In today’s European society there are more ways in which money can change hands and circulate the economy, than ever before. And methods particularity digital methods for buying things is increasing daily so that it is easy to be confused by the huge range of possibilities. On the other hand there are also more ways a person can invest their money ranging from old fashioned methods such as investing in stocks and shares to modern and often not so well understood concepts such as bit-coins? Understanding this minefield of opportunities to both spend and invest money is complicated, particularly for young people. The impetuous youth may think they are onto a good thing only to find they have lost money through unwise choice. The project is therefore designed to provide older school age children and students with a comprehensive and easy to access guide to managing their money now and hopefully throughout their whole life. This is something that is currently missing from the schools curriculum but which represents a key life skill, and also has many commercial attributes and employability skills attached to it The aim would therefore be to give students (target age 14-21) a basic understanding and competence of personal finance issues that they are likely to face. It could be used by students directly or as part of a basic finance awareness package. The basic ethos of the project is ‘what I wish I had been taught about finance when I was at school’, and will develop basic life skills: Starting your journey of personal finance understanding. Personal finance programme is a modular curriculum aimed at students aged 14 - 21. The project will produce and pilot a training course on how young people can manage their money and be aware of the various opportunities and threats throughout their lives in relation to money. We will do this by conducting research in each country to establish what information already exists, whom it is aimed at, and what levels of access and awareness there are in relation to the topic. Along with this we will conduct primary research to accurately establish the specific needs of the target group. We will then develop a training programme (curricula) which is modular format to teach students how to manage their money. The training course will be supported by a series of 10 instructional videos which will allow the course to be accessed remotely as an e-learning option. Additionally we will produce a series of work sheets which will combine to form a booklet, which will complement both the training programme and the instuctional videos. A blended learning course will allow both students and teachers to pilot the programme
The project was delivered in line with the application.The project has produced and piloted a Personal Finance Programme in a modular curriculum aimed at students aged 14 - 21. The focus of the programme is on how to manage their money and how to be aware of the various opportunities and risks that they may encounter throughout their lives in relation to money. This was achieved by: a. conducting research within each country to establish what finance information already exists, whom it is aimed at, and what levels of access and awareness there are in relation to the topic. Along with this we conducted primary research to accurately establish the specific needs of the target group. b. We then developed a training programme (curriculum) which is in a modular format consisting of ten topic areas to teach students how to manage their money. c. To support the training course, 10 instructional videos were produced which summarised and promoted the topics. d. To further support the training course, we produced a series of work sheets which combine to form a booklet, which complements both the training programme and the instructional videos. e. The materials were tested during a C1 blended learning week which enabled both students and teachers to pilot the programme. A number of multiplier events were held to showcase and promote the intellectual outputs of the project.