“Young people deserve an education that’s relevant to the real world, and to their futures. We know that financial education, entrepreneurship and work-readiness opportunities empower young people to apply their learning to real-life situations, engaging them in their education as well as building essential skills for the future. What’s vital is that these opportunities are better embedded in the national curriculum, so that all young people can benefit, no matter their starting point. We were delighted to input our knowledge and expertise in these areas into the government’s curriculum and assessment review and look forward to seeing the recommendations in 2025.”
– Sarah Porretta, CEO of Young Enterprise
This Autumn, the Department for Education launched its curriculum and assessment review with a call for evidence, inviting stakeholders to submit proposals on how the national curriculum and assessment system could be improved in England.
Young Enterprise submitted a response, foregrounding evidence from years of research on what works in building financial capability, entrepreneurship and work-readiness to prepare young people for the future. This included these key recommendations:
Currently, financial education is only a part of the national curriculum for secondary schools in England. This means that schools are not mandated to teach primary-aged students or those in post-16 education about managing money. In addition, the national curriculum is not currently mandatory in all schools secondary, and less than half of teachers in schools where financial education is mandatory are unaware it is a part of the curriculum, resulting in an incredibly uneven provision of financial education and opportunities to learn how to manage money across the country.
That’s why Young Enterprise is recommending that the Department for Education make financial education a mandatory part of the national curriculum in primary, secondary and post-16 education for all schools, and that this is supported by strong guidance for teachers, teacher training and sign-posting to quality resources. We recommend that this is delivered across the curriculum, with financial education applied to a variety of subjects so that students have an opportunity to build their financial capability and apply their knowledge to a range of scenarios. However, we recommend that financial education have a home in the subjects of PSHE, Citizenship and Maths to ensure delivery of key content, accountability for the topic and opportunities for teachers in these areas to take a leading role in coordinating cross-curricular delivery.
It is vital that every young person has the opportunity to learn to earn and manage their money well. We were also delighted to also work with Officers of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Financial Education for Young People on their submission to the curriculum review, in addition to our own.
Whilst this review is an important opportunity to review and improve the content of the curriculum and how it can best serve learners, it must also consider how content is delivered. Our research shows that when students can see the direct relevance of what they’re learning in school by being given the opportunity to apply it to real-world situations, they are more engaged in their education, improving their attitudes to learning, attendance and even attainment. Applied learning – an active process in which learners use existing knowledge and understanding to address practical, real-world problems – should underpin this newly evolved curriculum so that students can understand the relevance of their education, apply it and build key experiences and skills for the future.
Enterprise education can be an innovative vehicle for these kinds of applied learning opportunities. Through the opportunity to design, set up and run a business within their school young people are applying what they learn in school to a real business venture with real consequences. This enables them to build essential skills (such as leadership, teamwork, communication, creative problem solving) as well as being exposed to different career pathways. Evidence from Young Enterprise’s Inspiring Futures Programme, which combines work-readiness and financial education through applied enterprise programmes, shows a positive effect on student attitudes to learning, attendance and attainment for all students, and especially so for those in IMD 1-4 areas who face some of the greatest barriers to social mobility.
We have worked with a wide variety of organisations to champion applied learning approaches across the curriculum, and were delighted to work with several charities, research organisations and teaching unions who form the Applied Learning Coalition to foreground the evidence and opportunities of how applied learning can be better integrated into the national curriculum and assessment in an additional join submission also.
Currently, only 20% of secondary schools are mandated to follow the national curriculum, as academies and independent schools are not required to do so, although many choose to. This can lead to unequal provision – particularly in those areas of the curriculum which sit outside of formal assessment, such as financial education and preparation for the world of work. Young Enterprise supports the Department for Education’s plans to mandate all schools, including academies, to teach a core national curriculum to ensure that all children have a strong core at the heart of education.
We know that the opportunity to learn to earn and manage money well is a key enabler to social mobility. Currently, many of these learning opportunities exist outside of the school gates – often reliant on parents and carers own knowledge or connections – and can lead to unequal provision and opportunity for many young people. By ensuring that a core curriculum – delivered in all schools – includes preparation for the world of work and access to meaningful financial education, taught in a way that is real, relevant and applied for all young people, schools are in a better position to support their students to sustain successful transitions at key points in their lives, like securing their first job or living independently.
Want to know more about our submission to the national curriculum review or our evidence and research around financial capability, entrepreneurship and work-readiness? Get in touch, email info@y-e.org.uk.