As at 2010, the Savings School Project is in its infancy but is being increasingly pursued by many schools in many parts of the UK especially infant and primaries in Cumbria and Lancashire. This is a quick guide based on their experience.

Contents

1Featuresof a Savings School

2Launching the savings project in your school

3Dealing with financial organisations

4Advice to financial organisation employees

5Primary financialcapability curriculum

6Primary mathematics curriculum

1.1A whole school approach is adopted with the aim of all children having personal savings accounts preferably with their own account book.

1.2The school has a good working relationship with a named contact at a local bank / building society / credit union – this will help with the legal and security aspects of handling money(see section 2 below).

1.3Parents are closely involved– the launch could be flagged up as ‘help with the difficult economictimes’ and parallel adult accounts could be considered.

1.4Saving is madepart of the school ethos including regular reference to it in lessons especially English, PSHE, Maths and assemblies – this is vital to ensure that the saving habit is maintained with the maximum number of pupils.

1.5The idea and practice of saving is fully embedded in the school curriculum plan and fully exploited in lessons to cover many aspects of financial capability: opening bank accounts, statements, interest, budgeting, etc. It is a very useful idea for every child to keep their own financial record that they can use to plan how long to save for and check the entries and calculations in class. This can move from coin recognition and sorting in early years to setting up theirown spreadsheets later on.

1.6Each child has a personal goal for their savings– an item perhaps selected from catalogues or websites. Saving isn’t just a worthy idea … it’s rewarding! This will develop their acumen as consumers looking at quality, availability, value for money, purchasing, internet security, buying presents, charity donations, moral aspects of international trade, exchange rates on holidays, etc.

1.7There are rewards for savers such as certificates and raffles – this should reward consistency rather than how much saved to encourage even the least affluent children to save sums such as 50p per week.

1.8Children are consulted aboutclass and school savings accounts – these could provide learning opportunities for those without a personal savings account. For instance a class could collectively decide how and when the class budget of £200 for stationery is spent. This encourages children to appreciate the value of the resources so often take for granted.

1.9The management of the savings scheme is strong. The system is as simple as possible (like one deposit day each week) and everyone knows how it works.

2.1Consider that you actually have two tasks: you are not just setting up the system and but crucially you are also selling the idea to staff, pupils, parents and governors. You may need presentations, handouts, etc.

2.2Decide whether you want a big one-off launch with the whole school or a gradual implementation of one Year at a time. In the case of a gradual implementation, starting with the youngest children is the easiest route.

2.3Get relevant staff on side with clear reasons, aims, genuine discussions about how to get it all moving, work implications, timelines, resources, responsibilities, etc. Stress the curriculum opportunities the savings school idea offers (see section 4 below). Avoid presenting it as a fait accompli so that it becomes a project where everyone involved can contribute to solutions and feel ownership of it. Set a provisional launch date.

2.4Get the governors on side. Present the case at a governors’ meeting using similar arguments used with the staff. Explain that this helps the school meet its educational obligations under all five outcomes of the Children Act 2004 Every Child Matters but especially ‘achieve economic well-being’.

2.5Liaise with a local bank / building society / credit union (see section 3 below)

2.6Get parents on side. Send letters / give handouts / make a presentation to them explaining the idea and its advantages. Sell the idea at a special parents’ meeting or one of the regular ones. The following pointswould be useful to include:

  • making their children money-smart
  • starting good habits early – children understanding that not everything comes immediately
  • savings as an important part of the curriculum in Maths, PSHE, etc.
  • an opportunity for parents themselves to start saving
  • they decide how much is saved each week but only small amounts of money are involved.

2.6Get children on side. Talk to them in form time, circle time, assemblies, etc. These days children have a big influence on their parents’ decisions. We mustn’t encourage pester power but pupils make excellent ambassadors!

2.7Have classroom resources ready including a set of worksheets / spreadsheets which allow children to plan and monitor their accounts.

2.8Don’t expect too rapid a take-up of the idea. Teachers who have launched savings schools report figures as low as 5% involvement at the early stages. But it should grow within weeks to 15-25%. Success depends on many things which are not under your control. But good planning, proper consultation and a dynamic launch obviously increase the chances.

2.9Children who do not open savings accountsmust not be excluded from savings-related classroom activities. Theycanrun virtual accounts where they notionally save something each week. This would enable them to participate in the product research, finding best buys, savings calendars, account monitoring, etc and maybe even encourage them to move to the real thing.

2.10Contact who is well along the savings school road:

Tina Ellis

Head

Maryport Infant School

3.1First try approaching alocal branch of a financial organisation, but if that doesn’t work contact the head office.

3.2If necessary point out that other financial companies such as various credit unions, HSBC, Lloyds TSB, and the Cumberland Building Society have jumped at the chance of working with schools.

3.3Although not its purpose of course, the Savings Schools Project would seem to offer banks some commercial advantages in terms of developing a long-term customer base.

3.4Even if the necessary liaison were deemed insufficiently profitable,financial organisations would benefit from the goodwill such involvement would generate … especially at a time when banks sorely need to re-establish a reputation for serving their community.

3.5Point out that liaison with schools could form an interesting part of a corporate responsibility programme.

3.6Ensure that there is one named employee who is responsible for the school’s savings. Discuss with them the following:

  • What information do children and parents need about the accounts e.g. the interest rate and how to withdraw their money?
  • Can the employee be part of the launch?
  • What are the money-handling arrangements?
  • What are the security requirements?
  • Will each child have a child-friendly account book or statement which they can use in lessons? (Perhaps the children could design them if they don’t exist.)
  • How can they help with the rewards for regular savers?

4.1Setting up a Savings School requires a close working relationship with an employee of a bank, building society or credit union. This relationship is likely to be initiated by the school but there is nothing to stop financial staff suggesting the idea to a teacher in the school, especially if you have children who are pupils there.

4.2You will need one main contactthrough whom all your liaison with the school should be carried out. Schools are busy, complex places where communication is not always 100% efficient so try to avoid dealing with more than one person.

4.3Develop a rapport with your chosen school by arranging through your contact to meet the relevant staff and children. An assembly is often a good opportunity to explain the idea of current and savings accounts but this can be daunting. Some tips on working directly with pupils:

  • don’t agree to more than you feel comfortable with
  • fully discussexactly what is required with a teacher before agreeing to do anything
  • ask about the school’s policy re Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks – you may need to request one before being allowed through the door!
  • always follow a teacher’s lead and insist that they are with you at all times
  • keep any talk to pupils short (5 minutes maximum unless you are experienced at addressing children) and try to make it interactive by asking questions such as “Who knows what a bank does?” etc – but be careful you don’t appear to patronise or underestimate older children
  • stress the advantages of accounts: a cash card for older pupils, knowing where their money is, saving up is rewarding, interest, pocket money by standing order and most important – being more and more in control of their own finances as they grow up
  • if you can offer some freebiesit willcertainly enhance your kudos – but check with the teacher first

4.4Encourage parents to come into school to meet you and complete forms to open accounts for their children. Identification and address verification can be completed during this stage. Alternatively invite parents to visit the branch to open accounts. Check any informational material with the teacher before you give it out. Remember that a school cannot be seen to be a commercial organisation or representing one.

4.5You must set up with your school contact very clear procedures for handling the money. Be prepared to advise them on security issues. The school will need to collect the money from the pupils/parents and take it to the branch weekly with a list of account numbers, names of savers and amount saved. These deposits could be quite small individual sums. Discuss with all parties how frequentlystudents and their parents will receive statements showing transactions and balances. This should be used as a resource in the classroom where pupils check their statements against their own records.

4.6In addition to saving with the school, pupilsand their parents can also deposit extra monies if they wish using a pre-printed paying-in book. This is a great way to encourage saving a little from birthday and seasonal gifts.

4.7If you are required to justify your work with a school the following points could be useful:

  • The children who open accounts will be your future customer base and therefore provide long term benefits to the organisation.As these children go through the different stages of their lives –student, worker, home owner, parent,business owner –the chance of them considering your organisation and remaining loyal to it will be vastly increased as your brand will already be familiar to them.
  • Working with a schoolraises the profile of your organisationby providing benefits the wider community. It does no harm for banks especially to be seen as socially responsible especially when their public reputation is at an historical low point.
  • Your work could be considered as part of a corporate responsibility programme.

My thanks to Fong Dawson of LTSB Bank plc for advising us on this section.

Below is a list of the important financial knowledge, skills and concepts which young children need to learn about if they are being prepared properly for their present and future lives. Savings accounts offer schools an unrivalled context to teach financial capability. Items covered by the Savings School idea are indicated as follows:

XXX / essentially covered
XX / could be easily covered
X / could be extended to

5.1Foundation / Key Stage One

Financial Understanding
Recognise coins and notes that we use / xxx
Understand that different countries use different coins and notes / x
Understand the exchange of coins and notes for goods / xxx
Recognise that there are both regular and unpredictable sources of money / xx
Be able to talk about things that they may want to spend their money on / xxx
Recognise that adults also have to spend money on familiar things like household expenses / xx
Financial Competence
Know how we can keep our money safe – either be giving it to a responsible adult or by locking it away / xxx
Begin to understand the importance of keeping financial records / xxx
Know that we have to pay for what we buy / xxx
Be able to consider possible ways of spending money / xxx
Understand the consequences of losing money or having it stolen / x
Financial Responsibility
Consider the variety of ways in which to spend money / xxx
Begin to talk about the value of money / xxx
Begin to recognise that the satisfaction derived from spending money varies according to the nature of the purchase / xx
Begin to understand the consequences of having more or less money / xx
Begin to understand that people have different standards of living in different countries / x

5.2Key Stage Two

Financial Understanding
Know about other forms of money: cheque books, credit and debit cards and how the payments are made in these cases / xx
Understand that cash isn’t the only way to pay for goods and services / xx
Begin to understand the concept of credit / x
Understand how we get money from work – earnings / x
Know that we may get money when there is no work or insufficient work – benefit payments – and understand how this is paid for / x
Understand that we need money in retirement – pension – and how this is paid for / xx
Recognise household expenses and regular financial commitments / xxx
Begin to understand why money, such as tax or pension contributions, is deducted from earnings / x
Financial Competence
Understand that we can keep money safe by putting it into an account (giving it to a bank, building society or Post Office to look after) / xxx
Understand the importance of keeping financial records / xxx
Know about some official financial records such as bank statements or building society books / xxx
Understand that we need to save if there isn’t enough money for everything we want or have to buy / xxx
Understand that there is a range of ways to save money / xxx
Begin to be able to plan and think ahead / xxx
Begin to understand the likelihood of events such as floods or accidental damage to household goods, and consider the need for insurance / x
Understand that we may get money from money by saving / xxx
Financial Responsibility
Decide how to spend money / xxx
Balance needs and wants, and prioritise what gets first call on a limited supply of money / xxx
Understand the difference between good debt (planned and manageable) and bad debt (unplanned and unmanageable) / x
Be able to assess best buys in a variety of circumstances / xxx
Be able to talk about how spending money and our satisfaction from the purchase can vary, looking at how things last, how well they perform and how long we are still interested in them / xx
Understand that standards of living vary across time and place / xx
Understand that there is an ethical dimension to financial decisions / xxx

The following are all extracts from Savings Schools Primary Maths which consists of maths activities connected to savings which are referenced to nationally recognised outcomes and with fully functioning spreadsheets which pupils can use to plan and monitor their savings.

6.1Introduction


6.2Foundation Teacher Notes


6.3Early Stage (Y1, Y2) Teacher Notes

6.4Middle Stage (Y3, Y4) Teacher Notes

6.5Later Stage (Y5, Y6) Teacher Notes

6.6Spreadsheets for pupils

Foundation

Early Stage (Y1,Y2)

Middle Stage (Y3, Y4)

Later Stage (Y5, Y6)