What does the Financial Inclusion Strategy mean for financial capability?
December 1st, 2025
In response to the publication of the UK Government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy, George Hoare, LFBF Interim Director of Research writes:
On 5th November 2025, HM Treasury published the UK Government’s new Financial Inclusion Strategy (FIS), laying out a plan to improve financial inclusion across the UK and ensure that everyone has the opportunity, support, and confidence to access the financial services they need to participate in the economy and wider society.
In the FIS, financial education and capability was one of six areas of focus (along with digital inclusion and access to banking, support for savings, financial resilience through insurance, access to affordable credit, and tackling problem debt), with three cross-cutting themes of economic abuse, mental health, and accessibility.
Alongside this, the Department for Education also published, also on 5th November, the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR) Final Report led by Professor Becky Francis and her team, and the Government’s response to the CAR Final Report. The CAR recommended changes to the National Curriculum at primary and secondary levels, which were largely accepted by the government. Changes will come into effect from September 2028.
Key commitments
The most significant commitment in the FIS is to make citizenship – which includes financial education – compulsory in primary schools through the recommendations of the CAR Final Report.
Under the rubric of embedding financial education and capability, there was also a more general commitment to strengthening financial education in secondary schools through improved sequencing, so that pupils encounter key concepts such as percentages in Maths before their application, such as in compound interest, in Citizenship).
The FIS commits to exploring options that would further drive progress, mentioning potential participation in the OECD PISA 2029 Financial Literacy Assessment.
The FIS notes that parents and carers need to be equipped with the skills they need to support children in building financial capability, committing to delivering a MaPS pilot of the ‘Talk, Learn, Do’ programme through five family hubs and organisations in England supporting families; the FIS includes the goal of scaling the programme up if successful.
In addition to the headline revision of the curriculum to put financial education in a more central place, the FIS looks to take steps to offer more support to adults when managing their money. With the aim of expanding access to high-quality money guidance for adults in moments they reach out for wider help, MaPS will enhance the Money Guiders programme to deliver quality financial guidance across the UK.
Finally, in order to finance an expanded financial education and capability offer, Fair4All Finance has committed £15m of dormant assets funding, with the option to scale funding up, and recently closed its consultation on its financial education and capability programme.
Our analysis
From the perspective of the LFBF, the expansion of financial education to primary schools is clearly to be welcomed, suggesting a widespread acceptance of the foundational importance of financial literacy in tackling financial exclusion, and representing a significant opportunity for bolder action and greater impact.
We do, however, believe that the FIS commitments around financial capability will likely stand or fall on who delivers financial education and how it is delivered.
In the decade since financial education was added to the secondary curriculum, we have now reached a situation where a striking gap exists between the provision of financial education and its resonance with young people. Published shortly after the FIS, our most recent Young Persons’ Money Index (YPMI) found that three quarters (76%) of young people report having learned about finances in school, while we know from other research that only a third (33%) are able to recall learning about money in school and finding it useful. At the same time, demand from young people for more financial education is there: our latest YPMI found that four in five (80%) young people are keen to learn more about money and finance, a sentiment echoed by 96% of parents and teachers.
These findings align with our earlier report, Accelerating Progress, published in January 2025 which summarises the developing body of evidence around best practice in financial education, strongly suggesting that financial education at very early ages should focus on moulding executive function, such as impulse control, in relation to money, while any changes to secondary financial education should drive at making financial education more prominent and real for young people through “just in time” financial education and experiential learning.
There is considerable room for innovation and the development of new approaches. Young people express a clear preference for financial education in school, rather than from parents or teaching themselves online or via an app, and also for integrating gamified, interactive, and experiential approaches. Our research has found that young people want to use financial education apps, practise with real financial products, and access information through short, relevant content on social media.
We also know that teachers face significant barriers to delivering financial education and the FIS requires elaboration in terms of how teachers will be upskilled and how time in their already packed schedules will be made to deliver financial education. In our recent YPMI we found that the vast majority of teachers (95%) reported that they should receive more training to enable delivery of financial education, with the complexity of the subject (41%) and lack of time (39%) highlighted by four in ten as a challenge to delivery. Students reported a preference for learning from people who can speak with authority on financial education, without relying on textbooks, suggesting real space for potential innovation around who delivers financial education in schools.
Next steps
The FIS has clear implications for organisations already involved in delivering financial education in schools or those considering doing so. Working with schools to support teachers in delivering financial education as part of the revised curriculum is a clear priority. While teachers are stretched and students are burdened with high levels of assessment, there is a clear case to be made for investment for schools to bring in external experts who are credible and relatable to deliver financial education.
We also know that students, parents, and teachers are all supportive of an increased focus on financial education within schools. The next task for the sector is to work collaboratively to bring together financial experts, curriculum experts, teachers, and student voices to ensure the right links between numeracy, financial education, and citizenship are made in curriculum design and delivery.
We regularly convene and connect those working to accelerate financial capability in the UK. If you would like to discover more about our work, please contact us.