From today, four to seven year olds across the UK will be helped in developing positive and healthy first attitudes towards money and savings with the launch of funtosave.org, the first website to take a holistic approach to teaching young children about the concept of saving both at school and at home.
Developed by the UK's Mutual Insurers and educational specialists, D2, the free website is the only resource to contain educational games for children aged four to seven, accompanying activities for parents to enjoy with their children in everyday life, and co-ordinated lesson plans for teachers developed in line with the national curriculum.
The site is designed specifically to target the nation's four to seven year olds when attitudes to money first begin to be formed. It meets an acknowledged gap in the country's financial capability strategy by providing vital supporting resources for both parents and for the 14,000 primary schools across the country.
Shaun Tarbuck, Chief Executive of The Association of Mutual Insurers comments, "Young people are our next generation and it is vital that their first attitudes towards money and savings are positive. The majority of these attitudes are developed at an early age in the home with parents or carers. We believe that the key to teaching financial capability effectively is to teach young people at home and at school and to make learning fun. Mutual insurers are owned solely by their customers and are delighted to be able to develop such a unique and much needed resource for the next generation of savers in this country."
Chris Pond, Director of Financial Capability at the Financial Services Authority comments, "Providing personal finance education early in life and at school is the best opportunity to begin to embed an understanding of financial matters and develop positive attitudes towards money. When people are young, they are most receptive to learning, and school provides a unique opportunity to reach all sections of society, including many individuals who may later become far harder to reach. We welcome the launch of an additional resource - funtosave.org - that will help parents and carers of young children, as well as teachers and the children themselves, support and improve the financial capability of the UK's next generation."