Frequently Asked Questions Talking about money

What questions do children often ask about money?

Sometimes, the questions children ask about money can be tricky ones to handle such as ‘Why is it that my friend can have an item or enjoy an activity and I can’t?’ Answers to this type of question could let them know families have different amounts of money which affects the kinds of decisions they make around their spending.

Questions such as ‘What will happen if my family runs out of money?’ might be an opportunity to find out if they have any money related worries and talk about them. In addition to this, if the children you work with are old enough to understand, it is a good chance to let them know that many people help to pay for services through taxes and the national insurance. The Billy’s Payslip activity could support them to understand this concept. It is also a good time to encourage children to think about needs and wants and the order of importance that might be given to spending choices in different situations.

A direct question such as ‘How much money do you earn?’ could be used to help a child understand that the value of a job is not always reflected through pay. People choose to do jobs for other reasons beyond money.

This may be a good time to let children know that asking how much a person earns is a personal question and a person may not want to share that information, so invite them to think of another question about work that might be suitable to ask. The World of Work activity could help open these conversations.

Can you suggest ways to talk to children about money?

Everyday experiences will involve an action that an adult has to take around money, without necessarily needing to be there for it to happen. It is good to let children learn about what items need to be paid for and how they are paid for. An example of this might include discussing things you have to pay for, either for your setting or at home.

Explain to children that cash is one way of paying for items, but, increasingly, people pay for items through contactless cards or devices. Helping them to understand that contactless payments are linked to banks where money can be kept safe is an important idea to help children appreciate where money comes from. This includes explaining that the money that the bank keeps safe for people is what is used in cashless transactions, and if someone does not have enough then it could cost more money. Activities such as Budget Bonanza, Ways to Pay and Going Digital, can help children to understand these concepts.

How can I teach children about the value of money and consequences?

A starting point for learning about the value of money is understanding the value of coins and notes and that these reflect the worth of an item. Setting up opportunities in your setting to for children to pretend to look after money (e.g., by keeping it in a purse or money box), and for paying for items (e.g., by setting up a role-play shop), can help them gain an understanding of these financial concepts. Activities such as Keeping a Record and To Buy or Not To Buy cover themes such as keeping track of money and can help understanding that money has value and that is why it is important to keep it safe. You can also use the Ed and Bunny Go Shopping board game to show children examples of what you can get in the shop and how much for, to further explain that we need to keep our money safe to be able to buy these products.

How can I explain where money comes from?

Good starting points to help children understand where money comes from are letting them know that it shows up in different ways, such as earning it, being given it, finding it, winning it and borrowing it. From here it is worthwhile letting children know that lots of people have a job, so many people get money because they earn it; this might help you to talk more about the different kinds of jobs that people do.

It is good to help children understand that finding money, receiving money as a gift and winning it happen less often which is why a lot of people have jobs. Use the How do we pay for things? or What’s a job? activity to open conversation with children and allow them to ask any questions they may have.

What happens if a child asks us a question about money, or money management, that we can’t answer?

There may be questions that you either don’t feel comfortable answering or are not able to. If you are still receiving mentoring support from your financial education expert, you could ask them for advice.

Depending on your relationship with the child’s parents/ carers, you might ask them to discuss this topic with the child. We would also recommend speaking to senior staff within your setting.

They may be able to suggest specific strategies to address sensitive questions from children about issues which may be affecting them. Alternatively, you could contact financial education experts at our Young Money Advisory Service for free advice and support.

Young Money Advisory Service

T: 020 4526 6389

E: advisory@y-e.org.uk

W: www.young-enterprise.org.uk/advisoryservice

How can we involve parents/carers in their child’s learning of financial education?

There are many ways to get parents/carers involved with their child’s learning:

• Signpost parents/carers to the materials and resources on the Money Heroes platform, by sharing the web address with them: moneyheroes.org.uk/parent-hub

• Advise them that they can request their own free printed copies of the books and games through the website once they have set up an account. If they require accessible versions, please ask them to contact us.

• Set up a Money Heroes parent/carer session, where they come into your setting and find out more about what their child is learning and try out some activities.

• Ask your mentor for advice on engaging parents/carers.

How do I deliver financial education to pupils with varying levels of understanding, needs and requirements?

As a SEND Educator you may be required to differentiate your teaching of financial education to suit individual needs. Whilst the Money Heroes resources offer a number of adaptation and differentiation options, there may be further steps required to ensure they are accessible to the young people you are working with. You may also have situations where you have young people working at different ability levels in the same session. Here are some suggestions of how you can adapt the materials and session to enable everyone to meet the learning objective.

• Adapt by outcome: Use the Financial Education Framework Planner to develop outcomes pitched at the right learning level for the young people in your group.

• Adapt by reducing expectations: For example, instead of learning about five key terms during a session, choose two to focus on for either the whole group or lower ability individuals.

• Adapt by reducing content: Complete part of a session or ask lower ability individuals to focus on a specific part of the task. A great way to reduce content is to take parts of the Money Heroes activities and use them as starter activities in sessions focused on other areas.

• Adapt by use of aids: Where calculations are required, supply a calculator, practical money, or visual aids such as a clock or calendar.

• Adapt by learning style: If the young people you work with prefer visual aids, use videos from the internet to help talk about jobs or shops. Use whiteboards to make sessions interactive, using technology that the young people are already familiar with.

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