Nearly half of primary schoolchildren are worried about leaving school without money skills

Young people want to receive more financial education in school and are worried about leaving full-time education without the money skills needed for adult life, according to the latest research from GoHenry, the prepaid debit card and financial education app for kids aged 6-18.

With the Education Select Committee preparing to deliver its recommendations for how financial education could be strengthened in schools, it’s clear that young people think what they currently learn needs to be reformed, as 84% say that financial education is equally or more important than core subjects like Maths, English and Science3.

SCHOOL LEAVERS WORRIED ABOUT THEIR FINANCIAL FUTURE

GoHenry’s findings show that young people are aware of the disadvantage that comes with inadequate financial education, with over two thirds (68%) of 18-year-olds1 worried about leaving school with no money skills. Among the 18-year-olds who have received financial education in school, a further 50% don’t think it was enough to make them confident with managing money as adults.

And it’s not just school leavers who are worried about their financial futures. Almost half1 (49%) of secondary school kids and 42% of primary school kids are already worried about leaving school without sufficient financial education too4.

KIDS WANT TO LEARN ABOUT SAVINGS, MORTGAGES & PENSIONS

When asked what money topics they would most like to learn about in school, the most popular amongst 6-18 year olds were:

How to save money – 46%
How to buy a house (e.g. mortgages) – 34%
How to earn money/build a career – 34%
How to create a budget – 31%
How to use a bank account – 31%

The eagerness to learn about saving and mortgages may be a result of kids looking ahead to major life milestones like homeownership. Retirement is already on the minds of young people too, with over a quarter (26%) of 18-year-olds1 saying they want to learn about pensions in school7.

When it comes to how much financial education they want, on average, kids and teens said they would like to spend 45 minutes learning about money at school each week, with 18% wanting to extend that to 1-2 hours per week, increasing to 29% for 18-year-olds.

Louise Hill, co-founder and CEO of GoHenry, said: “If financial education was compulsory in all schools, it could make a huge difference to the next generation and it’s clear that kids and teens are acutely aware of this too. The fact that kids as young as primary school age are worried about their money skills is yet more evidence that financial education must begin earlier. We’ve heard from parents, teachers, industry bodies and organisations on this debate but now the Government must listen to these young voices and prioritise the practical money skills they need – and want- to navigate the adult world successfully.”

Saira, a 12-year-old GoHenry customer, said: “Learning about money is super important because as kids know we need money for stuff, but sometimes we don’t really get how it works. Some kids think money just magically appears when we grow up! Financial education lessons at school could help us understand how to manage money properly, especially for the future when we have jobs and might need to save up for expensive things.”

GoHenry’s research comes as its Parliament petition to #makemoneycount by making financial education compulsory in all schools from primary age currently has 12,503 signatures.