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Kids to be taught money management skills
21/01/2008
Scottish schoolchildren are to be taught skills in money management as part of the Scottish Government's new approach to learning, Curriculum for Excellence.
While many parents are struggling to control rising debts in the face of faltering house prices, teachers will be focusing on how to prepare children to be confident consumers of the future and so avoid the debt trap.
Pupils will be taught how to manage budgets and also reconcile that they may not always be able to afford things they want. They should be able to identify various methods of payment but be aware of the benefits and risks of each, such as rocketing interest rates, manage finances in a responsible way and then learn how to apply this to business.
The guidelines come after a UK survey by the Association of Investment Companies revealed last week that more than half of parents surveyed believe their own financial position would be healthier if they had been taught personal finance at school and 93 per cent of teachers and parents thought personal finance should be taught in schools.
Some children already receive financial education but this is the first time guidelines on what skills children should be equipped with have been presented in Scotland.
Maureen Watt, Minister for Schools and Skills, said:
"A key aim of Curriculum for Excellence is to produce responsible citizens of the future. Numeracy is a key life skill and our children need to be confident and competent in using numbers in practical situations.
"Many adults today are having to deal with financial problems - even simply from the excesses of the festive period - and by ensuring all children receive these core messages at school, we want to equip them with the ability to avoid these pitfalls in their financial future.
"This new kind of 'home economics' will pay dividends on a larger scale when these pupils enter the world of work and apply their financial skills to business."
Guidance on teaching financial skills forms part of the Social Studies 'draft outcomes' which are published today, along with Expressive Arts, as part of the Government's plans to introduce a more holistic approach to education for children aged three to 18. Draft guidance is already under discussion with teachers on promoting numeracy across the curriculum, which will also help pupils learn how to manage money and plan their finances.
Ms Watt said:
"The draft outcomes for our new curriculum are intended to help teachers make teaching more relevant, exciting and engaging. Social Studies and Expressive Arts are important areas of the whole learning process and we are keen to receive feedback on the outcomes from professionals who will be working towards this transformational across Scottish education.
"It is vitally important that teachers read and react to these outcomes and think about how they can use this guidance to make their teaching as good as it can be."
Anyone with an interest can give their feedback by using a questionnaire on the Learning Teaching Scotland website www.ltscotland.org.uk
Social Studies encapsulates historical, geographical, social, political, economic and business learning and the draft outcomes are pointers on what children should be learning and demonstrate to teachers how lessons can be linked, eg. How a history lesson can be expanded into drama.
Curriculum for Excellence aims to provide seamless education from age three to 18 and is taking a fresh look at what is taught in schools and how.
It aims to ensure that all young people can be successful learners, effective contributors, confident individuals and responsible citizens.
School pupils are already seeing changes in their classrooms through the groundwork that has been ongoing since 2004. The draft outcomes provide further tools for teachers. The plans are being firmed up in this school year and in 2009/2010 all schools across Scotland will be working on delivery.
Curriculum for Excellence will shift the balance between a teaching process that is heavily dependent on content to one that values new approaches that improve pupils' understanding of what is being taught. This is not a one-off change but the start of a continuous process of review to ensure that the curriculum remains up to date.