An East Kilbride primary has become the first school in Scotland to be accredited as a Centre of Excellence in financial education.
Crosshouse Primary School achieved the required standard following its commitment to a progressive financial education programme.
That came against the backdrop of the pandemic and has been created to support young pupils, and in turn its local community, by involving parents and carers, teachers and other partners.
The school joins a network of over 150 Centres of Excellence already accredited in England and Wales since 2014.
Supported by Young Enterprise (YE) Scotland and HSBC UK, in partnership with Young Enterprise UK, the Centre of Excellence programme provides a set of professional standards to support schools to deliver practical, effective and sustainable financial education which meets its pupils’ needs and priorities.
In particular, Crosshouse was commended for the way in which it engaged its pupils both through its Pupil Financial Education Group, which discussed ideas and resources, as well as with its financial mascots, Freddie and Frankie.
Crosshouse's portfolio of evidence was successfully assessed by Young Money, Young Enterprise UK's financial education brand.
Having achieved such a high standard of financial education provision across the school, the school has committed to sharing the good practice it has developed with other local schools whilst continuing to receive support from YE Scotland over the next three years.
Class teacher and financial education champion, Jackie Noon, told us : “We feel it is vitally important for our children to develop a broad range of skills, knowledge and attitudes to thrive in a financially evolving society and to prepare them for the responsibility of having to manage their own money.
“We've loved how the children have embraced the programme and we are thrilled to be a Centre of Excellence for Financial Education.”
Marie Leck, a school delivery manager for YE Scotland, has been working closely with Crosshouse Primary over the past year.
She said: “We are delighted for Crosshouse Primary and congratulate the teaching staff for achieving the centre of excellence status – the first in Scotland. All their hard work and commitment has paid off.
"They created a dynamic and engaging financial education programme, which recognised the impact of money matters on both numeracy and social well-being. I hope it will be a beacon to others to take up a Centre of Excellence programme their school.”
Stuart Haire from HSBC UK added: “We are delighted to establish the Centres of Excellence programme in Scotland with Crosshouse Primary School the first to achieve the status.
"Financial education gives young people a great start to achieving financial wellbeing in later life and the teaching staff at Crosshouse have implemented a highly creative lesson plan that is clearly having an impact within the classroom and beyond.
“Financial capability means having the skills, attitudes and tools needed to manage money effectively and we are delighted to partner with Young Enterprise Scotland to help embed financial education within the curriculum of Scottish schools.
"As well as the Centres of Excellence programme, we are also extending our Money Heroes initiative in Scotland, giving schools plenty of options to tailor classroom sessions to suit their pupils.”
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