In November 2025, the government announced changes to the national curriculum. From 2028, primary school
pupils will receive compulsory financial education through Citizenship lessons, a change designed to better
prepare young people for the world of work and realities of modern-day life.
The move has been welcomed by organisations across the education and finance sectors, including by Newbury
Building Society, which has been at the forefront of championing financial education since 2008 through its
Junior Newbury Building Society (JNBS) scheme. See here for how local primary schools can register interest for support with financial education.
As a member of the Building Societies Association’s National Financial Education Working Group (alongside VISA
and Nationwide), the Society is helping shape best practice across the country. In 2025, they updated their own
JNBS scheme, modernising it for a generation familiar with in-app purchases and contactless payments.
“Classrooms and the world beyond them have changed significantly since 2008. Updating JNBS was essential
to reflect the way young people currently engage with money today, as well as making the learning as
accessible for schools as possible,” said Mollie Maclean, Marketing Business Partner at Newbury Building Society.
The workshops have been designed by Rosie Edwards, former teacher and deputy head and current Service
Communications Business Partner at the Society. Drawing on her decades of experience in primary education,
the updated sessions comprise ready-made, curriculum-aligned lessons for Key Stage 1 and 2, introducing
children to financial concepts through games, video, group work, and discussion. They can be delivered either by
Newbury employees or teachers themselves, giving schools flexibility and ownership in how financial education
is taught.
The workshops already meet the government’s objectives for the statutory curriculum changes, something
which the Society hopes will help their partner schools feel prepared for the forthcoming changes.
Topics include:
- Keeping money safe (including spotting scams)
- Understanding spending influences
- Different payment methods and their risks
- Saving, borrowing, and interest
- Budgeting basics
So far, more than 270 pupils throughout Berkshire and Oxfordshire have taken part in the new JNBS. Curridge
Primary School near Thatcham praised the workshops as “engaging, informative, and incredibly supportive of
the children’s learning.”
“We’re passionate about helping children become financially aware from an early age,” Edwards explains. “JNBS
workshops provide learning about a range of essential financial topics to help children build strong money skills.
We’ve seen amazing engagement so far from the children who have taken part; many of whom are learning
about these concepts for the first time.
The questions they ask and the discussions we have had clearly show a need to prioritise financial education,
so we’re really pleased the government is driving this forward. As plans develop, we will continue to support our
local schools by delivering JNBS and equipping busy teachers with the tools and confidence they need to have
a go at teaching financial education.”
For more information, please visit newbury.co.uk/community-and-charity/financial-education/.
