Nationwide is launching a national accreditation for primary school teachers that aims to boost confidence in teaching financial education and help more children develop lifelong money skills. The accredited financial education training, which enhances Nationwide’s existing Money Lessons programme, is the first initiative of its kind from a UK bank or building society.It comes as new research from Nationwide reveals 891 per cent of parents surveyed say it has never been more important for children to learn about personal finance at school, with 812 per cent worried about the quality of personal finance content on social media.Developed in partnership with Visa, the accreditation launches for primary school teachers in April and for secondary school teachers by the end of 2026 - and is designed to ease pressures in the classroom. Teachers can access the accredited financial education training on Nationwide’s Money Lessons webpage as well as the full package of ready to use lessons and activities – already available - reducing the need to create content from scratch and helping deliver consistent, high quality financial education lessons and activities.To become accredited, teachers complete a two-hour online course covering practical topics such as managing money, avoiding scams and recognising misleading online content, followed by a short competency test.Research from the Money and Pensions Service shows that although many schools want to deliver more financial education, they often face barriers such as limited time, low confidence and a lack of resources. The organisation also warns that low financial capability can leave young people more at risk of fraud, debt problems and unsafe financial products, and highlights teacher training as one of the most effective ways to improve the quality and consistency of financial education.Meanwhile, the Financial Conduct Authority has raised concerns that young people are increasingly exposed to misleading financial promotions online, particularly through social media.Nationwide’s poll of 2,000 parents who have children aged between 5-15 years old found that one in four parents (25%) say their children now learn about money through social media, with the top sites being YouTube, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram. According to TikTok for Business insights, views of financial content on the channel grew by around 275 per cent year-on-year in 2024.NoYesConsultancy16 Mar, 2026