In a ground-breaking new partnership announced today between Experian®, the global information services company, and the UK’s leading financial education charity pfeg (Personal Finance Education Group), 20 schools in some of the country’s most financially disadvantaged areas will be transformed into Centres of Excellence in financial education.
Funded by Experian and delivered by pfeg, the initiative will give thousands of school children access to a life-changing financial literacy programme enabling them to gain the skills, knowledge and confidence they need to be able to make the right financial decisions and manage their money well into adulthood.
To provide targeted support, schools will be identified by Experian using its tools to provide insight into areas of the country with low levels of financial literacy and use of financial services such as bank and savings accounts.
pfeg’s educational specialists will work with the selected schools to help create a tailored financial education programme for pupils and to ensure all teachers are trained to deliver the innovative personal finance lessons and activities. In addition, trained Experian volunteers will also be matched to schools to offer support to teachers in the classroom.
Experian will be funding the development of 20 schools and school clusters to achieve pfeg Centres of Excellence status over the next three years, making them beacons of best practice in teaching children and young people about money. Schools will be required, as a condition of achieving Centre of Excellence status, to use local school cluster networks to help neighbouring schools set up financial education programmes, to help make a significant and lasting impact on their local communities.
Tracey Bleakley, pfeg chief executive, said:
“Our Centres of Excellence programme is transforming the landscape of financial education in schools. The work of pfeg Centres of Excellence across the country forms a key part of our plans to ensure that every young person in the UK leaves school with the skills, knowledge and confidence to manage their personal finances.
“We are delighted to be working with Experian to expand this programme to 20 new schools in areas of deprivation across the country. It has never been more important to ensure that young people are taught these crucial life skills, and our partnership will benefit thousands of children over the next three years and beyond.”
Craig Boundy, Managing Director, Experian UK&I, said:
“This important new partnership with pfeg will make a real difference to children and schools in those areas in the UK where support is needed the most. Giving people access to the information they need to make better financial decisions sits right at the heart of Experian and we have been developing free financial education resources for a number of years. The combination of pfeg’s expertise with our high-quality teaching resources and our classroom volunteering will mean that young people have the opportunity to gain the vital knowledge and skills they need to make the right decisions about money.”
For more information contact pfeg’s Matt Hartley on 020 7330 9478 or 07730 141519 or email matt.hartley@pfeg.org and/or Experian’s James Jones on 0115 9922336, james.jones@experian.com
Experian has run a financial education programme in the UK since the mid 1990s and has developed a wide selection of resources to help young consumers get to grips with issues around money, credit and credit checking. Existing teaching resources include Creditability, an interactive computer game for 14 to 16-year-olds and Getting Credit: A beginner’s guide, a set of lesson plans and support materials. All of Experian’s education resources are available from www.experian.co.uk/consumer/resources.html
Experian is the leading global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to clients around the world. The Group helps businesses to manage credit risk, prevent fraud, target marketing offers and automate decision making. Experian also helps individuals to check their credit report and credit score, and protect against identity theft.
Experian plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. Total revenue for the year ended 31 March 2012 was US$4.5 billion. Experian employs approximately 17,000 people in 44 countries and has its corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with operational headquarters in Nottingham, UK; California, US; and São Paulo, Brazil.
For more information, visit www.experianplc.com