Earning credits by learning money

For the first time secondary students will be able to add credits toward their NCEA merit and excellence endorsements by learning about money.

The Commission for Financial Capability (CFFC) has launched achievement standard resources through its Sorted in Schools programme. The resources are designed to be taught by teachers as part of day to day classes in Statistics and Economics for students studying toward NCEA Levels 1 and 2.

The resources are the first to be aligned to achievement standards and gain NZQA accreditation, enabling students to not only gain NCEA credits but also potentially contribute to an overall endorsement of merit or excellence. Topics covered include money management, saving, debt, goal setting, insurance, investing, KiwiSaver and retirement.

Sorted in Schools is a government-funded financial education programme fully aligned to the curriculum, NZQA accredited and available free to all schools. Resources for NCEA unit standards were released last year, and learning packages are also available for students in Years 9 and 10.

The CFFC’s Director of Financial Capability, Nick Thomson, says the release of achievement standard resources means that financial education is now available to a wider range of students.

“Some schools or teachers choose to teach unit standards, others prefer achievement standards. By providing both, we can serve more students across a diversity of classrooms,” says Thomson.

Thomson says the financial impact of Covid-19 made the launch of senior secondary resources even more relevant.

“CFFC research revealed the financially vulnerability of many families due to the effects of Covid-19 - 34% of households were in difficulty and 40% were at risk of tipping into hardship,” says Thomson. “Sorted in Schools is helping the next generation to become financially resilient, so they’re equipped to weather financial storms and reach their goals throughout their adult lives.”