Don't they learn about money at school? Well, yes, they do. A little bit.
The English primary school national curriculum is pretty limited when it comes to money skills. There a bit of maths around money - adding up coins and working out change. There's not a lot of coverage of the concepts behind money, about what it can do, about the pitfalls of it, and about what it can be used for.
Some schools teach some of this is their PHSE time, but this is school dependant. And as we know many adults don't feel confident around money, this can also factor in to schools' decisions to teach money skills.
However, research suggests that the majority of pupils leave school without the financial education they need to manage in adulthood. Only four out of every ten children say they were taught about money at school. Most teachers think financial education should start earlier than it currently does – in one recent survey, 44% thought it should start between ages 5-7, and nearly a quarter thought even earlier.
Children’s habits around money may be formed as early as seven, according to the Money and Pensions Service, and their parents and carers are the most important influence on how they will deal with money as adults.
Given this, it's vital that the educational curriculum change to support early financial literacy (and lots of people are campaigning for this to happen), but it's equally important that parents and carers reinforce these lessons at home. The curriculum in schools is a good starting point, but it can only go so far. Engaging children in conversations about money, allowing them to experience using it, and explaining the value and function of money are crucial components of financial education that often aren't covered extensively at school.
At The Hoard Book, our aim is to complement and extend what is taught in the school curriculum by providing resources and guidance to parents on how to effectively broaden their children's understanding of financial concepts. This involves not only teaching them how to count money but also helping them understand essential ideas like saving, investing, and budgeting so that they build on these skills as they grow older and become adults who are confident with money.
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