GoHenry, the prepaid debit card and financial education app for 6-18-year-olds, called on the Government to make financial education compulsory in all schools from primary age at its Parliamentary Reception last night.

Talking at a full event, which took place during Talk Money Week to officially launch the company’s Financial Education Manifesto, Louise Hill, co-founder and CEO of GoHenry, pressed home the need for money lessons to be made available in all schools in England as part of the Government’s upcoming Curriculum Review. Championing the voice of young people, Louise revealed that 84% of kids and teens would like to have more financial education in school and that 68% of 18-year-olds are worried about leaving school without any money skills.  

Speaking alongside fellow guest speaker OIa Majekodunmi, financial expert @allthingsmoney, Louise pointed to GoHenry's Financial Education Manifesto, which it launched pre-election, outlining 10 key recommendations* for making financial education work for all young people. These include ensuring that financial education is taught in all schools - not just those that follow the curriculum - from primary through to secondary school. The manifesto also recommends that financial education becomes a statutory part of Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) with external bodies like MyBnk and RedStart Money having a crucial role to play in delivering these lessons.

Commenting at the event Louise Hill, co-founder and CEO of GoHenry, said: “Financial education is not one person’s sole responsibility. But, if I can borrow from Talk Money Week’s ‘Do One Thing’ campaign, let that one thing for the Government be making financial education part of its upcoming Curriculum Review. This is a huge opportunity to aid levelling up by giving every young person in England equal access to crucial money skills - no matter their background, where they live or which school they go to. 

“Ten years on from financial education being added to secondary school curriculums in England, it’s clear it’s not working. We’re still failing kids and teens on this front. Our manifesto outlines how we feel financial education can be delivered in a simple, efficient, and effective way, without the need for significant public spending, primary legislation, or overburdening teachers.”

GoHenry’s ongoing campaign for all young people in the UK to receive a consistent level of financial education in schools has found broad cross-party consensus on the need for improvement, as illustrated by the pre-election findings of the Education Select Committee inquiry on this issue. The findings said that current provisions in schools are lacking and urged the Government to make financial education compulsory from primary school. 

OIa Majekodunmi, financial expert @allthingsmoney: “It’s worrying how ill equipped we are to financially navigate adulthood in schools. Lessons on how to manage our finances effectively in both primary and secondary schools would be a game changer in the way young people manage and feel about their personal finances. Now’s our chance to come together to make a very much needed change to the national curriculum and by applying this change to all schools across the UK!”

Claire Hazelgrove, Labour MP for Filton and Bradley Stoke, commented: “GoHenry does important work in supporting young people to develop financial literacy skills. Research from the University of Cambridge has shown that financial habits are often formed by the age of 7 – yet formal financial education is still a postcode lottery. Where it is on the curriculum much later, at secondary level, many teachers report a lack of confidence, capacity, and resources to teach it. There is more work to be done to ensure that all young people have the same opportunity to develop these foundational life skills and thrive.”

Saira, a 12-year-old GoHenry customer, said: “Learning about money is super important because as kids we know we need money for stuff, but sometimes we don't really get how it works. Some kids think money just magically appears when we grow up! Financial education lessons at school could help us understand how to manage money properly, especially for the future when we have jobs and might need to save up for expensive things.”