News & Events

NI Financial Education Conference
Ramada Hotel, Shaws Bridge, Belfast
23 March, 2010

On the 23 March CCEA, together with the Financial Service Authority (FSA), hosted NI’s first Financial Education conference, ‘Talk About Money’, at the Ramada Hotel, Belfast. Hosted by local actress and comedienne Nuala McKeever, and with keynote speakers from the world of Finance and Education, the ‘Talk About Money’ conference did just what it promised!

The purpose of the event was to raise the profile of money management amongst primary and secondary pupils. Almost 200 guests turned up, including primary and secondary teachers from across Northern Ireland (NI) and senior representatives from the local banks. Click on 'read more' for more details and pictures from the day.

Already CCEA’s Financial Capability team has worked with nearly 300 primary and post-primary schools across NI to lay the foundations for good financial management for the post-recession generation.  One of the most pro-active schools has been North Coast Integrated College who organised a special ‘Money Week’ in their school. Year 10 pupils from the school attended the conference to showcase the handmade jewellery they designed to sell during Money Week.

To view a video of North Coast’s ‘Money Week’ click here…

Richard Hanna, Director of Education Strategy, commented:

"At the heart of CCEA’s approach to Financial Education has been the importance of working in partnership with other organisations.  The FSA has been an important partner for CCEA for some time and their support has made this conference possible. It is very encouraging to see the diversity of representatives and the level of interest in developing financial awareness in children and young people".

On the 6th May 2009 HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will be launching their new educational resource ‘Tax Matters’. As part of the DCSF’s My Money initiative, to create joined up financial education in schools, HMRC are launching their new online interactive teaching resource to help teachers educate young people about how paying tax helps society function.

Nearly one million young people enter the tax system every year and the HMRC programme will help teach them about tax before they leave school so that they have a better understanding of their entitlements and obligations and a better experience of the tax system right from the start.

Tax Matters is made up of 3 web-based modules for pupils aged 11-19, covering Tax and Society (citizenship), Income Tax and National Insurance. They contain key facts, interactive quizzes and games and ‘real life’ video footage.

The Council for Curriculum, Examination and Assessment (CCEA) are partnering with HMRC by hosting the modules on our website, just visit www.nicurriculum.org.uk and click on ‘Financial Capability’, then go to Key Stage 3 and/or key Stage 4 and visit ‘Resources’.

The Personal Finance Education Group is an independent charity that operates in England, helping schools to plan and teach personal finance education in a way that is relevant to pupils' lives and needs. They work closely with the financial capability team here in CCEA, as well as our colleagues in Scotland and Wales. Their mission is to ensure that all young people leaving school have the confidence, skills and knowledge in financial matters to participate fully in society.

The Pfeg website went live on 30th September 2008. The relaunch followed extensive market research with teachers and key stakeholders. The key features of the new site include:-

• Simple, clear site map with easy navigation;
• A intuitive and practical search facility;
• A clear searchable resource section available from the home page;
• The ability to download, order and comment on resources on-line.

This conference was held for a number of stakeholders groups to find out more about the introduction of financial capability into the curriculum and the new approaches being adapted by teachers in Northern Ireland. 

The conference was attended by a range of groups from the financial sector, charitable organisations and voluntary groups. The Credit Union organisations sent representatives from both the Ulster and Irish federations. The Northern Bank and the Bank of Ireland were in attendance along with Julie Megrath, the Coordinator for the Northern Ireland Financial Capability Partnership.

The conference highlighted CCEA Financial Capability (FC) aims and objectives for the next three years. It looked at the structure of FC within the curriculum and highlighted the needs of our schools. Finally, we discussed the kind of support and advice we could provide to their organisations when working with schools.

Following from the success of the conference, a second is currently being arranged, focusing on developing working partnerships between organisations and schools.

A group of 15 post-primary teachers from all Boards and sectors have just completed four days of training to become Financial Capability Advocates. During the training, they:

• considered the need for Financial Capability education;
• explored the many ways it could be integrated into the curriculum; and
• piloted and reviewed many of the existing resources available.

Guest speakers during the training included bank officials, credit union volunteers and debt advisors working within the voluntary and charitable sectors. Feedback from the evaluation report indicated that participants left the training feeling well equipped to take up the challenge of delivering financial capability:

“Prior to training, teachers claimed they had anxieties about their ability in delivering Financial Capability, and the role it would play within their schools. However following the training, all teachers expressed a heightened confidence with regards to Financial Capability and indicated that they had started to implement it within their school.”
(FC Advocate Training Evaluation Report, Oct 09 – CCEA Research & Statistics Department)

Having developed their knowledge and skill in the delivery of Financial Capability, the Advocates are now working to encourage and support other colleagues in how best to disseminate Financial Capability through lessons. If you are thinking about how to introduce Financial Capability into your school, why not have a chat with one of the Advocates? CCEA’s Financial Capability Team can help you make contact with the Advocate closest to you.

March 1st 2008 saw the long awaited launch of the financial education resource ‘Money Talks’ from the Northern Bank and the Citizens Advice Bureau (with technical and creative assistance from CCEA). The event was held in the Odyssey Complex in Belfast and was attended by many schools as well as voluntary and charitable organisations.

The keynote speakers of the day were Patricia Lewsley, The Northern Ireland Commissioner for children and young people and Wendy Van den Hende, Chief Executive of the Personal Financial Education Group (Pfeg).  

Money Talks enables young people to develop the financial skills and attitudes that help them make informed financial choices. It is a toolkit aimed at teachers working with young people between 11-17. It contains a movie drama on DVD, a PC game, practical activities and a handbook based on themes such as banking, income, credit, debt, budgeting, saving and consumers’ rights.

In addition to the toolkit, Northern Bank and Citizens Advice staff are available to deliver free educational assistance in schools and youth sessions. To get the resource simply go to the Key Stage 3 or Key Stage 4 resources section.

‘On The Money’ is a collection of short stories with a Financial Capability emphasis and is related to many PDMU issues. The associated activities and themes also clearly relate to the three curriculum objectives of developing the young person as an individual, a contributor to society and to the economy and environment. This resource was developed by a partnership between Standard Life, the Scottish Book Trust and the Scottish Centre for Financial Education (part of Learning Teaching Scotland). The partnership have kindly agreed to allow this resource and associated materials to be adapted for the Northern Ireland Curriculum. The stories have also been translated and recorded into Irish Medium.The website (www.LTScotland.org.uk/onthemoney) offers other information and resources that have been generated. This free resource is now available.To request a copy of the teachers notes along with 10 copies of the novel contact Jill Black, on 128 9026 1200 Ext 2616

Financial Capability through numeracy and practical tasks.

‘Talk Money, Talk Solutions’ is a set of practical activities for pupils in primary schools supported by teacher’s notes. This resource will give pupils an opportunity to carry out tasks to develop problem-solving skills, and to do this in a very creative and enjoyable way. Therefore there are opportunities to develop the pupil’s thinking skills and personal capabilities. The idea of teaching children about money through real-life, practical activities was welcomed by the schools who reviewed the resource. CCEA is most grateful for permission to adapt this resource, which was originally developed by Learning Teaching Scotland and the Scottish Centre for Financial Education (SCFE). This resource is a pre-requisite to ‘Talk Money, Talk Maths’ which is being widely used at Key Stage 3.

In our efforts to support schools in their delivery of financial education, we have held a number of training sessions in schools throughout Northern Ireland. They have ranged from 1 hour seminar talks giving teachers an overview of financial capability within the curriculum (primary and post-primary) to whole-day training events allowing teachers the opportunity to explore and experiment with financial education.

“The Financial Capability talk was absolutely excellent and held the teachers' attention, despite the lateness of the hour. There were many compliments afterwards!”

Kevin Scally (Principal – St Joseph’s High School, Crossmaglen)