Transforming lives through financial education A reflection on the Enterprising Mindsets: Minding your money campaign which looks at how we build a future generation of financially capable young people who are ready to thrive in today’s society
MINDING YOUR MONEY
TRANSFORMING LIVES THROUGH FINANCIAL EDUCATION
Managing money is a key skill that is essential for adult life. And providing financial education helps young people develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to manage their money, make informed financial decisions and achieve their goals. Research tells us that children develop their mindset around money at seven years old, and yet only one in three currently receive any form of financial education at primary school. In the final campaign of the Enterprising Mindsets series, conversations with young people, school teachers, experts from business and non-profit organisations illustrate how early influences with money inform our lifelong attitudes and behaviours, helping to develop our mindset around money and finances during these formative early years. We also discover that by making conversations about money more real, relatable and practical, we can help young people engage more with their learning – a view confirmed in a recent survey conducted with teachers which found that 96% of them agree that being able to apply learning in real-world contexts is important. From these findings, we have identified a need to explore the potential link that financial education can have on increasing social mobility, and that to help the next generation of young people become financially capable, we need to provide access to meaningful opportunities using real-world and relatable scenarios both across the curriculum and outside of the formal education environment.
Why is learning about money important?
Children are being exposed to money at a young age, with most accessing a smartphone at age 10 and using a debit card by age 11. But in an increasingly cashless society, they are not being equipped with the skills to deal with money; in fact, a teacher reported that after observing a cashback transaction in a supermarket, one child believed that their parent actually receives money when they go shopping. With less than half of secondary school students receiving any form of financial education, 67% of young people admit not feeling confident in planning for their financial future. And this has been compounded during the pandemic, with 6 in 10 young people saying COV-
ID-19 has made them feel more anxious about money. As panellist Fozia Irfan, Director of Children and Young People at Children in Need explained, young people have also witnessed household incomes reduced, experienced disruption to work experience opportunities, have been unable to make long-term plans, and face an unstable employment market. But, as outlined by former social mobility commissioner Saeed Atcha, access to credible financial education can sometimes be compounded by other barriers to social mobility. These factors range from not having access to digital devices and the internet; the provision of financial education for those living in rural or coastal regions; young people in the care system being more likely to miss out on financial education provided in schools.
FOZIA IRFAN
SAEED ATCHA
And for those young people who do have access to the internet and social media, they are likely to be exposed to enticing offers for investing in cryptocurrencies and loot boxes; encouraged to make purchases using buy now, pay later platforms; fall prey to scam advertising; and encounter financial misinformation from social influencers who share unregulated and factually incorrect financial advice. In fact, those leaving school without an effective financial education are at high risk of financial abuse, fraud and debt from an early age, with over 50,000 young people aged 11-16 now termed problem gamblers.
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TRANSFORMING LIVES THROUGH FINANCIAL EDUCATION
Our aims for the Minding your Money campaign As part of our No Time Like The Future fouryear strategy, we are committed to providing one million opportunities to young people by the end of 2023. Our vision is that every young person has the opportunity to: • learn the vital skills needed to earn and look after their money • develop an enterprising mindset • make a positive contribution to their community and society. Two years into this ambitious strategy, almost 450,000 young people have engaged in over 550,000 financial and enterprising educational opportunities, designed to help them develop the core life skills that will stay with them for life.
2020-23 STRATEGY YR 2 PROGRESS UPDATE
As we continue working towards our goal, we READ THE REPORT have identified the need to better understand the potential contribution that financial education makes to social mobility and young people’s life chances. Young people are the future – of our society, economy and country
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nities, combined with to develop and apply an and skills, changes young
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To explore this link, the Minding your money campaign considered:
No Time Like the Future is a strategy with 3 goals: 1. Increase access to meaningful opportunities 2. Prioritise increasing access and support for young people in underserved communities
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• how we can support the next generation of young people to become more financially capable • the role mindset can play when it comes OUR PROGRESS to developing the financial skills and capabilities to thrive in today’s society • whether there is a contribution that financial education can make to social mobility.
3. Build YE alumni network & monitor long term impact
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e aims to:
At the end of 2021:
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1. 572,525 financial and enterprise opportunities were created, engaging 448,904 young people
rs, teachers,
2. 14,816 volunteers, teachers and alumni were mobilised
What did the campaign highlight?
Some common themes emerged in conversations with podcast guests, panellists at the event and feedback from educators and young people. 1. THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO REFRAME FINANCIAL EDUCATION AS AN ENABLER OF OPPORTUNITY
We have real potential to change the narrative around financial education to show it as an enabler and opportunity-maker. In an audience survey, 96.5% believed that more could be done to promote the positive impact between financial education and social mobility, and it was observed that having financial confidence and being financially capable has the potential to open up other opportunities. Dylan – a young person interviewed from Wigan Youth WIGAN YOUTH ZONE Zone in the podcast series – recognised this by explaining that it’s not just about having money, it’s understanding the potential that having money has to positively impact your future and influence your decision-making. 2. THE IMPORTANCE OF STARTING EARLY
We heard people talk passionately about how their formative early years informed their attitudes and values relating to money. Family members are most commonly cited as the person/people who inspire financial mindsets. This is why we believe that high-quality, effective financial education should be taught to every child in a primary school – a recommendation made in the latest report (July 2021) from the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Financial Education for Young People. 3. TEACHING FINANCIAL CAPABILITY
Make it relevant, meaningful and relatable
Young people learn when faced with real, relevant and meaningful scenarios – how do we bring these into their learning in realistic and achievable ways? 96% of teachers agreed that being able to apply learning in real-world contexts is important – how do we make this a reality?
Teachers and schools cannot do this on their own Help us make it happen. Get in touch today young-enterprise.org.uk
We need to look outside of the formal education environment and support parents, carers, youth workers and
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TRANSFORMING LIVES THROUGH FINANCIAL EDUCATION
communities to help young people build their financial capability. This was a recurring theme in our conversations where we heard teachers confirm that the home environment will always be a key driver to financial attitudes. These real-world situations will bring about a new level of understanding that cannot be achieved in theory. This was a view backed up by Kimberley C. Lamb, Head of Bedfordshire’s Violence and Exploitation Unit, who spoke passionately about the importance of community groups in eduKIMBERLEY C. LAMB cating young people, and why providing relatable role models – those with lived experience who can share their journey – is crucial to engaging and inspiring young people.
Training needs and workload
Many teachers feed back that they lack the skills, knowledge and confidence to provide financial education to their students and need further support. As one teacher explained, “It’s huge and an absolute minefield to navigate”. We need to consider how we equip teachers with the resources and confidence to be able to deliver a sound financial education to their students? And particularly in a world where it is considered that young people look to social media for their education, even trusting these influencers over their teachers. 4. NURTURING AN ENTERPRISING MINDSET AROUND MONEY
If we’re serious about offering more practical ways to level up, young people need more opportunities, from an early age onwards, to build the necessary skills and mindset to manage money. Being financially capable is more than just being able to add up; it’s about developing the confidence to understand money, being curious about it, and building those crucial life skills to prepare young people for their adult lives. 5. FINANCIAL EDUCATION HAS TO BE ADAPTABLE AND RELEVANT TO THE CHANGING NEEDS OF TODAY’S GENERATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE
Young people are growing up in a fast-moving financial landscape, facing social media misinformation, the digital divide, a cashless society; we must equip them with the skills they need to be confident in their decisions around money and thrive in this ever-changing financial world.
6. THERE IS AN INCREASING LINK BETWEEN FINANCIAL EDUCATION AND SUSTAINABILITY
As Michaela Wright, Head of Corporate Sustainability at HSBC UK, explains by quoting author Anne Lappé, “Every time you spend money, you are casting a vote for the kind of world that you want.” We are currently living in a world where young people are increasingly aware of the impact on the environment of how they spend their money, and are passionate about climate change and sustainability. We need to support MICHAELA WRIGHT more young people to make sustainable financial choices that are relevant and accessible to all by exploring the links between these decisions, the environmental impact and the opportunities to save money. 7. FINANCIAL EDUCATION CAN MAKE AN IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS OUR OVERALL WELLBEING
Providing young people with a financial education has a crucial role in building a healthy mindset with money and their future financial wellbeing. Recognising the link between mental health and financial health, the CEO of Quilter plc, Paul Feeney explained that by having a key financial understanding to make informed decisions such as how to deal with debt PAUL FEENEY or how to balance a monthly budget, we are better equipped to avoid financial and mental stress. 8. THERE IS FURTHER RESEARCH NECESSARY TO EXPLORE THE LINK BETWEEN FINANCIAL EDUCATION AND SOCIAL MOBILITY
93.3% of our audience agreed that there is a link between financial education and increased social mobility, a sentiment that was echoed by podcast guests throughout the series. As Saeed Atcha explained, being financially capable means that you have the confidence and knowledge to make better informed financial decisions; for example, you understand how to make price comparisons, or you understand how to budget. Having these skills can enable you to be able to climb that ladder of social mobility quicker. We feel there is an urgent need to more fully understand the contribution that financial capability makes to an individual’s social mobility.
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TRANSFORMING LIVES THROUGH FINANCIAL EDUCATION
What’s next from Young Enterprise? • We will launch on TikTok in March 2022 featuring exclusive content created to inspire and educate young people on enterprise and financial education topics. • We will publish an Enterprising Mindsets campaign report early in the summer 2022 term which considers the findings from the three events and podcast series and identifies ways forward. » Read the Enterprising Mindsets report » Read the Future Female Founders report » Listen to the Enterprising Mindsets podcast series on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
• As Secretariat of the APPG on Financial Education for Young People, Young Money will continue to work with APPG members, policymakers, key stakeholders and partners to prioritise financial education in schools as outlined in the rapid inquiry report published in July 2021. • We will work together with educators, teaching unions and partners to consider how we can embed applied learning into the primary and secondary school curricula. • We will seek research funding to explore the link between financial capability and increased social mobility.
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TRANSFORMING LIVES THROUGH FINANCIAL EDUCATION
Get involved and work with us We know we cannot do this on our own and are keen to work in partnership with teachers and school leaders, informal educators, employers, volunteers and policymakers to help young people learn the vital skills needed to earn and look after their money and develop an enterprising mindset. There are many ways to get involved with our work: • Educators can discover our full range of programmes that encourage entrepreneurship, helps develop financial capability and builds key life skills for young people in primary, secondary, higher and special education settings. • Individuals or organisations interested in financial education can join our Financial Education Forum, a cross-sector network that shares good practice and the latest news and developments in financial education for children and young people. • If you are interested in sharing your expertise with young people directly, our volunteering network helps young people make the connection between education and the world of work, enabling them to develop the knowledge and attitudes they need to succeed. • Alternatively, you could provide financial support for one of our programmes, initiatives or research projects; we are proud to be able to build tailored partnerships with businesses, trusts, foundations and philanthropists designed to help young people build the key skills that will set them up for life. Learn more about our work at young-enterprise.org.uk We look forward to working together and helping transform the lives of young people.
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