4 January 2023
If you are covering Rishi Sunak’s speech today and the new ambition to make maths compulsory up to age 18, please see the following comment from Bethan Lloyd, head of responsible wealth management strategy at Quilter:
"The world of work has shifted drastically in just the last 20-30 years, and it is more important than ever that children learn the skills they need to succeed in life once they have finished their education. For that reason, Sunak's plan to make maths compulsory up to the age of 18 will only be effective if the curriculum gives students the practical skills they need for both work and life.
“While improving numeracy skills is a sensible plan, we should be ensuring, as a matter of urgency, that future generations are equipped to be good with money. Financial education should form a large part of this additional compulsory maths curriculum. The current cost of living crisis and the covid crisis before it, illustrate that people's finances can be rapidly squeezed, and unless you have been taught the necessary skills, the pressure can become too much.
“There continues to be a severe lack of financial capability in the UK, and the only answer is financial education. According to the FCA, in May 2022, 12.9 million UK adults had low financial resilience, which equates to one in four (24%) of all UK adults. Someone might be classified as having low financial capability because they are in financial difficulty or might quickly find themselves in difficulty if they suffer a financial shock because, for example, they have little to no savings or are heavily burdened by their domestic bills or credit commitments. Although more financial education won't help lower bills, it can certainly better equip the nation to deal with these types of financial shocks and Sunak, in his speech, highlighted that this new policy could ultimately help people access better mortgage or savings deals.
“It’s important that any changes to the curriculum also include a greater focus on the behavioural aspects of making good money decisions, which goes beyond maths, as well as ensuring that financial education is something all children learn about throughout their time at school. Good habits are formed from a young age. Therefore helping young children first learn about the merits of delayed gratification and saving, and then, as they get older, introducing more practical topics like pensions and mortgages, will give UK children and young adults a rounded financial education that will help them cope in times like these."
