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Sharon Davies, CEO of the national financial and enterprise education charity Young Enterprise, has spent years championing the power and positive impact of teaching young people financial skills.

Following her recent appearance on Pearson’s The Right Angle podcast, she shares her thoughts on why integrating consistent financial education in UK schools is a goal worth striving for. Although financial education crosses over many areas of the curriculum, such as PSHE, business studies or science, many would argue that maths is its natural home. Here, Sharon outlines her top tips on embedding the subject in maths.

The role of new digital learning technologies is not a vision of the future; it is now firmly embedded in education systems from the nursery to the university. The development of digital resources is fast-paced and it can seem overwhelming to navigate the tsunami of sales pitches promising everything from reduced workloads to perfect assessment. However, step back and remember the wise words of educationalist Dylan Wiliam that “everything works somewhere; nothing works everywhere – so we need to ask ourselves, under what conditions does x work?”

I rarely meet a teacher these days who isn’t concerned about the growing number of children with speech, language and communication needs. 

It isn’t likely to get better any time soon if we look at what is happening in the cohort of children who will soon be working their way through the school system. In a recent survey 82 per cent of health visitors reported seeing a year-on-year increase in children with speech, language and communication delays in their pre-school caseloads. And last year, Speech and Language UK estimated that at least 1.9 million primary- and secondary-aged children were struggling with talking and understanding words. That equates to one in five school-aged children – the highest number ever recorded.

Effecting meaningful change

We’re pleased to have contributed to the Government’s call for evidence as part of the Curriculum and Assessment Review. Joining the voices of other sector experts, educators, parents/carers and learners, we've shared our research, experience and recommendations with the panel.

Today, we’re sharing a summary of key points from our submission, where we set out our recommendations for how meaningful change can be brought about.

Pearson’s Managing Director of School Assessment and Qualification, Sharon Hague, penned an article about efforts to broaden the curriculum for Schools Week recently.

Her article discusses the importance of creating a broader curriculum without waiting for the outcomes of the Curriculum and Assessment Review. While dramatic curriculum changes might grab attention, lasting progress is more likely to come from steady, incremental adjustments.

We believe in the power of education – and the role of the education system – to prepare all young people, regardless of background, to have successful and fulfilling futures in life, work and study.