Ofsted back ifs School of Finance views on financial education

The Governmentís schools inspectorate, Ofsted, today released a report into the provision of personal finance education in secondary schools and colleges.

The report, titled ìDeveloping financially capable young peopleî opens by insightfully stating, ìThe Government, head teachers, students and financial institutions all think personal finance education is important. However, enthusiasm has not always translated into effective practice and provision in schools and colleges varies in quality.î

The report spells out in no uncertain terms that the provision of financial education is less effective when there is a reliance on delivering it through other subjects such as Maths and Citizenship or through generalised topics in personal, social and health education (PSHE). This approach, encouraged by Government, was found to often result in a ì...lack of coherence in the provision and fragmented experiences for students.î Furthermore, Ofsted found that three quarters of schools did not have systems in place to monitor studentsí progress in developing financial capability.

In contrast, the report found that students taking accredited courses often had the most comprehensive understanding of personal finance: ìStudents valued accredited courses, such as those provided by the ifs School of Finance.Ö. which had the benefit of leading to nationally recognised qualifications. They were well supported by course materials and included continuous assessment of progress. The ifs School of Finance courses provided a coherent and progressive curriculum from foundation level through to level 3.î

Despite Government statements that financial education is now being delivered in schools, Ofsted highlight the fact there is still no statutory requirement for schools to teach financial education. The report goes on to state, ìThe non-statutory nature of personal finance education means it was often a lower priority.î

The GCSE equivalent qualifications offered by the ifs School of Finance are QCA accredited which means they count towards school league tables. Ofsted have highlighted the fact that the other methods encouraged by Government are treated less seriously precisely because they will not improve schoolsí standing in published performance tables.

Furthermore, QCA accredited courses such as those offered by the ifs School of Finance, were found to stimulate ìÖ a more coherent curriculum and a sharper focus on learning outcomesÖ..when personal finance education was taught across several areas of the curriculum, the result was often a lack of coherence in provision.î This backs up research findings from the University of Cornell (2001) and the University of Manchester (2006) which found that standalone courses in personal finance were more effective than courses which cover a wide range of areas.

Finally, the ifs School of Finance has welcomed the call for Government to ìÖsupport the professional development and training of teachersî as outlined in this report. The ifs believe that the best possible way of doing so would be to introduce an element of Personal Finance to all teacher-training programmes. In addition to giving teachers the skills and confidence to teach the subject effectively, doing so would also enable teachers to better manage their own finances, whether they go on to teach the subject or not.

Anne Kiem, Director of External Affairs at the ifs School of Finance, said:

ìThis Ofsted report comprehensively backs the views we have been expressing for years i.e. that spreading personal finance thinly across the curriculum is far less effective than a standalone course, that maths is not the right place for personal finance to be taught and that a great deal more needs to be done to equip teachers with the skills and confidence to teach personal finance.

The report clearly identifies the fact that a standalone, nationally recognised qualification is far more effective in producing financially capable young people. As a result, we very much hope that the Government properly considers the findings of this report and looks again at adding a standalone qualification in personal finance to the core school curriculum. This would put personal finance on an equal footing with other subjects such as Geography, History and Modern Foreign languages i.e. compulsory for schools to offer personal finance as a GCSE or equivalent option.î

The ifs School of Finance is currently the only provider of GCSE, AS and A level equivalent qualifications in personal finance. In, 2005-6 there were 2,000 teenagers studying one of these courses, in 2006-7 the number increased to 6,600 and in the 2007-8 academic year over 10,000 teenagers began studying one of these qualifications.