Ravenshall School, W.Yorkshire
Runner up, 2010
School award for best all-round approach to PFE - secondary
Ravenshall School is a special school for students with complex needs. The Head and Senior Management team identified personal finance as a priority in their development plan and organised CPD for staff using pfeg consultants. All students have access to a varied and exciting PSHE curriculum which includes personal finance education and enterprise initiatives. Students in the Key Stage 3 SEN class have been raising money for charity as part of their PFE work by setting up a ‘Toast club’. Each week they create a shopping list, calculate the money they will need and shop for the items. When buying and selling the toast they get to handle real money and develop their communication and speaking and listening skills. Specific coin recognition skills are taught as part of the numeracy curriculum. The classes have also had input from a local bank and credit union who have helped them to explore how to set up bank accounts and create weekly budgets.
The young people are now operating a ‘Dragon’s Den’-style initiative to encourage other students to present their ideas and borrow money to set up their own club and pay them back when they are making a profit. Key Stage 4 students take part in an enterprise scheme which this year took the form of a car wash, run seasonal fairs and consider gambling and good and bad debt, using pfeg resources to learn about spending and saving, risk and enterprise.
The judges were impressed with the practical and engaging approach relevant to the complex needs of the pupils at this school shown by this PFE programme.
