Most teachers believe children’s financial education should begin in primary school.
More than three in four teachers say most pupils leave school without the critical financial skills needed for life, a survey showed.
An overwhelming majority of teachers in the UK think children should be taught about money before they start secondary school, the poll for the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) showed.
The government-backed body warned that thousands of young people may be leaving school each year financially unequipped.
A poll of 1,012 teachers by YouGov found that 76% agreed that most young people leave school or college without the money skills they need for adulthood.
More than one in four (26 per cent) teachers believe financial education should start at nursery, 44 per cent said children aged between five and seven should begin learning about money, and 19 per cent said between ages eight and 11 was best.
The MaPS – an arm’s-length body sponsored by the Government – is calling for financial education to begin early in children’s lives.
In all four UK nations, money is on the curriculum – usually as part of maths and numeracy, citizenship and personal development subjects.
But the age at which schools deliver it to young people can differ, the MaPS has said.
The survey online in November found that nearly all teachers (96 per cent) said it was important that schools teach pupils about money.
Asked to list why students were leaving school or college without the money skills needed, nearly four in five (79 per cent) teachers said other subjects took priority over financial education.
Around a quarter said teaching staff lacked confidence or skills (25 per cent) or were unsure where to find the proper support and resources (26 per cent).
The complexity of financial topics and products (20 per cent), money being a sensitive topic (18 per cent), and young people not being interested (15 per cent) were the other critical reasons listed by teachers.
Lisa Davis, senior policy manager for children and young people at the MaPS, said: “Teachers have a unique insight into young people’s lives, and their message is clear; too many miss out on the money skills they need.
“This could mean that hundreds of thousands exit the school gates for the last time every year, entirely unprepared for managing their finances.
“It leaves them less likely to understand financial products, save or talk about money. They’re also more at risk of making poor financial decisions, leaving the UK’s future financial wellbeing in the balance.”
With things getting ever more difficult for many people financially and with ongoing uncertainty about the future of the state pension, retirement ages, and the NHS, coming generations must be well-educated in finance and money management.
The younger we make sound financial decisions, the better and more secure our future can be, and it also raises the possibility of becoming less dependent on the state and its ongoing push to constantly increase the retirement age of ordinary working people. Just now, our youth are not well equipped to make these decisions, with many even unaware of how to get a mortgage or budget their money.
But it is not just these life skills that many of our young people are deficient in. Many lack skills such as how to cook meals from scratch, how to shop, do laundry and even how to clean a house. To many, these seem like simple things that you would be taught at home, but this is not the reality for many young adults. At one time in the not-so-distant past, many schools taught these skills as part of the curriculum. Some schools even had a mock house where these skills were passed on. Now, schools, at best, have a few hours devoted to so-called home economics.
Schools say they are too pressed for time by other commitments to give time to these subjects. Still, it appears that they do have enough time to donate to teaching such things as “equality” and “black history” Maybe it is time our schools got their priorities right and equipped our children with the life skills they need rather than propaganda intended condition them into accepting multicultural ideas.
