September is upon us, the long summer holidays are over, and so we start the new academic year with great enthusiasm and drive in our vision for people of all ages to learn how to get to grips with their money. We believe a critical part of our work is equipping young people with everything they need to develop the skills, knowledge, attitudes and behaviours to manage their money well throughout their lives. That’s why we were so delighted in the last (academic) year to have reached the major milestone of 200,000 young people reached through our Money Workshops.
Many of us may not remember spending much time at school thinking about our personal finances, but this September actually marks the fifth year since financial education has been on the National Curriculum as part of the Citizenship programme of study. There have been great steps forward since then, with a range of different interventions and provisions being offered by smaller charities, medium organisations and large banks. As proud members of the Youth Financial Capability Group (YFCP), we are excited about developing new relationships with schools, organisations and individuals who can continue to raise the profile and essential importance of financial education for young people.
During the academic year of 2018-19, The Money Charity’s Young People Programme delivered a total of 1,054 workshops over 1,074 hours, reaching 19,610 students across Secondary and Post-16 education provisions. We successfully distributed 2,233 Teacher Resource Packs to schools and 21,227 Student Money Manuals to young people thinking about going to university, or those already there.
Over the past year we have also been increasing delivery of our workshops in new educational settings; not merely engaging with new schools and colleges but also secure training centres for young offenders and young people with low mental health wellbeing.
So, what does the new year have in store?
We have just launched our new 2019-20 edition of The Student Money Manual which can be ordered online by visiting our website. The new Manual remains the essential guide to managing your money well at university, covering information around Student Finance, banking, housing, savings and much more. Why not recommend it to someone you know who is looking towards university, or who has just started their university life?
We have also released a new Teacher Resource Pack, covering the topic of Housing: Mortgages and Renting for Key Stages 3 and 4, which is now available for schools to order and use with their class. All of our Packs offer informative, interactive and engaging activities, enabling teachers to deliver high-quality financial education lessons themselves, with this new one highlighting the different options available when thinking about living independently.
As always, we are looking to continue the funding for all our programmes, workshops, resources and pilots, so we can offer our products and services to a wider and larger audience, and as much as possible, free of charge to ensure inclusivity and accessibility.
If you’d like to find out more about our work with young people, to make a booking or order some resources, or even to get involved in supporting this valuable work, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us on [email protected], 0207 062 8933 or visit our website.