St. James’s Place is expanding its work with the charity Young Enterprise to support the accreditation of schools looking to become Centres of Excellence (CoEs) for financial education.
SJP, the UK’s largest wealth management company, has committed to sponsoring 21 education providers over three years to enable them to become financial CoEs. Each academic year, seven schools will join the programme, mainly in deprived areas across the UK. Their progress will be aided through a consultant from Young Enterprise, sponsored by SJP to work one to one with the school.
The first three schools to be sponsored by SJP towards accreditation were Tonge Moor Primary Academy in Bolton, Greater Manchester, Whitefield Primary School in Liverpool, and Moor House School & College in Oxted, a special education school in Surrey.
Those schools have now been joined by Osmani Primary School in Tower Hamlets, London, Meadowfield Primary School in Leeds, Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School in Birmingham, and Deer Park School in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, close to SJP’s headquarters, have also begun their journey to becoming an accredited CoE.
In the upcoming academic year, SJP and Young Enterprise is aiming to form a further seven partnerships with schools. Five schools have already started their journey to become accredited as CoE: Ash Park Primary School in Glasgow; Endeavour Academy in Newcastle; Park Community School in Havant; Hampshire, Preston Manor Academy in Wembley, London; and Scotholme Primary School in Nottingham.
SJP’s partnership with Young Enterprise, aims to support education providers – including primary and secondary schools - on their accreditation journey, providing academic staff with the tools and resources needed to continue to better financial literacy and help build the financial confidence of students across the UK.
SJP employees and advisers play a key role in this partnership, supporting Young Enterprise consultants with the delivery of financial education workshops, work experience opportunities, teacher training and mentoring. The partnership aims to drive a stronger financial education experience, improving financial literacy and building a supportive relationship between educators and students.
Vicki Foster, Division Director, Responsible Business, St. James’s Place, says: “We’re looking forward to continuing to build our partnership with Young Enterprise and supporting the accreditation of schools on their journey to becoming CoE. The first year of this project has laid the foundation for the programme where we have created lessons plans and facilitating financial education training sessions for teachers. Our partnership with Young Enterprise has allowed us to build practical steps which are fundamental to developing and expanding financial literacy across the UK. “Through our partnership with Young Enterprise and with the backing of Young Enterprise supporting the Centre of Excellence programme, we are helping to build an accessible financial education programme within schools in deprived areas across the United Kingdom. The community-based programme is supported by local SJP Partners and employees from our wider business, and we hope that as the programme develops, each of the Centres of Excellence will share their learnings with other schools which are onboard and improve access to financial education across the board.”
Sharon Davies, CEO of Young Enterprise, comments: “We are delighted that, through our partnership with St. James’s Place, seven schools have been able to join our Centres of Excellence programme, providing young people with access to a meaningful financial education while simultaneously building financially capable communities. Our focus for the second year of our partnership is to support an additional seven Centre of Excellence schools, delivering financial education workshops, facilitating work experience opportunities, conducting teacher training, and offering mentoring to young individuals. Together, we will continue to make a meaningful difference in the lives of young people, through fostering long-term and sustainable partnerships that empower young people with the essential tools to navigate their financial futures with confidence.”