MSE backs schools scheme – are your kids being taught to Get Money Smart?

Free posters and teaching materials are being sent to every primary and secondary school in England to encourage teachers to start classroom discussions about different money topics (see our Financial Education page for more resources).

There are four Get Money Smart posters, each aimed at a different age groups for children aged up to seven, 11, 14 and 16.

Each poster has four discussion points on it, which include activities for kids to do such as checking their change, estimating the cost of a weekly shop, comparing mobile phone tariffs and planning and budgeting for a trip.

A fifth discussion point or activity is being left up to each class to decide. Pfeg hopes these ideas will be shared with other classes across the country on Twitter using the hashtag #5thingstodo.

After years of campaigning by Martin Lewis and MoneySavingExpert.com, the All Party Parliamentary Group on Financial Education for Young People and Pfeg, in September it was confirmed that financial education will be taught as part of the new national curriculum for secondary schools in England from next year.

The move brings England more into line with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (see the Financial education to be compulsory in schools MSE News story).

Martin Lewis says: "To get financial education on the national curriculum for secondary schools from September is a huge triumph.

"Yet it's just the beginning. That still leaves many children in primary schools, plus academies and free schools not getting this education. 

"That's why Pfeg getting posters in every school in England is so important – it's a great way to start discussions and to make pupils understand money isn't just something you spend, it's something you need to think about and consider."

Pfeg chief executive Tracey Bleakley says: "We need to break the British taboo and get children talking about money. Managing money is an absolutely crucial area that every young person needs to learn – but as any teacher will tell you, to get learning you need to start talking.

"Classroom discussions are a great way to explore how to manage money, be a savvy consumer, handle risk and emotions and relate financial decisions to the rest of your life."