How many of us have heard our family or friends using the phrases, “I’m terrible with money” or “I don’t take anything to do with the finances, my partner does it all” - or, most commonly, “I wish I had learned about managing my money at school”?
Yet, financial education is still not a priority in our schools.
Before becoming financial education programme executive at Young Enterprise Scotland, I was a primary teacher for 12 years at various schools in Glasgow and saw first-hand the effects that poor financial capability had on families.
So why is this essential life skill still seen as a bit of an add-on, or something we cover fleetingly once a year? Is it that money management is too complex an issue for pupils to understand?
From a young age, children’s habits, attitudes and behaviour around money start to form. Yet, 2016 research from the Money Advice service suggested that parents who believed that children under the age of 8 should receive financial learning opportunities were in the minority.
At Young Enterprise Scotland, we advise that the earlier we talk about money in a safe space, the more likely we are to break away from it being a taboo subject where people hide their concerns or problems. Developing financial capability will not only benefit them as individuals but will also help us to develop responsible citizens who make better financial choices for their communities and the wider world.
If financial education has never been a priority in schools, then we cannot be confident the parents or carers of our children and young people have these skills themselves. They might not be able to offer advice or support their children, not because they do not want to, but because they themselves have low levels of financial capability.
If financial education is not prioritised in school, I believe that this is because of the enormity of the task. When I was a teacher, I did not know where to start. As financial education was not a core subject in our curriculum, I wondered how on earth I could fit it into an already busy timetable.
Despite there being a lot of online resources available, there was little or no guidance on what was appropriate for each level and no opportunities for staff training. I must admit the task was too great for me, and I fell into the trap many other teachers do of putting it to the side for later.
When I took on my role at Young Enterprise Scotland I was thrilled to focus on developing a programme of professional learning for financial education, called Scotland’s Financial Schools, so that I could give practitioners all the advice, training and resources that I did not have.
Ultimately, it is our responsibility as educators to ensure all our young people are prepared for the challenges of life - and being financially capable is one of them.
Gillian Darroch is a former teacher now working on a financial education programme for Young Enterprise Scotland
