More than three quarters (77 per cent) of parents would like to see more financial education in schools, according to new research from Santander 1|2|3 Mini1. Just one in four of the parents surveyed thought schools offered an adequate level of financial education for their children.
The study also revealed that 69 per cent of 11-16 year olds have the desire to learn more about personal finances, with 45 per cent looking to their school as the best source of this information. Twelve per cent said they would like to learn more about personal finances from their parents, while the same number cited other sources such as newspapers and the internet.
The Santander 1|2|3 Mini study, which questioned 11-16 year olds and their parents about personal finances, revealed a strong appetite amongst youngsters for saving money. Ninety-four per cent of today’s 11-16 year olds are setting money aside for the future. Their main priority is to save for college or university (26 per cent). Eight per cent of the youngsters are even setting money aside for a deposit on a house.
The average amount saved is £28 per month, or £336 a year, which is just over half (51 per cent) of the £55 a month income the average child receives from pocket money or part time work.
Reza Attar-Zadeh, Director of Retail Products for Santander UK, said:“There’s a clear appetite amongst parents and young people to make money management an integral part of growing up. We’re pleased that financial education will be introduced to the national curriculum in England this year and we’ve been working with the Personal Finance Education Group to support this. Learning to manage money well is an important skill for youngsters and our 123 Mini online calculator is one of the ways in which we are contributing to this goal.”
Tracey Bleakley, chief executive of PFEG (the Personal Finance Education Group), said: “Thousands of schools are working hard to provide the financial education that children and parents want, and we would like many more to get involved in the future. Thanks to support from Santander, we aim to establish 40 new Centres of Excellence in schools across the UK during the next three years. These will become financial education beacons, able to share their skills and knowledge with hundreds of other schools.”
The 1|2|3 Mini is available to anyone aged 0 to 18, and rewards customers with 1.00% AER on the total account balance from £100, 2.00% AER on the total balance from £200, and 3.00% AER on the total account balance from £300 up to a maximum of £2,000. The interest can be earned tax free, subject to the usual HMRC rules. There are no fees or charges on the account.
To calculate savings using the 123 Mini online calculator go to www.123mini.co.uk. The 1|2|3 Mini is available to open in any Santander branch or through the Santander website. Applications to open the account in trust for a child under the age of 11 must be made in branch.
[1. Opinium Research carried out an online survey of 502 UK children (aged 11–16) and 502 parents from 28th February to 4th of March 2014. In each interview, the child would answer the first set of questions before handing over to their parent who would answer the remaining questions ensuring one child and one parent per interview.]