Sunnyside Primary
Sunnyside Primary in Glasgow chose to hold a Money Week based on the lessons in the SCFE and LTS 'Money Week' booklet.
In preparation for the week, staff were given training to see how the activities tied in with Curriculum for Excellence. They took time to familiarise themselves with the booklet and to plan and prepare lessons that suited their classes, the school population and local community needs.
All classes were involved, following a theme for the week.
Primary 1 enjoyed their Pound Shop and role-play helped to develop understanding. They learned about the concept of saving by decorating money boxes.
Primary 2 were involved in a 'Seaside' topic, so adapted their activities and created a Seaside Café, where role-play again led to a better understanding of how we use money and whether or not the children had enough money to buy what they wanted.
Primary 3 created charity boxes and had a visitor from Yorkhill Children’s Hospital. All schools in Sunnyside's NLC participate in fundraising for the hospital, so this element of Money Week tied neatly into an Enterprise Activity that is ongoing throughout the school and NLC. The Pupil Council organises the fundraising. Pupils have visited Yorkhill Hospital to see what happens to the money collected by the school.
Primary 4 discovered how hard it was to save up for something and learned that bikes can be very expensive. They found the best deals from magazines - as adults have to do all the time!
Primary 5 spent their week trying to get a good pay packet. They earned pounds instead of group points and were rewarded with a choice of fun activities on Friday - the better activities costing the most of course! They were not happy when they saw a tax deduction in their pay packet on Friday morning.
Primary 6 and 7 worked on the cost of living, looking at how to budget and how to see through the persuasive language of the many offers all around them. They were shocked at the cost of food for the week. Primary 7 also created an Enterprise Challenge where they had to design, create and make an item to sell for a profit.
The school wanted to include the local community in its activities and asked a local financial inclusion group called GEMAP - Greater Easterhouse Money Advice Project = for their help. The group worked with Primary 1 and 2 to show them the difference between needs and wants in a presentation called 'Off my Trolley!' Parents were invited to join the workshop.
The group also worked with Primary 6 and 7 to heighten awareness of financial terms and services available in the community.
Parents were given leaflets about this local community project and were invited to a drop-in session during Money Week.
Parents were also invited to a drop-in session with Glasgow Credit Union during the week. Again they were given leaflets to explain how they could use the service.
Parental involvement will be encouraged again in the next Money Week.
The school was able to take advantage of some resources that were supplied by LTS. These supported the role-play and money activities.
The school also used the 'Money Detectives' leaflets that were provided by Patrick Gaffney and funded by Dunfermline Building Society.
At the end of Money Week the classes shared their learning in a whole school Assembly, supported by a slideshow of the week’s activities in photos.
The school will hold a Money Week on an annual basis. The staff felt that it provided a fun and realistic learning situation for the pupils and could be adapted to suit the needs and abilities of the children. The need for financial awareness is keenly understood.
Sunnyside hopes to further develop the involvement of parents in these activities.