Everyday life is full of financial decisions, yet 61% of young people do not recall receiving any financial education at school (MyBnk and Compare the Market, 2023).
As a teacher or educator, you have plenty of opportunities to introduce money topics into the classroom in fun, engaging, and practical ways—whether for primary or secondary school students.
At MyBnk, we believe that targeted, impactful financial education is key. Financial education gives children and young people the tools they need to navigate their money with confidence. The impact of financial education speaks for itself:
- 78% of primary school pupils we’ve worked with said they now understand what they do with their money today can make a difference to their future.
- 77% of secondary school pupils we’ve worked with said they will now do more research into their anticipated cost of living.
Here are five ways you can build financial literacy in the classroom…
1. Know That Habits Form Early
Children start forming attitudes toward money from as young as seven years old—attitudes that will carry into adulthood. A mixture of experiential and instructional learning can make learning financial topics fun, accessible, and relevant.
Activity: Play ‘Needs vs Wants’ Pictionary
Draw a ‘need’ or ‘want’ and have your pupils guess what it is and say whether it is a need (necessity) or want (luxury). Create small teams and get them to swap roles. An example list could include:
- Water
- An apple/food
- A computer
- A teddy bear
- A house
- A TV
- A football
2. Bring Money to Life
Being able to apply financial education to real life can be particularly engaging for children when they can see the impact outside of the classroom. Some banks will allow children to open a bank account from the age of 11, but saving can start before then and you can help them.
Activity: School Savings Bank
Organise a school savings bank and set up bank days or bank mornings when children can deposit money into their accounts. Use these times to discuss topics such as delayed gratification (choosing between spending now or saving for later).
3. Get the Family Involved
Parents and carers have an important part to play in sparking interest in the world of money at home. Invite them to talk to children about money and point them towards some fun and interactive learning to explore together.
Activity: Online Learning
Discover the MyBnk Learning Portal which includes interactive learning activities for 5–11 year olds. Are there any exercises you can set as homework for students to do with their parents/guardians?
4. Get Talking
Money is all around us, and talking about it helps students build confidence in financial decision-making. Our research shows that young people who remember talking about money topics at school are more likely to have good money habits in the future, such as understanding how to save and how to deal with banks and other financial providers (MyBnk and Compare the Market, 2023).
Activity: Money Scenarios Discussion
Encourage open discussions in the classroom to get pupils to reflect on their attitudes and motivations around money. In groups, give the class scenarios to discuss what they would do with their money. For example, would you rather:
- Win £10 million in the lottery, or become famous and have a constant income?
- Win £5k right now, or £100k at age 45?
- Buy a new laptop with your savings that costs £700, or split the payments and pay £70 a month for 12 months (pay £840 in total)?
5. Bring in Free Expertise
MyBnk is the UK’s leading financial education charity, working with over 50,000 children, young people, and adults every year. Our expert-led programmes bring the language of finance to life and cover topics such as saving, debt, and student finance.
We help young people develop positive mindsets, attitudes, and behaviours towards money and personal finance. Our goal is to help young people navigate their money with confidence, no matter where they started.
Activity: Request a MyBnk Session
Get in touch with us to invite us to your school to deliver a high-impact, engaging financial education workshop: Request a MyBnk Session
The language of money is a language for life. With regular, engaging activities, you can help your students build confidence in managing money. Start the conversations today and make financial education a core part of your classroom.
