Money has never been so important to our young people: online fraud is rife, many children now have bank cards, young people have to take out car insurance and buy vehicles, and university costs are greater than ever. Finance has become a topic that we can no longer ignore until adulthood. Not only do young people need to develop skills ready for their independent life, but they also need to be equipped with the knowledge to face financial crises they face while still being children. This is why I have launched my petition to legally require all schools to teach financial education.
When I was elected a Member of Youth Parliament last year, I pledged to reform financial education. Since then, I have surveyed more than 700 young people to hear their thoughts, and the results were alarming. I found that 64.1 per cent of children do not recall ever learning about finance, and out of those that do remember receiving financial education, only 18 per cent felt it was up to a high standard. This data alone proves that we are failing this generation when it comes to learning about money.
Having discovered this broken system, I wrote a report on the need for statutory financial education and explored how financial education could be improved. In 2017, the Conservative government introduced the Children and Social Work Act, which enabled the Secretary of State for Education to make any part of ‘Citizenship’ lessons statutory, without the need to introduce further legislation. By making financial education statutory, it would mean that the government would publish a set framework of content that all schools would have to follow. This is currently the case for sex education.
There is also a very valid and vital argument that financial education should begin from primary school age, which I support. However, money becomes far more important when a child progresses to secondary school, and this is why I feel the priority is the implementation of statutory financial education in all secondary schools before we then push to reform it across all age groups.
Specifically, financial education should begin by cementing the core knowledge and understanding that a child needs to learn about money. Namely, this includes the value of money in today’s society, enabling the child to better comprehend what money is worth and how this changes with inflation. From there, schools could work to educate students on how to appropriately make and save money. Within this unit, banking and financial fraud would be covered, so young people develop skills to recognise scams and learn how to keep their finances secure.
Once these crucial concepts have been embedded, the curriculum could then move to tax. It is vastly important that children develop an understanding of tax (including income tax, capital gains tax, inheritance tax and national insurance) so that not only are they ready for their independent financial life, but they can also better comprehend the world around them. Moreover, this topic would link well to loans, mortgages and debt, allowing young people to learn about the dangers of gambling and addiction.
In the final years of secondary education, students should be taught about car insurance and other costs associated with buying a car. This could include the gradual shift to more environmentally friendly cars and its economic impacts. Also, as students prepare to leave secondary school, they should be taught about student loans and the costs associated with university, which have recently risen for the first time since 2017. Ensuring that the curriculum remains relevant to all young people, the finance behind completing an apprenticeship should also be covered.
As a whole, I believe that making financial education statutory is an idea that most people would agree with. However, in order to achieve it, we must come together. You can do this by signing my petition.
Of course, your signature will make a difference, and I am eternally grateful for your support. Nevertheless, to really have a chance at making a difference, we must go further. Therefore, I urge you to sign the petition yourself, and then share it with as many family members or friends as you can, and share it on your social media.
With your support, we can ensure that we do not foster a financially illiterate generation.
Cameron will be discussing his proposal with Lord John Lee and Alex Newman in this month’s Lee and The IC podcast which will be released on Tuesday 11 February
