The money skills of an adult life. Earning, spending, saving, borrowing, planning. Banking and financial products. Tax basics. Consumer rights and protection from scams. The financial decisions that shape a working life — housing finance, pension, insurance, big purchases.
NEO’s framing is that financial literacy is not an extracurricular add-on but canonical content. The Cornerstones / RSHE / PSHE Mapping v0.1 (March 2026) names it as a “quick win — free, ready-made” via Barclays Life Skills and HMRC resources, and a high-value addition to the curriculum especially for KS4 / preparing-for-adulthood and learners leaving care.
Strands
- Money basics — income, spending, saving, debt, budgeting, the relationship between earning and outgoings
- Banking and financial products — current and savings accounts, credit, ISAs, mortgages, insurance
- Consumer rights and protection from scams — what to read before signing; refunds; recognising and resisting financial fraud
- Major life events and financial planning — housing finance, pension, retirement, life insurance, financial decisions across decades
Cornerstone framing
Reflection (financial decisions are reflective, not impulsive), Connection (money is relational — joint accounts, dependents, providers, services), Rest (financial security is a precondition of rest; financial precarity is a chronic stressor for many of NEO’s cohort).
Tested by
- ASDAN Towards Independence
- ASDAN Lifeskills Challenge
- ASDAN Personal and Social Development
- FS Maths L2 (most financial content is tested in FS Maths context)
PfA alignment
Strong on Independent Living. Touches Employment (pay, tax, pension) and Community (welfare benefits, public-service finance).
Free resources flagged in the Mapping v0.1
- Barclays Life Skills — free curriculum-quality resources covering money management, employability, and financial wellbeing
- HMRC Tax Facts and Junior Tax Facts — free educator resources on income tax, NI, and how PAYE works
- MoneyHelper (formerly Money Advice Service) — government-backed, plain-English guidance on debt, mortgages, pensions
These are first-call resources for the practitioner team building this strand.