Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how his Department plans to promote discussions on money in primary schools during Global Money Week to build financial resilience to future economic shocks; and if he will make a statement.

It is important that pupils are well prepared to manage their money, make sound financial decisions and know where to seek further information, if required.

Financial education forms part of the citizenship curriculum which can be taught at all keys stages: https://www.gov.uk/national-curriculum. The curriculum aligns well with the aims of Global Money Week, in that it seeks to develop young people’s financial awareness and skills by helping them to look after their money and realise that future wants and needs may be met through saving. This is built on at secondary school to cover income and expenditure, credit and debt, insurance, savings and pensions, financial products and services, and how public money is raised and spent.

Citizenship is not a compulsory subject at primary school. Primary schools are free to include additional content on financial management, including working with external experts. The Department does not monitor this and trusts schools to use their professional judgement and understanding of their pupils to develop the right teaching approach for their particular context.

The Department will continue to work closely with the Money and Pensions Service and other stakeholders such as Her Majesty’s Treasury, to consider what can be discovered from such initiatives and whether there is scope to provide further support for the teaching of financial education in schools.

The Department did not promote discussions on money during Global Money Week in March as our focus was on the successful and safe re-opening of schools.