"Youths Advocate for Financial Literacy: Almost Nine Out of Ten Children and Adolescents want Financial Knowledge Integrated into the Updated National School Syllabus"
In a significant shift towards equipping young minds with essential life skills, there is growing momentum for financial education to become a compulsory part of the UK's national curriculum from primary school.
A recent research by GoHenry, a financial education platform for children, revealed that an astonishing 84% of children and teens aged 6-18 want financial education included in the national curriculum. The study, based on data from over 2,000 children, shows that financial education is considered as important as or more important than Maths, English, and Science by the majority of children.
The call for change is not just limited to the young generation. Louise Hill, Founder of GoHenry, is campaigning for financial education to be part of the new national curriculum from primary school. She shares the sentiment of 14-year-old Eashan from Essex, who believes financial education should be taught at school.
Eashan is not alone in his views. Over half (52%) of 6-to-10-year-olds want to learn about financial education in primary school. According to the research, 33% of children think financial education should be taught as part of PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic education), while nearly a quarter (22%) think it should become a standalone subject.
The push for financial education is not new. Charities and organizations like the Just Finance Foundation and PSHE providers are working to improve access, teaching quality, and teacher confidence around financial education in schools. Initiatives like LifeSavers, which supports delivering financial education in classrooms, are expanding to reach more schools.
Parliament and education committees have also called for a stronger emphasis on financial literacy and real-world numeracy within the curriculum. The government’s curriculum review, led by Professor Becky Francis, is under pressure to embed financial education more robustly, including proposals to integrate it within PSHE or as its own subject.
However, as of mid-2025, while financial education is formally part of the current curriculum through citizenship and PSHE, it is not yet compulsory from primary school as a distinct subject. Coverage varies across schools, and there is a need for formal changes to ensure every child receives a comprehensive financial education.
The outcome of the ongoing government curriculum review in 2025 will be critical for any formal changes. Rachel Taylor, Labour MP for North Warwickshire and Bedworth, supports calls to make financial education compulsory in the national curriculum from primary school age. She believes a robust national curriculum offering practical lessons about money would be beneficial for young people.
For many, including Louise Hill, building up core money skills from the earliest opportunity has a positive impact on adult life. Eashan, who has learned about money responsibility from his mother, echoes this sentiment, emphasising the importance of understanding money and finances, especially as he becomes more independent.
Despite the growing push for financial education, over two-thirds (68%) of 18-year-olds are worried about leaving school without any money skills. This underscores the need for action, with social media emerging as a popular, albeit unreliable, source of financial knowledge for young people (26%).
In conclusion, while financial education is formally part of the current curriculum through citizenship and PSHE, significant momentum exists towards making it mandatory and improving its coverage and quality across UK schools from an early age. The outcome of the ongoing government curriculum review in 2025 will be critical for any formal changes.
Personal-finance education is a topic that young individuals find crucial, with 84% of children and teens aged 6-18 expressing a desire for it to be included in the national curriculum. (GoHenry's research)
The push for financial education extends beyond the young generation, as Louise Hill, the founder of GoHenry, advocates for it to be added to the new national curriculum from primary school. (GoHenry's campaign)
