Only 1% of UK primary teachers think pupils have ‘adequate’ financial literacy

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Just 1 per cent of UK primary schoolteachers believe the majority of their pupils possess an “adequate” level of financial literacy, according to a study that will add to pressures on the government to ensure children are educated in how money works from an early age.

The survey by the Social Market Foundation also found that 42 per cent of primary schoolteachers said none of their pupils had adequate financial skills.

Financial education was added to the curriculum for local authority-run secondary schools in 2014 but it is largely incorporated in non-core subjects, such as citizenship, which are less of a priority for students’ academic progression. The subject is also optional for academies and free schools.

The report said that as a result, young people from more advantaged backgrounds were “more likely to have received some form of financial education”. It called on the government to adopt a “whole school approach”, which would bring the UK in line with countries such as Finland and New Zealand.

Campaigners have warned that confidence in basic numeracy is at a low level among young people, which only compounds pressure on them during a cost of living crisis.

“Financial literacy has documented links to better physical and mental health, supports accumulation of wealth, and may also reduce the likelihood of people falling victim to fraud and being in debt,” said Dani Payne, a senior researcher at the SMF and one of the report’s authors.

“Unfortunately, the UK currently has low levels of financial literacy compared to other developed countries, and levels of financial understanding tend to track existing socio-economic inequalities.”

The report said financial education should be incorporated into the initial teacher training curriculum along with a “digital central hub of quality assured training programmes and classroom resources”.

In the foreword to the report, Lord David Blunkett, the former Labour cabinet minister who is now one of the party’s policy advisers, wrote: “By placing financial education more prominently in the primary school curriculum, and committing to appropriate investment in teacher training and support and funding for schools’ provision, we can ensure that we are setting up our children for a successful future.”

Several charities, including the FT’s Financial Literacy and Inclusion Campaign, have pressed the government for proper provision of financial education.

Labour has pledged a curriculum review that is expected to give added priority to real-life maths skills should it win the next general election. Last year, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged to extend maths teaching until the age of 18.

A report due soon by the House of Commons education select committee is expected to recommend how financial education could be better incorporated into the national curriculum.

The government said in a statement that the mathematics curriculum in primary schools “already provide[d] an important foundation for understanding finances”, adding: “Many primary schools also follow the non-statutory curriculum, which covers skills such as how to save for the future and how to spend money.”