Can we go back to school?

If we had a pound for every time we heard someone say ‘why didn’t they teach us that at school?’ we’d be fashioning some deep pockets. This is perhaps never more evident than when learning about the everyday way we handle our money. The complicated and sometimes daunting world of banks, savings and investments can be mind-boggling even for the most money-tuned of adults.

We care passionately about education and our mission is that children are taught to understand, from a young age, the choices they make can have positive impacts on their lives and on the world they live in. We want our little ones to have big futures and that’s why we believe education about the value of money and our impact on the environment are key to our young people’s futures.

Natwest MoneySense

So at Little Futures we were excited to see Natwest are offering a free financial education programme for 5-18s. MonseySense offers free resources, bank employee volunteers to support young people, and workshops and games for teachers, students and parents. See more by clicking here.

Lessons learnt

The idea of teaching children about money management in schools is not a new idea. Many companies have provided child-friendly financial information, resources, and lesson plans to schools. However, we know that for most this hasn’t been deliverable, for the schools themselves, or for the children people being taught.

What makes MoneySense stand out is that it’s free, it’s a national and well recognised name and it’s been widely advertised - even on our TV screens by one sassy little lady. The hope is that these resources will be easily accessible for schools and therefore instil a routine of teaching money management and confidence throughout the curriculum.

Education nation

We are eager to see how Natwest’s programme, to educate the educators, continues to grow. As long as the focus remains on supporting young people to make educated decisions about money, delivered without the upsell of their own products or features.

Little Futures parties can be the perfect catalyst to start conversations about money with your children. Our mission is that our children will lead the way in understanding the value of cutting down on waste and plastic and spending their money well. We understand that for many people this requires a shift in the way we think about children’s parties, but we believe that once that shift is made the positive impacts will be immense.