almost half (48 percent) of 1,018 UK adults surveyed agreed that financial education should begin in primary school, with a third (33 percent) undecided. The research also shows that support for an earlier start for financial education increases with age, with over-35s “significantly” more likely than younger age groups to agree that lessons in money should begin in primary school.
New schools campaign
The research comes as pfeg (Personal Finance Education Group) is joining forces with MoneySavingExpert.com’s Martin Lewis to launch a new national campaign to get schoolchildren talking about money. Free posters and teaching materials are this month being sent to every primary and secondary school in England, in a scheme to encourage teachers to start classroom discussions about different money topics.
The charity’s Get Money Smart posters – for children aged up to 7, 11, 14 and 16 – are designed to encourage classroom discussions about things children can do to learn more about money and personal finance. Ideas for different ages include checking your change, estimating the cost of a weekly shop, comparing mobile phone tariffs and planning and budgeting for a trip. Classes then discuss and agree a fifth idea of their own, which they can share on twitter using the hashtag #5thingstodo.
