Values, Money and Me aims to give young children get a head start in life by helping develop their financial knowledge and abilities, as well as their attitudes and values towards money.
Now available to all UK schools at www.valuesmoneyandme.co.uk, the resource – based on the financial dilemmas of the residents of Pride Place – has been designed to resemble a children’s picture book. Simple to use, it explores key issues such as earning money, budgeting and saving, through a range of engaging activities, based on a series of interactive stories.
From saving up for a pet, to supporting a school charity, through to understanding what their parents’ taxes pay for, Values, Money and Me brings to life for children the world of money and how it affects them and others – and how they can take responsibility for managing money.
Values, Money and Me has also been awarded a prestigious Quality Mark by pfeg, the UK’s leading financial education charity.
Developed by Experian by working closely with young people and teachers over the last two years, the free resource is being launched at a time when children are taking on financial responsibilities at an increasingly young age.
According to pfeg’s research, the average age for children to get their first mobile phone is eight. Some 20% of youngsters now use their parents’ credit cards to make online purchases, with the average starting age just 10 years old.
Craig Boundy, Managing Director of Experian UK&I, comments:
“Helping people make better financial decisions is a value that sits right at the heart of Experian. Values, Money and Me is the latest in a long line of free resources we have developed to help people of all ages make the right decisions about their personal finances. We’re delighted that Values, Money and Me will make a lasting contribution to financial education in our primary schools.”
Using Values, Money and Me, children explore the sometimes complex, emotional and moral challenges that we all deal with in relation to money, through a wide range of real-life situations.
Each story provides the starting point for delivering between two and four lessons in each unit, exploring the issues raised by the characters. The lessons, along with associated online activities and sheets for each story, are found here along with ideas for the family to get involved with the children’s learning.
Aimed at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 pupils, activities are related back to relevant curriculum links and a curriculum assessment schedule helps fit the resources into lesson planning and evaluate their impact. An online quick quiz for each unit also gives teachers a snapshot of their pupils’ knowledge, skills and attitudes relating to each unit.
On awarding its respected Quality Mark – meaning the resource is of a high quality and suitable for use in schools across the country – pfeg described Values, Money and Me as “outstanding”. Importantly, the resource includes everything teachers need to deliver money lessons in the classroom. As well as teachers, the resource can also be used at home by parents and carers.
A number of schools are already using Values, Money and Me to deliver money lessons and we are now rolling out the resource nationwide. We are also inviting journalists to attend a financial education lesson to see the resource in action – please contact us for more details.
Bell Pottinger Consumer PR
Joseph Bradfield – 020 7861 3931 / jbradfield@bpconsumer.co.uk
Michael Sheen – 020 7861 3013/ msheen@bpconsumer.co.uk
Experian
James Jones – 0115 9922336 / james.jones@uk.experian.com
pfeg, the Personal Finance Education Group, is the UK’s leading financial education charity that provides resources and lesson plans, help and advice to anyone teaching children and young people about money. More information about pfeg is available on their website www.pfeg.org
Experian has run a financial education programme in the UK since the mid 90s and has developed a wide selection of resources to help young consumers get to grips with issues around money, credit and credit checking. Existing teaching resources include Creditability, an interactive computer game for 14 to 16-year-olds and Getting Credit: A beginner’s guide a set of lesson plans and support materials. All of Experian’s education resources are available from www.experian.co.uk/consumer/resources.html
Experian is the leading global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to clients around the world. The Group helps businesses to manage credit risk, prevent fraud, target marketing offers and automate decision making. Experian also helps individuals to check their credit report and credit score, and protect against identity theft.
Experian plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. Total revenue for the year ended 31 March 2012 was US$4.5 billion. Experian employs approximately 17,000 people in 44 countries and has its corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with operational headquarters in Nottingham, UK; California, US; and São Paulo, Brazil.
For more information, visit www.experianplc.com