The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) is an arm’s-length body of the UK Government that works with stakeholders across a range of sectors to help improve financial education in schools, at home and in the community. Alongside parents and carers, schools and teachers are uniquely placed to help children and young people to develop the money skills they need.
MaPS leads delivery of the UK Strategy for Financial Wellbeing, working towards a vision of everyone making the most of their money and pensions. The Strategy includes a goal to ensure that, by 2030, two million more children and young people in the UK are receiving a meaningful financial education.
Learn more about the UK Strategy for Financial Wellbeing.
To improve the provision of financial education, we;
Research shows that financial education makes children and young people more likely to;
Our research also shows that a majority of children and young people say they find financial education useful.
Financial education can enhance existing curricula or can be extra-curricular. The subject can enhance an array of subjects too. It can bring the maths curriculum to life using examples relevant to students’ lives, or can be incorporated into personal development, health and wellbeing and citizenship topics.
Financial education enhances financial wellbeing and prepares students to understand and manage their incomes as adults.
Start early: Evidence tells us that children’s attitudes about money are well developed by the age of seven. So, incorporate learning about the world of money into your teaching from pre-school upwards.
Put learning into practice: Providing pupils with a combination of in-class and experiential learning has been shown to be most effective. You could organise a school savings bank, support groups of students to open bank accounts or give children the opportunity to manage a budget.
Make the most of everyday events: Financial education can be particularly effective if it coincides with an opportunity for the young person to put it into practice. For example, more detailed learning about banks and saving could coincide with students approaching the age of 11 when they can open an account.
Involve parents and carers: As in other areas of learning, school-based financial education will be most successful when parents are engaged too. Invite parents to get involved in experiential financial learning activities, or encourage students and parents to develop their learning together at home.
Talk Money Week, from 4-8 November 2024, is an opportunity for everyone to get involved with events and activities across the UK which help people have more open conversations about their money, including in education settings.
Learn more about Talk Money Week.
The 2024 toolkit for schools includes information and resources to help you promote the financial wellbeing of your pupils and students, during Talk Money Week and beyond.
Download your 2024 toolkit (PDF, 1MB)
Co-funded with Money Saving Expert’s Martin Lewis, Young Money’s secondary level financial education textbook is being tailored to curricula across the UK. It also comes with a teaching guide.
Learn more and download free copies of the textbookOpens in a new window
MaPS guidance for schools highlights the links between financial education and the curriculum, sets out how schools can improve the financial education they deliver, and signposts to services and resources that can help.
The Financial Education Planning FrameworksOpens in a new window endorsed by MaPS, set out the key areas of money knowledge, skills and attitudes relevant to children and young people, helping schools plan, deliver and monitor progression. They are available in English and Welsh.
We fund Young Money’s Financial Education Quality MarkOpens in a new window to help teachers find effective resources.
Download our latest qualitative research on financial education in schools (four to six year olds)Opens in a new window (PDF/A, 3MB)
In England, financial education is included in the national curriculum in secondary schools only, as part of citizenship and maths.
Read more at GOV.UK about England’s school curriculumOpens in a new window
Financial capability is included in the national curriculum from age 4 to 14, mainly through maths and numeracy.
The Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment has a dedicated microsite with lots of ideas for weaving financial education through the whole curriculumOpens in a new window
Financial capability is included in the broad general education phase curriculum for students aged 3 to 14 years, primarily in maths and numeracy across learning.
Download financial education guidance for Scotland:
Read more at gov.scot about the curriculum in ScotlandOpens in a new window
A new Curriculum for Wales will be rolled out from 2022, with financial education relevant to a number of the new areas of learning and experience, including maths and numeracy and health and well-being.
In the current curriculum, financial education is included in both primary and secondary schools as part of Mathematical Development and Personal and Social Education.
Read more at Gov.wales about the current school curriculum in WalesOpens in a new window