Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of making financial education a statutory part of the primary curriculum.

The primary school curriculum includes financial education within the mathematics curriculum. A strong grasp of mathematics will underpin pupils’ ability to manage budgets and money, including, for example, using percentages. The mathematics curriculum also includes specific content regarding financial education, such as calculations with money.

Primary schools can also teach financial education through citizenship. The Department has published a non-statutory citizenship curriculum for Key Stages 1 and 2, to ensure that pupils are taught how to look after their money. There is also a wide range of resources available for schools, including the Money and Pension Service’s (MaPS) financial education guidance for primary and secondary schools in England: https://maps.org.uk/2021/11/11/financial-education-guidance-for-primary-and-secondary-schools-in-england/.

The Department continues to work with MaPS and HM Treasury to consider the evidence and to explore opportunities to promote the importance of financial education to schools. The Department is currently working with MaPS on a series of joint financial education webinars during this academic year, to promote the importance of financial education to school leaders in primary and secondary schools and to build teachers’ confidence in this area.