Charity partners with Santander to create 40 Centres of Excellence in financial education

The charity’s educational specialists will work with 40 secondary schools to create a detailed programme of financial education for their students, and work with teachers to integrate the teaching of personal finance into the school curriculum. Teachers will be trained in the delivery of effective personal finance lessons and learning activities, drawing on pfeg’s 13 years experience of supporting educators on the ground. Upon receiving their Centre of Excellence status, each school has committed to cascading their knowledge and experience to other schools in their local area.

Delivered by pfeg and funded by Santander, the three-year partnership represents a significant expansion of the charity’s Centres of Excellence programme, which is creating a network of best practice schools to improve financial education for young people. In addition, trained volunteers provided by Santander will also be matched to schools to offer support in teacher-led financial education activities.

Tracey Bleakley, pfeg chief executive, said:

“Our partnership with Santander will transform 40 secondary schools into pfeg Centres of Excellence, and provide a real boost to our campaign to ensure that every young person in the UK gains the skills, knowledge and confidence they need to manage their money well. As financial education looks set to be included in the new secondary National Curriculum from September 2014, there has never been a better time for secondary schools to get involved in teaching their pupils about personal finance. Our partnership will benefit thousands of secondary school pupils over the next three years and beyond.”

Anoushka Brown, CSR Manager at Santander said:

“At Santander we believe it is important for everyone to have good basic money management skills, but particularly young people who are encountering money earlier than ever. We recognise that teaching young people requires specialist delivery and the Centres of Excellence programme offers a tailored programme using materials that have been designed by education experts that complement the existing curriculum.”

Julia Maunder, Headteacher at Thomas Keble School – one of the first to enter the programme thanks to the new partnership – said:

“We are committed to giving all of our students the best possible start in life – and that includes making sure they are ready for the financial decisions they face. Financial education can make a huge difference to young people’s futures. That’s why we’re pleased to be taking part in this programme to become a pfeg Centre of Excellence in financial education, which will bring significant benefits to our students year after year.”

The charity is inviting secondary schools across the country to register their interest by emailing centresofexcellence@pfeg.org