Financial Planners have welcomed the inclusion of financial education within primary and secondary education in the new curriculum review.

The Government published its curriculum review this morning, including plans to include budgeting and mortgages within the primary school national curriculum.

The review is the first of what is taught in schools in over a decade.

Financial Planners have welcomed the inclusion of financial education within the proposed curriculum.

Jennifer Piper, head of the Quilter Foundation at Financial Planner and wealth manager Quilter, said the review was the clearest signal yet that the UK is ready to treat financial education as a core part of childrens' education.

She said: “The review’s ambition is encouraging. It calls for financial education to start in primary school, making Citizenship including money skills, a core part of the national curriculum from Key Stage 1 onwards.

"It proposes a smarter, more integrated approach, where Maths provides the foundations and Citizenship brings those concepts to life in real-world scenarios. It also recognises the need for better resources and sequencing, and for collaboration with employers to embed financial literacy into post-16 education. 

"However, whether it is adopted only time will tell.”

Newcastle-based Financial Planning firm River Birch Newman welcomed the announcement on social media network Linkedin.

In a post the firm said that the inclusion of compulsory financial education was a huge step forward for the UK: “For too long, money has been treated as a taboo topic. Generations have left school without understanding the basics of budgeting, credit, mortgages, or pensions. The result? A nation of adults trying to figure it out later in life, often when the stakes are highest.

“This reform is more than a curriculum change. It’s the foundation for long-term financial confidence. Because when young people understand money, they’re better equipped to make decisions that shape their future, not react to it.

“Let’s hope this is just the start of a broader movement toward financial inclusion and education for all.”

Many Financial Planners have been calling for improved financial education in schools for a number of years, including making visits to schools themselves.

The professional societies representing the financial advice sector have also been focusing on improving financial education.

The CISI has recently been concentrating on work within educational organisations in the UK to promote financial education and careers.

The PFS is currently planning a Financial Planning challenge for secondary-aged school pupils following feedback from its membership. Financial education is also one of the themes for recently re-elected President Carla Brown during her second year in office.

Financial Planning Today Analysis: As Nikhil Rathi said yesterday in a speech, financial capability is seriously lacking among the UK population. Good financial education starts in schools and adding some financial education to the curriculum makes a great deal of sense. School students need to get ready for a new world of digital finance where there are as many risks as benefits. It's good to see that Financial Planners, who have often been at the forefront of supporting financial education in schools, are backing the plan. The key now will be to get schools on board. In the past many have been reluctant to teach non-academic subjects and personal finance has often been neglected. Adding financial education, of some degree, to the curriculum will make it compulsory for schools to teach one of life's most important subjects: how to manage your money.