SCOTLAND’S leading housing and homelessness charity has launched a free schools toolkit to help children and young people returning after the summer holidays learn about money management and finding and keeping a home.
Says a spokesperson: “According to Shelter Scotland, 40 per cent of Britain’s young people say they are increasingly worried about debt, and are most likely to be worried about losing their home. Separate research found that 75 per cent of youngsters did not understand the meaning of the words debt, redundancy and recession.
“Meanwhile, 93 per cent of teachers and parents think personal finance should be taught in schools.
“Sixty children become homeless every day in Scotland, while nearly one in five (179,000) children live in fuel poverty – more than enough to fill Hampden Park stadium three times over.
“The toolkit, which is available as an online resource, includes an accompanying range of tools giving teachers the means to help pupils plan a stable future (3).”
Graeme Brown, director of Shelter Scotland, said:
“Homelessness does not discriminate and anyone can lose their home when faced with a spiralling financial problem.
“It’s more important than ever that teachers are given the time and resources to help arm young people with the facts before they leave school so they can make informed decisions that affect their future.
“Our hope is that the toolkit will play an important role in schools across Scotland and equip future generations with life and money management skills, enabling them to find and keep a home that is affordable and secure.”
In line with the school curriculums teaching plans cover essential skills like budgeting and understanding the cost of household basics, while multimedia resources explore young people’s rights to the minimum wage and their rights if they become homeless.
The Shelter Scotland teaching kit is available online via www.shelter.org.uk/teachers
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Notes to Editors:
1. Shelter Scotland provides expert support services, online advice and a free national helpline for everyone facing housing and homelessness difficulties. For advice and support, visit http://scotland.shelter.org.uk or call 0808 800 4444.
2. The free Shelter Scotland Classroom Kit offers a range of help for different age groups and aims to tackle growing levels of housing concern amongst children and young people. The kit for Secondary 3-6 pupils uses budgeting scenarios and games to explore the concept of financial capability and promote responsible money management, while younger pupils in Primary 1-7 can learn to explore ideas of ‘needs and wants’ in a housing context and develop empathy with the housing situations of others.
3. Research based on Friends Life/NS&I/The Future Foundation/nVision, 2011 (Base: 1,000-1,049 respondents aged 16+)
4. Spokespeople are available for interview – call the media office on 0844 515 2442. An ISDN line is available for broadcast interviews.
5. Follow Shelter Scotland on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/shelterinscotland Twitter – http://twitter.com/shelterscotland
Shelter Scotland believes everyone should have a home. We help people find and keep a home. We campaign for decent housing for all.
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Contact: Shelter Scotland
Email: mediascotland@shelter.org.uk
Website: http://www.shelterscotland.org
