Nationwide has unveiled a national accreditation scheme for teachers aimed at strengthening financial education in schools and helping children develop practical money skills.
The training programme, developed by Nationwide, will initially launch for primary school teachers in April before being extended to secondary school teachers by the end of 2026. The initiative enhances the building society’s existing Money Lessons programme and is described as the first accreditation of its kind from a UK bank or building society.
The move comes as new research commissioned by Nationwide highlights strong parental concern about children’s financial education. Some 89% of parents surveyed said it has never been more important for children to learn about personal finance at school, while 81% expressed concern about the quality of personal finance content on social media.
The accreditation has been developed in partnership with Visa and is designed to support teachers who may lack the time, resources or confidence to deliver financial education lessons. Teachers will be able to access the training through Nationwide’s Money Lessons website alongside a suite of ready-to-use lesson plans and classroom activities.
The course takes around two hours to complete online and covers topics including managing money, recognising misleading online content and avoiding scams. Teachers who complete the training must also pass a short competency test to gain accreditation.
Research from the Money and Pensions Service suggests that many schools would like to deliver more financial education but face barriers including limited classroom time, low confidence and a shortage of teaching materials.
The organisation has also warned that poor financial capability can leave young people more vulnerable to fraud, debt problems and unsafe financial products.
Concerns have also been raised by the Financial Conduct Authority about the growing exposure of young people to misleading financial promotions online, particularly through social media channels.
SOCIAL MEDIA EDUCATION
Nationwide’s survey of 2,000 parents with children aged between five and 15 found that one in four parents said their children now learn about money through social media. The most commonly cited platforms were YouTube, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram.
Data from TikTok for Business indicates that views of financial content on the platform rose by around 275% year on year in 2024.
Parents also ranked personal finance as the fourth most important subject to be taught at school, placing it above English literature, PE, home economics and history. Only maths, English language and science ranked higher.
PRIORITISING
The leading reasons parents gave for prioritising financial education were understanding debt and its long-term consequences, learning to budget and stay in control of money, and developing responsible attitudes towards spending.
Many parents reported feeling the effects of limited financial education themselves. Just over seven in ten, or 72%, said they struggled to understand personal finance while growing up, and 70% said this had negatively affected them later in life.
All materials used within the Money Lessons programme have been developed with input from psychologists and special educational needs teaching specialists. The resources are available to download from the programme’s website.
Nationwide will track the progress of the accreditation by monitoring course completions, including the number of teachers, schools and modules completed. Teachers who successfully complete the training will receive a certificate issued by CPD Certification Service.
The Money Lessons programme has delivered 6,719 lessons to 196,052 pupils across the UK since February 2025. The new accreditation represents a shift in focus from sessions delivered by Nationwide colleagues towards enabling teachers to run lessons independently in their classrooms.
Amanda Beech, director of retail services at Nationwide, said: “It’s clear that parents want to see financial education taught in schools, as many worry about what their children are learning on social media.
“We also know teachers want to give children clear, trustworthy guidance, but need more support and time. This new accreditation provides teachers simple, ready-to-use tools helping pupils to make safer everyday money decisions and gives parents reassurance that trusted teachers, using trusted materials, are shaping their children’s financial habits – both for now and into their futures.”
Sarah Webster, headteacher at Christ The King RC Primary School in Burnley, added: “Teachers recognise the importance of teaching money skills, but recent research shows that many lack the time, resources or confidence to deliver this effectively.
“Nationwide’s new accreditation, supported by fully prepared lessons and high-quality planning materials, provides a practical solution to that challenge.
“It enables teachers to embed financial education with ease, ensuring children develop essential money skills from an early age.
“This is particularly important at a time when so much of what they encounter online is unregulated.
“This initiative not only strengthens classroom practice, it also helps schools play a meaningful role in improving financial confidence and inclusion.”
