London, 10 November 2021: As the world gathers in Glasgow for the COP26 Climate Summit and just in time for Talk Money Week, the Money Heroes programme (created by Young Money and supported by HSBC UK) has just released a series of new books and resources focused on climate action and how this ties into financial education.
Developed for children aged 3 to 11, the two new books – Ed and Bunny Raise some Money and Super Stories for Climate Heroes – bring to life topical issues such as food waste, fast fashion, raising money for charity and how making small changes can have a big impact on the environment, and save money as well.
Russell Winnard, Director of Programmes & Services at Young Enterprise, says:“We know the positive impact that talking about money to young people as early as possible has on that individual’s financial capability. Money Heroes helps facilitate these early discussions in school and at home, and using relevant and engaging contexts such as climate change really help to bring that learning to life.”
Students at John Shelton Primary School in Coventry were amongst the first to enjoy the new books and activities, with HSBC UK’s SmartMoney Education team joining their teacher in helping students put their new skills into practice.
Reflecting on what they have learnt about sustainability and saving money, a Year 2 pupil said: “Maybe we shouldn’t buy so much stuff and think about what we really need”. Another child reflected: “If we have money left over, it can be used to help people who don’t have any or are homeless.”
Stuart Haire, Head of Wealth and Personal Banking at HSBC UK, said: “Teaching children about money and financial wellbeing is vital, especially when considering how the decisions we make as consumers affect our climate. This new work builds on the support HSBC UK provides across the Money Heroes and our SmartMoney Education programme, which has been supporting schools in the West Midlands and across the UK for over 25 years.”
The arrival of these new resources comes exactly one year after the primary-age financial education programme was first launched. Since then, Money Heroes has helped over 130,000 children to develop their financial capability skills throughout the UK. The programme also offers free teacher training, in schools or remotely, to equip teachers to deliver high-quality and impactful financial education, and over 500 teachers have already taken part.
On the Money Heroes website teachers and parents can request, completely free of charge, copies of the two brand new books (one for KS1 and another for older KS2 children), downloadable activity sheets, and also listen to inspiring podcasts. This is on top of all of the other resources already available to help primary school children develop their financial capability skills, including other books, activities, a digital game and also a fun and engaging board game.
The delivery of the new climate-focused resources also comes during Talk Money Week (8th-12th November), which encourages families to discuss money to equip children with the knowledge and skills they need to manage their money effectively now and in the future. The Money Heroes programme has also produced an informative Parent Guide to help families learn about money and make the most of the free resources on offer.
Lancashire, October 2021: Seventy one schools in disadvantaged areas around the UK are set to receive support from the Inspiring Futures Project (Project IF), led by the charity Young Enterprise, to help young people build t the skills and opportunity needed for their onward careers.
This month, Young Enterprise CEO Sharon Davies and Young Enterprise President William Salomon are visited three schools in the North West, to speak directly with young people s who have previously benefited or are currently benefiting from the activities of Project IF.
A total of 111 schools in disadvantaged areas of the UK that are likely to find it the most challenging to recover from the economic impact of the Coronavirus pandemic, will now be receiving support from Young Enterprise through the Inspiring Futures Project.
The Inspiring Futures Project supports young people by giving them the opportunity to broaden their horizons and unlock their creative potential in business.
Recent research from the Children’s Commission revealed that 14 per cent of children in the North West are unhappy about their lives which highlights the need for practical action to make them more optimistic about their futures.
Through the generous support of Young Enterprise’s President William Salomon, The Inspiring Futures Project provides young people in some of the most deprived constituencies across the country with opportunities that could change the trajectory of their futures and their communities.
With access to fully funded careers and enterprise programmes, young people are supported to build work readiness skills, develop enterprising mindsets and raise their aspirations. Ultimately the project will support young people to contribute to their community through increasing their chances in gaining employment.
Research shows that when a young person has four or more encounters with an employer, they are five times less likely to be unemployed in their adult life. Currently, these life-changing opportunities are not available to all. The Inspiring Futures Project aims to address these inequalities by providing concrete opportunities for young people to build and apply new skills, with the support from volunteers from the world of work.
Success Stories
The Company Programme, which is a key programme within The Inspiring Futures Project has recently supported local Accrington schoolgirls, Amelia and Megan, in setting up their own social enterprise Supporting the Streets to combat homelessness in Lancashire.
Since engaging with Young Enterprise’s Company Programme and setting up Supporting the Streets, Amelia went on to receive the Jane Goodall Roots and Shoots most outstanding individual in 2019. As a result of the partnership Amelia also recently won the 2021 Princess Diana Award.
Both Amelia and Megan have gone on to set up multiple businesses, with Megan’s recent phone cover design business doing particularly well. As part of her Gold Duke of Edinburgh award, Amelia has taken over the social media marketing for Churchfield House.
Speaking on The Inspiring Futures Project, Amelia said: “I am delighted that Project IF is being delivered at St Christopher’s and is expanding across the UK, it will be so beneficial to the development of many future young entrepreneurs. I benefitted from setting up our social enterprise even after I finished the programme. Being given the tools and support, both practically and emotionally were crucial when thinking about how Supporting the Streets could evolve and make the most impact in our community.”
“It’s been a pretty challenging time for young people following the pandemic and getting the right support is often the difference between being in the mindset of doing something for your future and feeling a little lost. Every young person should be given opportunity and a chance to explore what they want to do in the future, and it is often the way to make the most difference.”
Megan also added: “I doubt I would have some of the skills I’ve now developed if it wasn’t for the Company Programme and I’m pleased that Project IF will give many more the same opportunity. It gave us the confidence and necessary skills to become entrepreneurial. I’m so glad that other young people, especially those facing barriers because of where they live, can have access to an initiative that builds a solid foundation for their futures.”
In the inaugural year of its launch, and even despite the difficulties of pandemic disruption, The Inspiring Futures Project engaged with 35 Schools across the North of England. The project now aims to widen its reach across England and Wales to an additional 71 schools in its second year of existence.
To support the continued development of this project, Young Enterprise would love to hear from individuals or businesses who are keen to support young people and help to remove barriers to social mobility.
London, 16 November 2021: Young Money, Martin Lewis and the Money and Pensions Service have combined forces to deliver the UK’s first ever financial education textbook, ‘Your Money Matters’, to every state school in the UK, to give young people the knowledge we all wish we’d had at school on topics such as saving, debt, mortgages and credit cards. Having these skills will ensure that young people are less likely to make the wrong decisions as adults, like the potentially dangerous ‘buy now pay later’ options which lead to debt as well as cryptocurrency and dangerous financial scams.
Over 490,000 copies of the Your Money Matters were delivered free of charge to schools, with each school receiving up to 100 copies and digital editions, to enable the textbooks to be taught to children by teachers in a flexible way to suit the age and ability of their students. The textbook development and delivery was initially funded by Martin Lewis OBE, founder of MoneySavingExpert.com, enabling all schools in England to receive their copies, and he was then joined by the Money and Pensions Service to fund editions for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Financial education has never been more vital than it is today, and yet it has slipped to the bottom of the priority list for schools.
The financial dangers on young people have never been so great. The ‘buy now, pay later’ offers which teenagers are bombarded with online and the increasing number of cryptocurrency adverts on social media make for a dangerous start to a young person’s financial journey in life.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, financial scams circulating by text and email went up substantially, with 6,000 cases of COVID-related fraud and cyber crime reported, and £34.5 million stolen. Young people with limited experience of dealing with banks and businesses are particularly vulnerable to this.
Young people are also generally under more pressure with lost jobs which adds up to more challenging financial prospects. While lives may be returning to normal after the pandemic, the effect that school closures and lockdown have had on young people should not be underestimated.
While financial education is part of the national secondary curriculum for every nation in the UK, research has identified that teachers’ confidence in delivering financial education is low with little training provided to support this – and the degree to which young people receive financial education in school is hugely variable.
The textbook addresses this by covering key financial information like savings, borrowing and fraud in a relevant and engaging way for students. To accompany each edition of the textbook there is an online teacher’s guide which supports teachers in each nation to use the textbook to enrich their own financial education provision in a variety of ways.
Martin Lewis, founder and chair of MoneySavingExpert (though donating in a personal capacity) said: “The pandemic has shown the lack of personal financial resilience and preparedness of the UK as a whole. Not all of that can be fixed by improving financial education, but a chunk of it can. Of course, we need to educate people of all ages, yet young people are professionals at learning, so if you want to break the cycle of debt and bad decisions, they’re the best place to start.
I was one of those at the forefront of the campaign to get financial education on the national curriculum in 2014, and we celebrated then thinking the job was done. We were wrong. Schools have struggled with resources and there’s been little teacher training. Something else was needed to make it easy for schools and teachers. So even though I questioned whether it’s right that a private individual should fund a textbook, no one else would do it, so I put pragmatics over politics and did it in 2018.
I’m delighted that now we’ve proved the success of that book in England. The Money and Pensions Service has agreed to team up to provide this much-needed resource for the rest of the UK’s nations – adding a rightful sense of officialdom to the whole project.”
Sharon Davies, CEO at Young Money and Young Enterprise said: “We are thrilled that Young Money has been able to develop the Your Money Matters textbook for every UK nation. Financial education is critically important for all young people, and it is fantastic that the difference this has already made within England can now be extended to Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.”
Sarah Porretta, Propositions, Insights and External Engagement Director at the Money and Pensions Service said: “We know that learning about money when we’re young can have a direct impact on your ability to manage money later in life. However, too many young people are entering adulthood without being prepared for the money-related challenges that lie ahead.
The launch of the Your Money Matters textbook in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland is a vital step towards more teachers having the confidence, skills and knowledge to teach financial education. As part of our UK Strategy for Financial Wellbeing, we want to see a further 2 million children and young people across the UK getting a meaningful financial education so that they become adults able to make the most of their money and pensions.”
Young Money is part of national financial education and enterprise charity Young Enterprise that works directly with young people and their educators to develop the vital skills and enterprising mindsets needed to maximise future opportunities.
The guides are designed to help children learn about managing money and personal finance, the concept of bank and savings accounts, value of money plus the complex topics of credit, budgeting, and foreign currency.
Alistair Nimmo, Director of Marketing at Family Building Society said, “We all want to build the best future for our children and with many families opting to set up children’s savings and bank accounts, the money guides are a great opportunity for children to learn about money in a fun, engaging way. Our guides are full of great tips and fun activities for children of all ages and are already proving popular.”
Russell Winnard, Director of Programmes and Services, at Young Money adds, “Research proves that speaking to young people as early as possible around finances has a positive impact on their mindset around money. That’s why we are thrilled to be partnering with Family Building Society to produce this series of guides which cover a range of important topics and will help young people become financially capable and confident in making informed choices about their futures.”.
The guides are available to download from familybuildingsociety.co.uk/children-and-money