The Citizens’ Advice Bureau (CAB) and Prudential are working on a joint project to introduce financial education into schools.

The proposed scheme, called Financial Skills for Life, aims to have certain key lessons in money management added to the National Curriculum so that children begin to understand the basics from an early age.

Supporters of the proposed education programme say that Financial Skills for Life will teach only basic lessons in financial management but this will provide the perfect platform for future learning and prevent young people being abruptly thrust into the ‘real world’.

“There is a need to include financial information at school age, to give people the right skills to be able to manage their finances in the future,” a spokesperson for the CAB said.

“People go straight from school to university and they do need skills to know how to manage their student debt, for example.

“We are already very involved in building people’s financial capability and their confidence in handling money and dealing with financial issues by increasing awareness,” the spokesperson added. “It’s one of the best ways to avoid debt.”

The CAB said that the amount of loans and level of debt in this country was “concerning” and that part of the reason for this was people being ill-prepared for organising their borrowing and dealing with credit.

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