Words by Smiley Team
Marcus Rashford is known for his tireless work supporting those with food insecurities – and now he's upping his efforts to teach kids about money, too.
Along with Natwest and the National Youth Agency, he has launched the Thrive Programme - a new programme being trialled at youth community centres across England to help address the lack of financial confidence and concerns that young people face today.
Thrive is being launched as a pilot across three youth community centres in Manchester, London and Sunderland this week, with plans to scale across the summer.
With 67% of young people worrying about money, and only 8% of financial education coming from the classroom, NatWest, Marcus Rashford and the National Youth Agency have collaborated to create a programme that offers some much-needed support and guidance for young people to develop a positive mindset around money and help champion their potential.
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Led by inspirational youth workers, the content of the programme has been tailored to make the financial messages and guidance practical and relevant, suiting the learning-styles of different young people, promoting discussion with real-life examples.
Some of the topics covered in the programme will include:
Money Mindset: Developing an awareness of their (young peoples’) own beliefs about money, and the potential for beliefs to limit actions that could improve financial wellbeing.
Money Talks: Busting myths when talking about money and outlining ways to have conversations about money in close relationships.
Own Your Vision: Setting goals for life achievements and effectively planning age-appropriate ways to reach them
In partnership with the National Youth Agency, the professional, statutory and regulatory body for youth work in England who sets and validates the national standards for youth work qualifications, the programme will equip youth workers with a series of workshops and activities designed to speak to young people on their terms and in a way that they can relate to.
Marcus Rashford, MBE, said: “A lot of kids are scared to go to a bank, and that’s not surprising because they don’t teach you about money mindset at school. For those who grew up in the sort of area that I did, it’s about what you don’t have, rather than what you could achieve. The positive and empowering element doesn’t register in their heads.
“It’s not hard to reverse that, but not many people are trying to change that. It’s why I’m proud to work with NatWest on the Thrive Programme. I know so many talented young people who could really benefit from a program like this, who could actually propel themselves into something much bigger and achieving their goals... I’m really excited to be involved and to help shape the program.”
NatWest Group CEO Alison Rose commented: “Helping young people – no matter what their background – to thrive and develop a positive money mindset is core to our purpose and what I want us to achieve as a bank. We know education through inspiring relationships can have a big impact on young people, that’s why with the Thrive Programme we’ll be working with local and relatable people within the community to help young people reach their potential.
“Co-creating this programme with Marcus has helped us to better tailor our content to the real-life experiences of young people, and has only reinforced the amazing impact that positive role-models and peers can have in helping to develop an understanding of money and goal-setting.”
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