Beano helps children be wizards with money

THE Bank of England has teamed up with children’s comic Beano and education magazine Tes to launch a new financial educational tool for primary school children.

‘Money and Me’ will comprise a set of 12 lessons that teachers can give to help pupils get to grips with basic money issues and how the economy works. The lessons will use characters from the comic including Dennis the Menace to make the lessons both fun and engaging. Currently, financial education is not a compulsory element of the national primary school curriculum despite the fact that people’s attitudes towards money are established early in their lives. Instead, it forms part of the broad ‘Personal, Social, Health and Economic’ (PSHE) curriculum with the result that coverage of money and financial matters is often patchy.

Jane Goodland, a director of wealth manager Quilter, says it is ‘fantastic news’ that the Bank of

England is backing the Money and Me project. Quilter is a supporter of KickStart Money, a campaign aimed at getting financial education made a compulsory part of the curriculum.

Although the new money teaching tool will be available next month, it is unlikely to be used by teachers until the new school year in September. Although five to 11year-olds were due to go back to school this month, attendance has been patchy and some schools have not reopened. Teachers can register their interest in Money and Me at schools.beano.com. jeff.prestridge@mailonsunday.co.uk