The Financial Basics Community Foundation (FBCF) was launched by Financial Basics Foundation (FBF) in 2009 with a specific focus on developing programs which support disadvantaged young people to increase their financial capability and financial wellbeing. The result was a program that explores financial capability and wellbeing as a life skill rather than a component of a curriculum area, Ca$hEd Up - Developing Financial Skills for Life.
In 2017, seven schools in Queensland participated in a pilot program and by December 2020 twenty schools from Queensland, Western Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia had participated in a trial of Ca$hEd Up.
Ca$hEd Up - Developing Financial Skills for Life consists of 4 Modules (aligned to years 7 – 10), with each module consisting of five-lessons. The course is completely flexible, allowing each module to be delivered with any year level.
Ca$hEd Up materials are designed to be implemented by secondary teachers in life skills’ lessons, addressing critical financial life skills (as identified in CFLCC and NCFLF documentation), appropriate to their year level. The program allows teachers to ‘pick up and go’ with the lessons, or adjust to suit the local context as required.
Traditionally, resources which address financial literacy have been designed for use in business, economics and mathematics classrooms. The Ca$hEd Up resource can be used by all secondary teachers, irrespective of their teaching area.
Data collected during the pilot program in 2017 indicates significant findings in the areas of confidence and knowledge of the concepts covered.
After taking part in the Ca$hEd Up course:
Additionally, teachers appreciated the ‘hands on’ nature of the lesson materials and rated them an average rating of 4.2 (with 5 being excellent). Promisingly, 100% of teachers would run the course again and recommend it to colleagues.
In 2020, an expanded trial of Ca$hEd Up incorporating all 4 modules commenced. The trial included implementation of each of the Ca$hEd Up modules with different grades and in a range of settings and within different programs/subjects.
The delivery of Ca$hEd Up was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, however despite classroom disruptions 1,350 students completed the pre-course survey, 550 students completed the post-course survey and 13 teachers returned feedback reports.
Students noted the following outcomes after completing the Ca$hEd Up course:
The results from the trial demonstrated that Ca$hEd Up can help address some of the existing gaps in personal finance education for students. Results also showed an improvement in student knowledge across all of the general knowledge questions assessed during the course.
The significant number of students that stated that they had had conversations or sought advice about money from a parent or carer suggests the likelihood for Ca$hEd Up to create opportunities for students to have financial conversations with family and/or friends. This is an important objective of Ca$hEd Up, as research has shown that people whose parents did not provide them with advice on money matters had lower levels of financial wellbeing than those whose parents did provide such advice.
To read more about Financial Basics Community Foundation you can download the 2020-21 Annual Report here or request a copy via email: info@financialbasics.org.au
We are currently seeking funding to digitise the course in order to provide it to more schools and community organisations across Australia. If you would like to get involved, please email us: info@financailbasics.org.au
The Financial Basics Community Foundation is a tax deductible charity registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (www.acnc.gov.au)
For information about how to make a donation, please contact us directly on (03) 9610 4919 or email: info@financialbasics.org.au
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