Financial education needs to be taught in more than just maths lessons, according to 90 per cent of teachers.
A poll commissioned by Young Enterprise found that teachers overwhelmingly agree on the need to embed financial education across different subjects.
Three quarters of respondents thought it should be embedded in PHSE while 40 per cent said it should be included within Citizenship lessons.
According to analysis by Young Enterprise, this belief was consistent between primary and secondary school teachers, as well as in both state and private schools.
It also found teachers felt a broadening of responsibility across subjects was needed to equip young people with genuine financial skills.
Russell Winnard, chief operating officer at Young Enterprise, said: “Too often, questions to the government about how they can do more to support young people’s financial capability are consistently routed back to maths provision, with limited consideration of the role of other subjects in developing financial capability.
“The Curriculum and Assessment review is a rare opportunity to elevate financial education without overburdening teachers. Training and resources exist for effective delivery, but uptake will remain low until the government explicitly recognises financial education as ‘more than maths’.”
Other work by Young Enterprise found 80 per cent of teachers reported a positive impact on learning attitudes when changing the approach to financial education, and 67 per cent saw improvements in the quality of students' work when providing greater opportunities for young people to apply their learning.
alina.khan@ft.com
