Three key phrases to describe Lifesavers:
- LifeSavers helps children and their families learn about money
- LifeSavers equips children with the knowledge, skills, attitudes and experiences to manage money well, now and in the future
- LifeSavers supports primary schools in setting up savings clubs and helping children and their families learn about money.
St James the Great Savings Club
Our club will be run within the school, opening weekly on Wednesday morning before lessons start and staffed by both adult and pupil volunteers.
Children can open accounts with the Savings Club, which will be held and run by the local credit union, the London Mutual. Pupils can deposit their money at the weekly savings club, just like they can with a bank, building society or credit union account. Children are encouraged to save for a purpose and to set savings goals, and the hands-on learning from the savings club will be linked to classroom teaching. Children / adults will be able to withdraw their money from the Credit union itself (not at school) Parents and guardians will be encouraged to engage with the project and support their child’s saving activity.
Our local Credit union is:
London Mutual Credit Union, 4, Heaton Road, Peckham SE15 3TH
Isn’t this old fashioned in an increasingly cashless world?
The fact that the world is increasingly cashless makes it all the more important that children get to experience handling real money, so they are more aware of the cost of buying things. We are also in the process of developing an online platform where there will be lots of interactive learning for children.
Has this not been done before? What’s new about this project?
School banks are not a new idea, but what is different about LifeSavers is its holistic, community-based approach. It combines values-based financial education with practical experience of handling money, and involves parents and the wider community.
More information about the Credit Union, please look at: