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As many parents and guardians’ are busy ironing uniforms and packing rucksacks (and maybe also breathing a sigh of relief!) as the schools reopen following the summer break, teachers will be working tirelessly to ensure their lesson plans are ready for the new term.
But the chances are one subject that arguably deserves a permanent place on every timetable won’t be appearing in classrooms this year. Money.
Our recent/ongoing financial wellbeing survey found that 85% received no financial education in school – the other 15% can not remember.
Financial education exists. But is it enough?
It would be unfair to say that financial education doesn’t exist in UK schools.
In England, financial education became part of the National Curriculum in 2014 through citizenship at Key Stages 3 and 4, while elements are also taught through mathematics. The curriculum includes areas such as budgeting, saving, credit, debt and interest.
However, financial education competes with an already crowded school curriculum, teacher workload and a long list of jousting priorities. Research from Young Enterprise found that, despite financial education being included in the curriculum across the UK, many young people still do not receive it, or aren’t even aware that they have.
In England, the situation is particularly notable because financial education is statutory at secondary level, but not at primary level. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, financial education has a statutory place at both primary and secondary stages.
By the time a young person reaches secondary school, many of their attitudes towards money may already be forming.
The financial literacy gap
The consequences of this gap can be seen in the way young people feel about money.
The 2025–26 Young Persons’ Money Index found that 80% of teenagers want to learn more about money and finance, while 53% said they wanted to improve their financial situation but didn’t know how. Only 9% identified school as their main source of financial understanding.
Young people want to understand money. They recognise that it matters, yet school isn’t necessarily where they are turning to learn about it.
Instead they are learning from parents, friends and more increasingly, from social media and the internet.
For others, money may be a subject their parents feel uncomfortable discussing, or one they themselves don’t feel confident explaining.
Research from the Money and Pensions Service highlights this challenge: fewer than half of children and young people aged 7–17 were getting meaningful financial education at home or school.
That means relying on parents to provide financial education can unintentionally reinforce inequality.
The child whose parents understand compound interest, pensions and investing has a very different starting point from the child whose parents are themselves struggling to navigate the financial system.
School is one of the few places where every child can be given the same foundation, regardless of their family’s financial literacy.
Why does this matter more than ever?
The financial world today’s teenagers are entering is considerably more complicated than the one their parents entered. There are buy-now-pay-later services, subscription models, digital banks, cryptocurrency, online investing platforms, influencer-led financial advice/finfluencers and sophisticated scams.
There is also artificial intelligence. Recent FCA research reported that 44% of 18–40-year-olds incorrectly believe AI-generated financial information is regulated, while many young adults are already using AI tools for personal finance.
Young people need to understand not only how to use financial products and information, but how to question them.
Who is making money from this recommendation? What are the risks? What happens if I can’t repay this? Is this advice regulated? What does the small print actually mean?
Maths isn’t the same as financial education
One of the challenges is that financial education can easily become confused with maths. A pupil might be able to calculate a percentage in a maths lesson without understanding what a 29.9% APR means on a credit card.
They might know how to calculate compound interest without understanding why starting a pension early can make such a significant difference.
They might be able to work out a fraction without knowing how much of their monthly salary should realistically be allocated to housing, bills, savings and discretionary spending.
Teachers need support too
Teachers themselves need the tools and confidence to teach the subject.
Young Enterprise’s recent research found that teachers can lack the knowledge, support and confidence needed to deliver effective financial education, while financial education is not currently actively assessed or included in inspectorate frameworks.
Simply telling schools to teach more financial education isn’t enough. Teachers need quality resources, training and clear guidance. Schools need to know that financial education is not an optional extra to squeeze into the timetable if there happens to be time.
