My Money Week, boosting financial education!

I don’t know if anyone has seen this, but from the 9th to the 13th of June My Money Week is running. It’s a week in both primary and secondary schools to help children and young people gain a better understanding of financial matters. 

 

To be honest, my heart sank! I think I have probably mentioned this before, but I still can't get my head around why ‘understanding money and how to survive financially’ isn’t core in the UK schools’ curriculum. 

Surely understanding how money works, how to save and why, how the tax system runs, what a pension is, how to avoid getting into debt, even what debt is and how it happens, surely that’s some of the most important lessons we should be teaching young people as they journey through school. 

 

Don’t misunderstand me, I am pleased this week is happening and something is better than nothing! 

This week is being run by a fabulous charity, Young Enterprise. I haven’t been involved personally, but I do have colleagues who have donated time to supporting YE groups regionally and have loved the experience. Apparently, watching a group of teenagers launch and run a small business, work together as a team and then enter into a national event is inspirational and can change lives. 

 

But I also have to ask why have this in June, I have teenagers at home and as we come to the end of the academic year they are either exhausted after GCSE or A ‘Level exams, focusing on school trips, sports days or just dragging themselves to the summer break, I know my wife and I are! 

I think financial education is such an essential skill, we should be embedding it right the way through the year, not tagging it into the end of the school year when most kids are so over being in school, just getting them in can be an effort.