Nationwide Education addresses parents' fear of debt

Recent research, published by Nationwide Building Society in conjunction with pfeg (Personal Finance Education Group), has shown that 69% of British parents – nearly seven out of ten – are concerned that their children will get into debt in the future. This is up from 62% of parents in 2008.

The research points to the importance of financial education from an early age in schools, as 94% of respondents thought that financial education for young people was important in the current environment.

Parents are seen to be pivotal in promoting financial education – 91% of respondents believed that it is the responsibility of parents as well as schools to provide financial education. However, many parents admit to lacking the necessary skills required to teach their children about saving and spending.

Nationwide addresses financial education through its free interactive website, Nationwide Education, developed by dbda. Nationwide and dbda are committed to financial education, and have developed an award-winning website aimed at increasing awareness and understanding of finance for children and young people from ages 4–18. There are resources for pupils, parents and teachers which are all linked to the National Curricula.

Caroline Hallatt, Head of Corporate Responsibility, Nationwide, commented: "Our research shows that most people feel there is not enough being done to educate children about finance, and that parents are becoming increasingly concerned. We recently launched a new programme on our Nationwide Education website aimed at the 16–18 age group which compliments our existing financial capability programmes for 4–16 year olds."

To view Nationwide's full press release please visit the Nationwide Media Centre.

To visit Nationwide Education please visit: www.NationwideEducation.co.uk.