Financial education
We contributed to the government-commissioned review led by Otto Thoresen, which explored the potential to develop a national, free-to-access general money advice scheme. The service, to be known as ‘Money Guidance’ will deliver information and guidance to a broad mix of people on financial topics such as budgeting, saving, borrowing, protection, retirement planning and tax and welfare benefits. Jargon-busting and referring people to the right external advisers where necessary, for example IFAs or crisis debt agencies, would also be part of its remit.
It would not offer advice on particular products or services or advisers: its aim would be to encourage people to do something about their finances, by finding the right advice and engaging with financial services. People will then be able to make better-informed decisions about their finances and avoid serious problems. We fully support the findings of the review, which will in part be funded by the industry.
Money Guidance is designed to complement rather than replace existing educational initiatives. One such initiative is our pilot financial education programme with Tower Hamlets Education Business Partnership and Marner Primary School. The programme aims to deliver a series of initiatives over a two-year period aimed at raising the levels of basic numeracy and financial literacy of young people. If the pilot is successful, the aim is to deliver the programme to schools across Tower Hamlets and in other deprived areas close to our main office sites. Pupils from the school visited our London offices to learn more about income and savings, interest, debit and credit cards, cheques and budgets.
A tasty prospect for Marner Primary school
"Each of you has one chocolate coin. You can either eat it now or put it in the savings box and see if you get more chocolate coins later." This was the awful dilemma facing two classes of 10 year old children from Marner Primary School in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets when they visited Friends Provident’s head office in the City of London. Such was the prospect of a good return and so trusting were these children that the company’s 12 community volunteers wouldn’t scoff them all the moment their backs were turned, that nearly every child decided it was a risk worth taking.
After an interactive workshop led by Mr Numbervator covering such subjects as income and savings, credit, spending money and balancing budgets, the children were given a second chocolate coin at lunchtime and again invited to put it in the savings box with the prospect of a bigger return on their investment. Again nearly every pupil took the plunge. Following an afternoon treasure trail around the offices of Friends Provident, children who had taken the risk were relieved to be invited to withdraw three chocolate coins each at the end of their visit.
Money Money Money
Earlier this year, our two classes from Marner Primary School returned to the City and along with Friends Provident’s community volunteers visited the Bank of England to learn about the value of money. Once again, the children proved to be on the ball when the group were presented with sheets of notes hot off the press and asked to count up the total amount – the kids beating the adults to the correct answer every time!
The group then went on to learn about the real value of “the pound in your pocket” through an entertaining interactive exhibition unravelling the topic of inflation, which included large scale jigsaws, a safe to be cracked, and the children’s highlight, attempting to charter a balloon on a stable course while it is pushed up and down by unexpected changes in conditions – simulating the effects of inflation and the role the Bank of England has in keeping it steady.
The Bank of England also has excellent educational resources online, for more information visit their website www.bankofengland.co.uk/education/index.htm
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