GoHenry – the money app helping kids learn to earn, save, spend and invest – has today announced the formation of its Kids Financial Education Advisory Board as part of a new initiative designed to champion young people’s voices on financial education.
The new Board – made up of three GoHenry members; Eashan (age 14 from Essex), Maddie (age 17 from Birmingham) and Theo (age 11 from Yorkshire) – ensures that kids’ voices are heard on financial literacy and included in important discussions about their own education. Crucially, their insights will help shape GoHenry’s recommendations to the Government on how financial education should best be delivered in classrooms.
GoHenry’s Kids Financial Education Advisory Board will also examine the recommendations of the Government’s National Curriculum Review, which are due to be published this Autumn. As members of the Board, Eashan, Maddie and Theo will have the opportunity to speak directly to MPs about how they think money lessons should be delivered in schools.
To raise awareness for the initiative, GoHenry’s Kids Financial Education Advisory Board joined distinguished guests last Wednesday at a special Market Close ceremony at the London Stock Exchange. Celebrating its annual ‘Ring the Bell For Financial Literacy’ event, Eashan, Maddie and Theo attended alongside members of the financial services industry, charities and schools.
All three Board members want to learn more about money in school. Eashan has advocated in Parliament for financial education to be taught on the national curriculum; Theo wants to know more about investing to set himself up for success in the future and support his family; and Maddie wants to learn about budgeting so she can improve her financial confidence and run her own business.
The launch of the Board is just another step in GoHenry’s longstanding campaign to make financial education compulsory from primary school. It follows the publication of its Financial Education Manifesto last year and builds on research*, published earlier this year, which revealed that 84% of kids want to see financial education on the Government’s new national curriculum.
14-year-old Eashan, member of the new Kids Financial Education Advisory Board, said: “Financial education is so important for young people because it helps set you up to succeed later in life. Being part of GoHenry’s new advisory board is so exciting and it means I get to be in front of the people making decisions about the future of my education. Hopefully, together, we can help to make sure money lessons are taught in school.”
Louise Hill, Founder of GoHenry said:“Young people – like Eashan, Theo and Maddie – deserve a say in what they learn in school, especially when it comes to key life skills such as money management. That’s exactly why we’ve launched the GoHenry Kids Financial Education Advisory Board, to make sure their voices are not only heard, but acted on. I’m looking forward to working closely with all three of our new Board members as we continue our campaigning for financial education to be part of the new curriculum from primary school.”