The link between social mobility and financial capability and employability are well-documented: certain skills are fundamental to improving life chances and achieving economic well-being in a young person’s future.
Helping young people and their families gain the skills and knowledge to manage their financial resources effectively throughout their life is a strong focus in both our primary and secondary school programmes.
The Business, Enterprise, Employability (BEE) Programme is a series of six 90-minute monthly workshops on money and enterprise, delivered by employee volunteers to primary school children in the classroom.
The first three sessions explore needs and wants, spending and saving, currency, jobs, taxes and banking.
In the final three sessions, pupils form mini-companies to design and sell products, before calculating costs and donating their profits to a charity of their choice.
The Switch provides all the learning resources and training to enable volunteers to deliver the workshops and liaises with the schools to set up each programme.
This programme is additionally available to companies and schools beyond the borough of Tower Hamlets.
How to volunteer:
Our Primary School Financial Literacy (BEE) Programme requires a team of volunteers from a company to work with a specific school over a series of workshops. Volunteers are trained by us and are asked to make a minimum commitment to two workshops.
The number of volunteers required depends on the size of the school and the availability of volunteers, varying between 10 – 40 volunteers over the course of the programme.
Volunteers do not need to undergo a Disclosure & Barring Service clearance.
To find out more about this programme please contact our Primary Schools Team.
Funded by Lloyd’s Community Programme, Abacus is a family financial literacy project engaging children and their parents in Tower Hamlets.
In a series of six weekly workshops over one term, children aged 9-11 and their parents concurrently explore the practical and emotional aspects of managing money, learn about financial products and concepts and engage with the world of work.
The workshops are supplemented by two trips to the Bank of England Museum and the Lloyd’s Building.
We deliver the project in partnership with Quaker Social Action who run the parent workshops.
Using our curriculum-linked activities recently accredited by Young Money’s Financial Education Quality Mark, volunteers from across the Lloyd’s insurance market support or deliver two or more workshops for 9-11 year-olds, as well as some joint activities with parents.
With a The Switch lead facilitator, volunteers bring money, insurance and the world of work to life, whilst broadening children’s aspirations.
How to volunteer:
Abacus is open to volunteers from the Lloyd’s Market and the opportunity is regularly advertised through volunteering communications (Lloyd’s and market companies) throughout the year.
Do get in touch to discuss this further by contacting the LCP Senior Partnerships Manager.
Our Financial Literacy portfolio introduces key skills to 11 to 16 year olds in an interactive and enjoyable way.
The workshops can be an hour long or last a full day and involve a range of different situations and scenarios to get students thinking about finance.
How to volunteer:
We welcome teams of volunteers as well as individuals from companies.
No prior training is required. As this is a one-off activity volunteers do not need to undergo a Disclosure & Barring Service check.
Volunteers should dress as they would for the office. For full day workshops, lunch will be provided.
Do get in touch to discuss this further by contacting our Secondary Schools Team.
