Free book for every state secondary school
The Bank of England has sent a free copy of the book to every state secondary school in the UK alongside a six-lesson resource which features extracts, presentation slides and worksheets relating to the book.
‘Can’t We Just Print More Money?’, published in May by Cornerstone Press, was written by Bank economists Rupal Patel and Jack Meaning and offers an accessible introduction to economics themed around ten questions including ‘Why are so many of my clothes made in Asia?’ ‘Why aren’t Freddos 10p anymore?’ and ‘What even is money?’.
Jack and Rupal commented:
“The book and the resources are designed to open economics up to as many young people as possible, so they have the opportunity to explore and understand the economic world around them. Key theories are explained through engaging and relevant examples from daily life, which we hope will spark lots of discussions in the classroom.”
The lessons have been designed by Jo Heathcote, English Consultant and former Principal Examiner for GCSE English Language. They use key extracts from the book as the basis for analysis, critical evaluation and writing tasks which also introduce and explore key economic ideas and concepts.
Jo, who is the author of a number of well-respected textbooks and study guides, said:
“One of the challenges faced by English teachers is having the time to find fresh new
extracts and materials to work with at GCSE – especially suitable non-fiction texts. It’s been a great pleasure to be able to use key extracts from Can't We Just Print More
Money? to create imaginative lesson content to practice skills in inferential reading, analysis, different forms of writing and valuable speaking and listening opportunities for the classroom which will work across all specifications.”
Finding time for finances
Research commissioned by the Bank shows that the majority of teachers identified a lack of time within the timetable as the main obstacle to the delivery of a financial education programme within their school.
Some 63% of respondents to a Teacher Tapp survey of 6,694 teachers on 19 February 2022 cited pressures on timetable time, with the next most popular response being a lack of subject expertise (13%).
The resource complements the Bank of England’s existing set of materials to support the
delivery of financial and economic education, including:
‘Money and Me’ – 12-lesson resource that introduces primary school pupils to how money and the economy works which was created in partnership with Beano and Tes.
EconoME – 4-lesson resource designed to help 11-16 year olds understand the
economy better and provide them with the analytical skills to make informed
decisions.
Andrew Hebden, Head of Outreach and Education at the Bank of England, said:
“We recognise the time pressures and competing priorities that teachers face. We hope that, as well as helping to support the development of key skills aligned to the English curriculum, these lessons will encourage young people to think about how the economy works and their role within it.”
In addition to its education resources, the Bank also runs a free programme of school talks, delivered by Bank staff. The latest initiative is being funded using the royalties the Bank received for the book.
Chris Zarraga, Director of Schools North East commented:
“We are delighted that the Bank of England chose to launch this resource at the Schools North East Annual Summit. Hundreds of education leaders joined us yesterday with a theme of ‘reflect, reframe and reachout’. We were delighted that the Bank of England used our annual Summit to reach out to schools in the North East. It is extremely important that young people learn about finances while at school, to better understand the world around them and what lies ahead, especially during a rising cost-of-living crisis. A big thank you to the Bank of England for providing this resource for schools.”
We sat down with Andrew Hebden at the Annual Summit, please keep an eye out for our interview which will be sent out through our social media channels soon.
All releases are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/news.
The Bank of England’s education resources are available to download at
www.bankofengland.co.uk/education
If your school has not received your copy of the book by the end of October. Any school
which has not received their copy can email education@bankofengland.co.uk to request it.
For more information on the research on financial education in schools, see
https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/quarterly-bulletin/2022/2022-q1/financial-education-in-a-digital-world
We love to hear good news from North East Schools, to share your news with Schools North East please tag @SchoolsNE on Twitter or apply here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeGgTpbLixAqIprwSS2JXd_AFcKYD5Ahtug_ol7BdHDfgHRsw/viewform
