The money lessons you can teach children at every stage to boost their financial literacy

Financial literacy was first introduced into the national curriculum back in 2014, aimed at children aged between 11 and 16. 

However, the delivery was inconsistent, as the requirement wasn’t mandatory across all schools. 

Now, as part of a curriculum assessment, a stronger approach to financial literacy lessons is being adopted. From 2028, this education will be mandatory in primary schools, reinforced at secondary level, and recommended in post-16 education. 

Read on to find out more about the new proposals, what parents can do to support financial literacy in children, and why it’s so important for young people to have a wider financial knowledge. 

Boosting children’s financial literacy can benefit both them and the wider economy

Financial education in the national curriculum covers core concepts such as budgeting, debt, interest, mortgages, and pensions, as well as exploring how mathematical concepts can be applied in real-world scenarios. 

The government recognised the need to instil these skills and knowledge from an early age, including financial education on the curriculum for the first time in 2014. 

However, this was shown to be patchy in delivery, with the Curriculum Assessment Review (10 November 2025) finding that only a third of children were able to recall learning about money in school. 

The report also cites research that greater financial literacy could boost the UK economy by £7 billion each year by increasing entrepreneurship and business formation. 

Children themselves are keen to learn more about finances, with the Young Person’s Money Index (1 August 2024) 2023/24 finding: 

• 81% of young people worry about money
• 85% would like to improve their financial situation
• 82% want to learn more about money and finance in school.

The new proposals will operate at three levels of education: primary, secondary, and post-16. Here’s how this education could impact at different levels, and practical things parents can do to support this learning.

Primary school: mandatory

This is the time when money habits are established in children. At this age, they can begin to understand the difference between essentials and luxuries, and why they might choose to save. 

Education at this stage is helpful to enable children to: 

• Start to develop key life skills, such as problem-solving and critical thinking
• Form good habits, like saving and responsible spending
• Gain confidence in making decisions and talking about money.

Parents can support financial literacy lessons by encouraging more independence at home. For example, by giving your child a set amount of pocket money each week or month and allowing them to choose how to spend it. 

This can also be a good age to introduce the concept of waiting for something they really want, and realising that if they save for one item, it will mean not spending on another. 

Secondary school: reinforced

Learning at senior school level can build on the foundations laid in primary school, helping children to grasp more complicated topics, such as the effects of compounding, how a mortgage works, and when they might choose to use a credit card. 

At this stage, children can start to: 

• Understand the concept of budgeting and informed spending
• Learn how to prevent future debt
• Become aware of fraud, financial scams, and online risk.

This is a good age to open a bank account for your children, if they don’t yet have one, to show them how interest works in real life. 

If it’s possible, it can also be a good time to talk to them about how investing works, and you could open a Junior ISA (JISA). These can be opened for children under 18 by a parent/guardian, and you can pay in up to £9,000 a year (in 2025/26). 

Interest on a JISA is free from Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax (CGT). Your child won’t be able to access the money until they turn 18, when the JISA automatically becomes an adult ISA.

This can introduce them to the concept of thinking about different ways to save their money, rather than using cash savings as the standard option.

Post-16 education: recommended

At this point, teenagers will be thinking about their future and possibly taking out a student loan or saving up for big-ticket items. 

As they make their transition into adulthood, this is a good time for them to:

• Learn more about their own personal approach to finances
• Discover the employability benefits of being financially literate
• Understand how they can contribute to the economy.

At this age, teens are often keen to save up for bigger items, such as driving lessons. They may also be working part-time, which can aid their understanding of tax and National Insurance (NI). 

Now is a good time to talk about social media, as research from Santander (8 January 2025) shows that almost a third of young people turn to it for financial advice, with 25% of those relying on TikTok. Many of these “finfluencers” lack any formal training, and their advice, however well-intended, isn’t tailored towards individual circumstances.

Having conversations about the value of independent professional financial advice can help your teens to reduce their reliance on unverified sources of advice. 

Get in touch

Financial literacy is important at every age. If there’s ever anything you’d like to know more about or would like clarified, please get in touch, and we’ll be happy to help.

Please note:

This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at individuals only.

All information is correct at the time of writing and is subject to change in the future.

The value of your investments (and any income from them) can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. 

Investments should be considered over the longer term and should fit in with your overall attitude to risk and financial circumstances.