Background
Developing each individual’s financial capability, from early years through to 18, can enhance life chances and choices. It can help all children and young people develop the four capacities of Curriculum for Excellence, particularly in becoming responsible citizens and effective contributors to society and at work, with an informed sense of their roles in the world. Within the Numeracy experiences and outcomes, Money features progressively across all the levels and financial capability can also be addressed in other curricular areas, eg Social Studies, Literacy, Technologies, and Expressive Arts.
Activities to develop financial capability, where outcomes not only benefit others but also encourage a sense of responsibility to the community and society as a whole, help young people to understand the connections between enterprise and active citizenship.
Because children learn through all of their experiences, the curriculum needs to recognise and complement the contributions that these experiences can make. This is particularly the case in financial education, where many attitudes are based on what young people experience at an early age.
The Scottish Centre for Financial Education
The centre was established by LTS to help teachers, schools and education authorities provide a high standard of financial education to meet the needs of all their learners.
The centre has information and resources for teachers, lecturers, learners, parents and anyone interested in financial education.
We aim to promote financial education for all children and young people by:
- working in partnership with the financial services industry
- advising schools and local authorities
- providing and evaluating resources produced by other agencies
- publishing our own resources
- supporting continuing professional development through a programme of workshops, seminars and conferences.
Current issues
There are a number of political imperatives underpinning developments in financial education.
The following links to websites and PDFs provide access to documents describing the perspectives of some authorities. Embedded in each article is a reference to the education of children and young people and the need to provide financial education in schools.
Financial Services Authority - Personal Finance Education in Schools: A Benchmark Study (PDF)
HM Treasury - Financial Capability
A Strategy for the Financial Services Industry in Scotland: First Year Implementation Plan