The RBS group: MoneySense for Schools

The challenge

RBS recognises that teaching finance education to young people while they are still at school is a crucial life skill. They have worked with EdComs to develop and deliver the UK's largest free and impartial financial education programme, MoneySense for Schools.

RBS believes that by the time young people leave school, they should:

  • be confident about managing money and dealing with financial organisations
  • understand the importance of saving
  • be able to calculate the cost of borrowing
  • understand day-to-day money management and budgeting
  • be prepared for independent living and the financial decisions they will have to make.

Our approach

At the heart of the RBS programme is the MoneySense for Schools website, incorporating online modules that take students aged 11 to 18 through banking and finance basics, such as opening a bank account for the first time and day-to-day money management in adulthood.

The website is supported by a series of teacher training events across the UK led by the EdComs Live team, who have also trained key RBS staff members on using the resources in schools.

EdComs has also developed and runs the annual RBS Personal Finance Education Awards for Schools, in association with pfeg. These awards recognise and reward excellence in PFE.

The MoneySense panel is a longitudinal study set up in 2007 to track changes in the financial attitudes, skills and behaviour of 11 to 19 year olds. EdComs Research manages the annual quantitative online survey of between 8,500 and 10,000 students.

Outcomes

The programme has a huge reach, with MoneySense now having a presence in over 60% of UK secondary schools. In 2008 over 600 employees delivered the programme to over 337,000 pupils, and almost 2,000 new teachers registered on the MoneySense websites. 540 teachers attended the six training days we ran.

The programme has received:

  • a Quality Mark from pfeg for each module
  • an E-Learning Award
  • a Business in The Community Big Tick
  • a highly commended award at the IVCA awards.

Evaluation has shown that the resources genuinely engage students and improve their financial capability.