Almost nine in 10 adults want money matters to be taught to children in school, according to a study by a wealth management service .
At the start of Talk Money Week – where people are encouraged to discuss their finances – 88% of adults say they want financial education to be part of the national curriculum.
More than a third (37%) believe this should begin at primary school and more than half (51%) of the respondents think the financial teaching should start at secondary school. Just 2% believe students should wait until university before the financial lessons are introduced.
Further, only 12% of parents surveyed by Quilter said their child had received any form of financial education at school. While a third (33%) did not think that their child had received any financial education – and did not expect them to.
The research comes at the beginning of Talk Money Week, the yearly event which aims to improve money management across the UK. This year its theme is to ‘do one thing’ to improve your finances.
Following the results, Quilter has called on the government to introduce financial education into classrooms across the UK at primary school age.
Financial education needs to start ‘sooner rather than later’
Katja Oakley-Bell, financial planning expert at Quilter, said: “The pandemic and subsequent cost of living crisis has really shone a spotlight on why financial education is so key. Sensible budgeting and planning will mean that some people are much better equipped to deal with both a potential growth in savings during lockdown to then a stretched budget in this higher interest rate environment.
“While financial education cannot fix these macroeconomic issues it can play a role in helping people make the right decisions that improve their financial outcomes.
“Despite this, financial education remains worryingly absent from the school curriculum. Being financially successful is something we hope everyone can achieve so it makes sense to give children the tools and education to accomplish it.”
Oakley-Bell added: “We are finally seeing more considered attempts to make financial education a larger part of the school curriculum from both Labour and the Conservatives, but this needs to happen sooner rather than later. The best-case scenario would be for financial education to run throughout a child’s education so that when they leave school, they feel equipped to manage their own money.
“Doing so also makes sense from a policy standpoint too as it will ultimately save the government money and boost the economy if we can tackle the epidemic of under saving and reliance on debt rather than just the symptoms.”
