6 October 2014 - A ground-breaking partnership between financial education charity pfeg (Personal Finance Education Group), part of Young Enterprise, and Experian is reaping rewards for young pupils, as the organisations announce the results of the first year of their three-year plan to create 21 Centres of Excellence for teaching children about money.
More than 1,300 pupils in seven primary schools have already benefited from the partnership, which sees free expert advice and support for teachers in areas where financial education could have the biggest impact on the financial capability of school-leavers. For year one of the partnership, Experian used its tools to identify Nottingham, Bristol, Redcar, Manchester, Grimsby and London as target areas based on levels of financial literacy and use of financial services such as bank and savings accounts. Schools were recruited in each area and pfeg’s educational specialists then worked with these schools to create a tailored financial education programme for pupils.
Dunkirk Primary School (Nottingham), Luckwell Primary School (Bristol), Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary School (Manchester), Waltham Leas Primary Academy (Grimsby) and Old Ford and Culloden Primary Academies (Tower Hamlets, London) have all achieved pfeg Centre of Excellence status*, with these schools recognised as beacons of best practice in the delivery of high quality financial education. Each school is being supported in cascading their new expertise to other local schools, to spread best practice even further and help thousands more pupils.
Experian and pfeg are now in the process of identifying additional target areas for the partnership’s second and third years, which will see a further 14 primary schools around the country developed into Centres of Excellence.
Michael Mercieca, Chief Executive, Young Enterprise, said:
“The pfeg Centres of Excellence programme is transforming the landscape of financial education in schools. Our partnership with Experian to provide support to primary schools in highly targeted areas across the country is a key part of our plan to ensure that every young person in the UK gains the skills, knowledge and confidence they need to manage their personal finances.
“With financial education joining the National Curriculum for secondary schools this September, our work in primary schools – including through our Centres of Excellence partnership with Experian – has taken on even more importance. We know just how important it is that children start to learn about money from a young age, and by working to embed financial education into primary schools’ curricula we can help them give pupils the strong foundations they will need as they progress through the education system.”
Chris Clark, Managing Director, Experian UK&I, said:
“We are delighted to have worked with pfeg to develop this first tranche of primary schools into Centres of Excellence for financial education, in some of the areas in the UK where we know support is needed the most. There is much work left to do, and through our work with pfeg, high-quality teaching resources and classroom volunteering, Experian is playing its part in making sure that young people have the opportunity to gain the vital knowledge and skills they need to make the right decisions about money. We look forward to working with pfeg and even more schools in the future to spread the financial education message and support as many young people as possible.”
- ENDS -
For more information contact pfeg’s Sally Thomas on 0207 3309482 or sally.thomas@pfeg.org and/or Experian’s James Jones on 0115 9922336, james.jones@experian.com
NOTES TO EDITORS
*About pfeg Centres of Excellence
About pfeg
Experian and financial education
Experian has run a financial education programme in the UK since the mid 1990s 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 http://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/resources.html
About Experian
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 March 31, 2014, was US$4.8 billion. Experian employs approximately 16,000 people in 39 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 http://www.experianplc.com.