View from the Top: Kelly Gray on financial literacy in primary schools
For this week's View from the Top, we've handed over to Kelly Gray, head of Prospect House. Here, Mrs Gray explores the importance of teaching financial literacy in primary school...
'Show Me the Money: why kids need to talk cash before they can spell it
Let’s face it: most of us didn’t learn about money until it was too late. By the time we realised compound interest wasn’t a new Marvel villain, we were already neck-deep in student loans and wondering if “avocado toast” really was the reason we couldn’t afford a house.
So why not do things differently for the next generation?
Financial literacy in primary school isn’t about raising mini-Bezos tycoons or pre-teen hedge fund managers. It’s about demystifying money before it becomes scary. Kids are naturally curious, surprisingly savvy and—frankly—better negotiators than most estate agents. (Ever tried saying no to a child in a museum gift shop?)
Take a Year 2 lesson I observed recently. The children were studying medieval tithes and, somewhere between peasants and ploughs, launched into an impressively articulate debate on modern taxation. One child explained that taxes help pay for “schools, hospitals, roads, and bins—so basically everything my parents moan about.” Spot on.
Fast forward to Year 6 and the stakes are higher: the “Tenner Challenge” gives each pupil £10 to launch a business. Cue product pitches, marketing plans, heated boardroom-style debates about ethical sourcing and serious discussions about profit margins and “scaling up”. It’s like The Apprentice, only with better manners and fewer taxis home!
They even tackle profit and loss, spending behaviours and why “just tapping the card” is not a solid financial strategy! There are lessons on money habits, emotional spending and the seductive power of shiny packaging. (To be fair, even adults fall for that one.)
The point isn’t to push capitalism on unsuspecting ten-year-olds; it’s to give children the language, confidence and curiosity to talk about money with ease—before society teaches them not to.
Because if we want our children to make good financial decisions later, we need to give them the tools now. And maybe, just maybe, they’ll stop asking for a new Nintendo Switch every time they find a pound coin down the back of the sofa.'
November 2025