Page 402 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 10 February 2021
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concerning behaviour of some of our financial institutions. And then, right at the end of last year, ASIC released a report about school banking programs in primary schools. The ASIC report found that providers of school banking programs were unable to demonstrate that these programs improved savings behaviour. It also found that school banking programs failed to disclose their objective of signing up customers as children.
So we know that children want to learn about money, and we know that school banking programs do not provide that learning. Teachers are passionate about preparing students for their lives as adults. Teachers in schools across the ACT access resources to teach financial literacy as part of the Australian curriculum, including resources from ACARA and ASIC. The resources include units of work, interactive activities and e-books to engage and enhance students’ critical thinking. The resources are developed for teachers by teachers and are intended to make it easier to teach financial capacity in the classroom.
Teachers in the ACT also access professional learning from ASIC as part of the Moneysmart for Teachers program. The Moneysmart for Teachers program builds teacher knowledge and the confidence to teach financial capability in the classroom. These courses are accredited by the ACT Teacher Quality Institute, which means that they count towards to the 20 hours of professional learning that teachers are required to do each year.
In the last 12 months we have seen a significant drop in participation in school banking programs in public schools. Less than 10 per cent of public school students now participate in school banking programs. There are a few reasons for this. Some banks have stopped offering their programs, some schools and P&Cs have chosen to stop running the programs, and fewer parents are choosing to participate with their children.
While we are having this conversation, I would particularly like to acknowledge the parent volunteers and school staff that have spent hundreds of hours administering these programs for school communities. For some schools, school banking programs have been a great tool for community engagement, giving an opportunity for parents to connect with each other and to connect with school staff. In planning this transition away from school banking, the government is committed to working with school communities and P&Cs to ensure that we create new opportunities for parents to engage in their local schools.
Since the banking royal commission, the ACT government has been considering how best to deliver financial literacy education in public schools. The government has been consulting with students, the Australian Education Union, the ACT Government School Education Council and P&C associations, as well as the ACT Principals Association, on the future of school banking. The government has also been cooperating and collaborating with ASIC to ensure that students have access to best practice financial literacy education. The government is committed to ensuring that all children in the ACT get the best chance at a good education and a good life. An understanding of money is an important part of being an adult, and it is clear from an ASIC report that school banking programs do not provide that learning.
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