Evaluation of the financial education programme Change the Game
The EDIT team at the Policy Institute is currently conducting an independent evaluation of the financial education intervention Change the Game, delivered and commissioned by the charity RedSTART. The programme will deliver financial education to primary-aged children, including through workshops, school-based activities and a bank app, aiming to address low financial literacy amongst school leavers. Our evaluation is designed as a randomised controlled trial (RCT) to assess the impact on financial knowledge, attitudes, behaviours and educational attainment among pupils.
The first report (full report and summary report) details the first year (out of seven) of our research. The year 1 report assesses the impact among more than 3,500 students, in Year 2 and 3, across 45 schools. It finds that Change the Game had a statistically significant small-to-medium sized positive effect on children’s financial knowledge, after one year of implementation. It also identified statistically significant positive impacts on financial ability, mindset and connection. Later in the year, we will provide an updated report using further attainment and demographic data from the National Pupil Database.
The trial has moved into a second phase in 2024. A new cohort of over 2,100 students, who are currently in Reception, have been onboarded into the research following expansion of Change the Game’s delivery. Alongside the original cohort, we will track this cohort throughout their entire primary school years to measure the impact of Change the Game activities.