news release

Redcar’s Lakes Primary School recognised as national Centre of Excellence in financial education

Lakes Primary School, Redcar, has been recognised as a Centre of Excellence in financial education, after taking part in a ground-breaking national programme run by national charity pfeg (Personal Finance Education Group) and global information services company Experian©.

The school has been working with pfeg educational specialists to create a tailored financial education programme to help pupils gain the skills, knowledge and confidence they need to manage their money.  Teachers at the school, on West Dyke Road, Redcar, have been trained to deliver effective and engaging lessons in personal finance and money management.

Lakes Primary School is one of 21 schools across the country to have benefited from the programme, which was announced earlier this year.  The Redcar area was identified as a target along with five other areas by Experian using its tools to identify levels of use of financial services such as bank and savings accounts.

As a new pfeg Centre of Excellence, the school will now be supported in cascading its new knowledge and expertise in the delivery of financial education to help other schools in the local area set up their own programmes.  The move is part of the charity’s programme to spread best practice across the country.

Janet Madden, Headteacher at Lakes Primary School, said:

“We are thrilled to gain our pfeg Centre of Excellence award.  Staff here have worked extremely hard to gain this recognition for the school, and we already seeing the benefits that financial education can bring to our pupils.  We are now looking forward to continuing this work and to cascading our new expertise to other schools in the area.”

Tracey Bleakley, pfeg (Personal Finance Education Group) chief executive, said:

“Lakes Primary School has worked extremely hard to achieve this sought-after award, and we would like to congratulate the school on its achievement.  The school’s new expertise in financial education will be of enormous benefit to pupils, parents and the wider community.  We are delighted to have worked with Experian to help make it happen.

“It has never been more important for young people to learn how to manage their money, and it is crucial that their financial education starts from an early age.  Recent research by the government-backed Money Advice Service confirmed that financial habits in adulthood are established by the age of just seven years old – making it essential that primary schools help to give children the skills and knowledge they need as early as possible.  The work that Lakes Primary School is now doing will make a big difference to its pupils’ futures.”

Craig Boundy, Managing Director, Experian UK&I, said:

“We’re delighted that Lakes Primary School has achieved its Centre of Excellence award. Our important partnership with pfeg is making a real difference to children and schools right across the country, particularly in areas where support is needed the most. 

“Helping people of all ages 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 Experian’s high-quality teaching resources and our classroom volunteers is helping give thousands young people the opportunity to gain the vital knowledge and skills they need to make the right decisions about money, now and in the future.”

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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

NOTES TO EDITORS

*About pfeg Centres of Excellence

• A total of 51 schools and school clusters have now been awarded pfeg Centre of Excellence status
• Centre of Excellence status is awarded to schools or school clusters that have been recognised and rewarded for taking big steps forward in bringing personal finance education to all the children and young people in their school
• pfeg works with candidate schools and school clusters to embed financial education into the curriculum through the provision of teacher training, consultancy and support to feeder schools
• To achieve Centre of Excellence status, schools must achieve the following criteria
• Senior leadership commitment – a headteacher who wants their teachers to be trained to teach personal finance education;
• A champion – a key teacher with day-to-day responsibility for driving quality personal finance education;
• A school/college development programme – a well planned and high quality provision of financial education;
• Effective teaching, learning and assessment approaches – trained teachers who can motivate, challenge and assess pupils’ learning;
• Pupil involvement – pupils who are involved and motivated to learn
• Community engagement – links to other organisations locally and a willingness to use financial sector volunteers to add value;
• Dissemination and sustainability – the ability to operate independently of pfeg support and the enthusiasm to showcase and disseminate work to inspire other local schools/colleges;
• For more information on the Centres of Excellence Programme see http://www.pfeg.org/services/centres-excellence

About pfeg

• pfeg (Personal Finance Education Group) is the UK’s leading finance education charity 
• pfeg provides free support, resources and expert consultancy to help schools plan and teach financial capability. Its mission is to ensure that all young people leaving school are equipped with the confidence, skills and knowledge they need in financial matters to take part fully in society.
• pfeg works with teachers, government, consumer bodies and financial industry representatives to assist schools in delivering personal finance education to the highest possible standards – making sure that children and young people are able to understand money and make informed choices which will guarantee them security and economic well-being in the long-term.
• pfeg has won a Charity Times Award in 2012 for it’s What Money Means partnership with HSBC and was named Educational Charity of the Year at the Charity Awards in June 2010
• For more information see www.pfeg.org or contact Matt Hartley on 020 7330 9478 or matt.hartley@pfeg.org

Experian and financial education 
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 http://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/resources.html

About Experian
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 2013 was US$4.7 billion. Experian employs approximately 17,000 people in 40 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 http://www.experianplc.com.