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Students at Abbey School, a mixed special school for children with moderate to complex learning difficulties in Rotherham, have received financial education support classes from the national financial educational charity WizeUp Financial Education.
The charity, which aims to improve and revamp the financial support for students across England, partnered with working capital solutions provider Skipton Business Finance to conduct a transformative educational workshop for the Rotherham students.
Held before the half-term break on 24th October, WizeUp Financial Education visited Abbey School to work with their SEND (Children with special educational needs and disabilities) students on various topics, including top tips for budgeting their finances and ways of earning extra money.
The programme was led by WizeUp’s Associate Mel Sneath, who met with 20 students to kick off the day by exploring their dreams and goals. Students participated in team-building exercises, such as building towers from spaghetti and marshmallows, which encouraged a growth mindset by demonstrating that any challenge—whether in education, finances, or life—can be approached with resilience and creativity.
The students were then encouraged to brainstorm ways to raise money for their aspirational goals by identifying their strengths and hobbies and using these to generate business ideas along with associated costs. The students at Abbey School were particularly creative and wanted to make various pieces of artwork.
WizeUp supported this by commissioning their creations that allowed the students to earn tokens to use in a “WizeUp Tuck Shop.” This exercise naturally transitioned into a budgeting activity, where students calculated how much they could buy within a set budget, whilst understanding a little more about income, expense and saving.
At the end of the session, the students were presented with a ‘WizeUp/ Skipton Business Finance’ certificate to celebrate their engagement and hard work throughout the day.
WizeUp was able to deliver the classes thanks to funding from Skipton Business Finance, the charity’s first partner to provide the charity with UK-wide support. The contribution will allow WizeUp to conduct an extra series of financial literacy courses at a minimum of two schools each year.
Mike Flack, CEO at WizeUp comments on the workshop:
“We were thrilled to visit Abbey School and deliver the ‘WizeUp with Skipton Business Finance’ programme to another school in Yorkshire. The funding provided by Skipton Business Finance has allowed us to support our SEND programme for these students.
“We’d like to say a huge congratulations to the students at Abbey School and a big thank you to all the staff for making us feel so welcome.
“The next WizeUp/ Skipton Business Finance sessions will be held in Bristol and Chorley, where we will work with mainstream school students on similarly important topics.”
He adds: “In the UK, 2 in 5 adults do not feel confident in managing their money, and as a financial education charity we feel a responsibility to improve this.”
Matthew Shepherd, Chief Commercial Officer at Skipton Business Finance said:
“As a business finance provider, we see first-hand the importance of financial literacy for business owners. Strong financial management is essential for business success, and WizeUp's programmes can help young people make sound financial decisions and achieve their goals. We are delighted to support the programme and help to raise awareness of the need for financial literacy in young adults.”
As a result of the WizeUp financial education literacy workshop, 92% of participating students have reported an increase in their financial confidence, and over half of students in the UK report they feel less anxious about their financial future if they attend university.
Visit the WizeUp Financial Education website to learn more about their programmes and how you can get involved.
ENDS
Press contacts:
Sophie Brown - Media & Communications Manager at SBF
M: 07971 727 794