Financial Education Summit held in Parliament to advocate for greater early financial education

26/04/22

Today the Centre for Financial Capability hosted the Financial Education Summit, in collaboration with John Penrose MP for Weston-super-Mare and the Cabinet Office’s Anti-Corruption Champion.

Chaired by Carol Knight, Chief Executive of TISA and Trustee of the Centre for Financial Capability, the panel featured speakers John Penrose MP, Stewart Perry from Quilter, a wealth management company, and John Craven, from a social mobility charity.

Attended by parliamentarians and key financial education stakeholders, the summit called attention to the importance of implementing financial education in primary schools, to meet the larger goal of increasing financial resilience throughout adulthood and combatting poverty.

The Summit highlighted the UK-specific challenges school children face regarding financial literacy. According to a study from the Money and Pensions service, only 48% of children receive a meaningful financial education in the UK. Children in less privileged areas are more disadvantaged when it comes to financial education and developing good money habits early creating barriers to social mobility and levelling up as these children progress through university, higher education opportunities, and the workforce. 

This event also saw the formal launch of John Penrose’s policy paper, Poverty Trapped: Why is Poverty Still With Us, After 70 Years of the Welfare State? This paper offers a detailed examination into the reasons behind socioeconomic disadvantages in the UK today, and argues for a greater focus on equal opportunities, skills and education. One of the ways he believes we can do this is by focusing on financial resilience and education.

John Penrose MP said of today’s event:

“Done well, financial education to teach students about things like savings, pensions, mortgages, credit cards and weekly budgeting is hugely effective at equipping tomorrow’s adults with the skills and attitudes they will need to live successful and resilient lives. Even when students aren’t taught the basics of financial management at home, schools can fill the gap, and the effects last a lifetime. But there’s a postcode lottery, with some schools treating the topic as a Cinderella subject. So the answer is to make it impossible for any school to get an OFSTED rating of ‘good’ or better if this area isn’t up to scratch, so every school takes it as seriously as pupil safety, and everyone leaves school ready for the adult financial world ahead.”

Chair of the Financial Education Summit and trustee of the Centre, Carol Knight said:

“The Centre for Financial Capability is proud to host the Financial Education Summit and bring the pertinent issue of unequal and sometimes nonexistent access to early financial education for primary school children to Parliamentarians’ attention. The Centre firmly believes that every child in the UK should be supported to develop the skills and behaviours necessary to navigate critical financial decisions in later life.”