In the UK, to our shame, we squander the potential of millions of children year after year because we don’t equip them with the everyday life skills around money they need in adulthood. In doing so, we perpetuate a pernicious cycle of disadvantage. That cycle needs to be broken.
Now. Research by the Money and Pensions Service shows that children have already started to develop attitudes and habits around money by the age of seven. FCA research also suggests nearly 13 million UK adults have low financial resilience, with a lack of financial capability being the key driver for a fifth of people showing signs of financial vulnerability. That vulnerability puts the brakes on social mobility.
The goal of the Change the Game initiative and the King’s College Policy Institute’s longitudinal study is to build an evidence base on the impact of early, continuous intervention to improve financial understanding. The findings will be used to inform public policy and develop a scalable blueprint for government to follow in the national curriculum for primary schools.
Ultimately, it will show that by adopting the programme it is possible to improve the financial knowledge, and therefore prospects, of all children – but especially those currently hampered by socio-economic disadvantage.