Teachers lack financial education confidence

In a Financial Services Authority (FSA) poll of 1,000 schools, fewer than one in three primary school teachers and fewer than one in four secondary school teachers feel at ease giving lessons on money matters.

Furthermore, financial education is squeezed off the curriculum due to a lack of time and space, even though an overwhelming majority of schools think it is fairly or very important.

FSA chief executive, John Tiner, commented: “If financial education does not become widespread there are serious consequences for young people.

“The experiences of their elders have already shown us that those who struggle to manage their finances will be less effective at work, their relationships will suffer, and debt may spiral out of control.”

At present half of primary schools and 91 per cent of secondary schools offer personal finance education, but for many this is only happening once or twice a term.