LIBF: Young people are not getting the financial education they want

Students want to learn more about financial products such as mortgages.

LIBF: Young people are not getting the financial education they want

Five years after its introduction onto the national curriculum,students still believe they are not getting enough access to a comprehensive financial education according to The London Institute of Banking & Finance (LIBF).

The LIBF’s Young Persons and Money Index found 69% of students regularly worry about money and 82% want to learn more about this in school.

Learning more about financial products such as mortgages and credit cards, tax, budgeting and debt management are their top priorities.

Catherine Winter, managing director - financial capability at the LIBF, said: “Our scorecard has been marked, and there are no A*s for financial education in schools – far from it.

“The evidence shows that the current approach is just not adding up. It’s time to give this subject the attention, and lesson time, it deserves.

“After five years of financial education being in the national curriculum 69% of students still regularly worry about money and most (82%) want to learn more about money in school – in particular, on the practicalities.

“Unless something changes soon, we risk failing yet another generation and negatively impacting society for generations to come.

“Financial education should be included in the Ofsted Framework – effectively making it compulsory – and ideally taught as a standalone subject.

“However, it’s delivered, it needs to have dedicated, regular, classroom time, with clearer guidance for teachers on what they need to cover.”