Primary school children in Nottingham have been learning about the dangers of illegal money lenders thanks to new classes by financial experts.
Blue Bell Hill Primary in St Ann’s is one of many schools up and down the country who learnt about saving money, keeping it safe and the issue of borrowing and lending money.
The classes are being run by financial experts Experian, and the Illegal Money Lending Team (IMLT), which is part of Trading Standards.
Over the last ten years IMLT have helped 25,000 victims and prosecuted 329 illegal ‘loan sharks’ – the illegal money seized from illegal lenders is then used in projects, such as these education classes.
Chris Clark, Managing Director of Experian said: ““We want to give young people a head start in life by educating them about money. ”
“Helping people of all ages make informed and successful decisions about money sits right at the heart of Experian’s business. We hope these new materials help many children and their families.”
Studies by the University of Cambridge discovered that many children develop attitudes and values towards money by the age of seven.
Financial education became part of the core secondary school curriculum in England last year – but is not compulsory in primary schools, meaning classes like these are rare.
