A dinosaur helps children to manage their money

Just Finance Foundation’s ‘Milo’s Money’ programme improves how teachers introduce financial education to young children, with positive impact for the wider community as they continue to grow, according to a review published by the Money and Pensions Service.

The pilot scheme was funded by the Money and Pensions Service as part of a programme that would look at innovative ways to address the issue that only 48% of children receive a meaningful financial education, and seeks to equip primary school pupils aged five to seven with a basic awareness and understanding of financial literacy.

In the fun and interactive resources, Milo, a young dinosaur, receives money after completing a painting job for his uncle.  Milo learns what money is and begins to consider the options he has when it comes to using his new coins.  Throughout the story, Milo encounters characters that he knows and trusts and each give him different but valid advice on what he could do with his money.  The games and interactive resources allow the children to explore these options and look at themes such as: spending, saving, sharing, wants and needs and growing money through being entrepreneurial.

To date the programme has been delivered in 83 schools across the UK and nearly 11,000 children have benefitted from it.

The report demonstrates that, through Milo’s Money, children developed a better understanding of many key concepts of money and how to manage finances, and that the impact of the learning will continue far beyond their involvement with the project with the children embedding what they had learnt at home and helping to create a new generation that has a better financial education and is equipped to make better choices around money in the future.  Research also shows that the resources increased the skills and confidence of teachers in parents in introducing abstract concepts, such as money, in a tangible way.

Just Finance Foundation is currently seeking funding to continue the success of the pilot scheme by extending the reach of Milo’s Money to 1600 schools and 168,000 pupils by 2025.