Well a week off basking in the sunshine of St Ives and not a lot has happened. Perhaps the biggest news story involves CTFs. The Child Trust Fund is about to have an impact on our primary schools and maths teaching. Ed Balls (Children, Schools and Families Secretary) has announced that the CTFs should be used as tools to teach maths in the classroom.
The CTF is a long term savings scheme and the first children that benefited from these funds (CTF) will be starting school this September. Teachers have been asked to use CTFs as a way of talking about financial education in maths lessons. A range of financial materials will be based upon the CTF, allowing teachers to bring finance to life via the children’s CTFs.
Children will be taught how to open a bank account, understand basic financial concepts like interest rates and learn important skills to plan for their financial future as part of an £11.5 million boost to personal finance education.
The funding will be made available from 2008 – 2011 and will be used to:
• revise curriculum guidance on financial capability;
• produce a range of innovative curriculum resources which will use the Child Trust Fund as a tool to help children learn more about the value of money and savings;
• ensure teachers receive high quality training and support so that they have the skills and confidence to teach financial education well.
• Expand the National PSHE CPD programme to include economic wellbeing and financial capability.
Primary Schools will be sent a letter from Ed balls and Kitty Ussher encouraging them to show it to parents, reminding them they can top up their contributuions.
To find out more go to GNN (Government News Network).
Continuing on the earlier theme of making number stories so that young children see that maths is related to the real world. The first looks at addition. Ask your child to write a simple number story for the sums. Ideas are provided but of course it is far better if they come up with their own sentences. (eg mum ate 2 rolls and dad ate 3 rolls. They ate 5 altogether.) The second looks at subtraction. One example is on the sheet. There are several ways of saying the subtraction sign (take away, less than etc). Encourage these different ways.