What is WizeUp Financial Education?
WizeUp Financial Education is a UK charity that helps young people develop practical financial skills and employability skills before entering adulthood. Through engaging workshops and school programmes, delivered in partnerships with financial institutions, WizeUp teaches essential money management skills such as budgeting, saving, understanding credit and recognising financial scams.
Our purpose: Closing the financial literacy gap
Too many young people in the UK leave education unprepared for the financial realities of adult life. From managing budgets to understanding credit, young people's lack of financial literacy creates stress and leads to debt and missed opportunities. Less than 50% of young people aged 7-17 get a meaningful finarncial education at home or at school and only 1% of teachers have received training in financial education, according to the Money and Pension Service. Our own research data suggest that 57% of WizeUp’s students do not recall ever receiving any financial education at school prior to our sessions.
WizeUp exists to close this gap by offering programmes that deliver our core values: engaging, adaptable, inclusive and impactful. Our sessions are
engaging because they focus on real-world money skills, not just theory. We're proud that 76% of students say they enjoy our sessions. We also design our programmes to be inclusive and accessible to learners of all abilities and backgrounds, and with measurable impact; 84% of students report feeling confident in their ability to manage money in the future after one of our sessions.
Why financial education matters
Learning practical money skills can transform a young person’s future. Students who receive financial literacy education are better prepared to:
• Make informed decisions about spending, saving, and borrowing.
• Avoid scams and financial risks.
• Plan for future opportunities, including higher education and employment.
• Build confidence in managing their personal finances independently.
Our aims
WizeUp works with schools, families and communities to help young people build the financial knowledge and confidence they need for adult life.
We focus on three key areas:
• supporting teachers with ready-to-use financial education resources
• helping parents feel confident discussing money with their children
• sharing accessible financial learning online
Who we serve
With the government's commitment to increase financial education, outlined in their 2025 Curriculum Review, we are diversifying our programmes to extend our reach to primary age children and community groups, reaching more learners than ever before, including disadvantage students. 36% of the schools WizeUp partners with are located in the most deprived areas of the country and nearly half (46%) of schools have an above-average proportion of pupils eligible for Free School Meals. We also remain committed to serving and advocating for post-16 learners, who are not currently including in the Government's financial education plans.
We work across England to reach young people at the point where financial education has the greatest impact:
• Primary and secondary schools — introducing essential money skills before students transition to the next stage of education or leave school
• Sixth form and FE colleges — helping students to prepare for adult life, through understanding the fundamentals of finance, such as budgeting, credit and saving as well as university finance
• Pupil referral units and SEND schools — creating inclusive, accessible programmes to reach underserved learners
• Youth organisations and community groups — providing inclusive, interactive learning for students who may not thrive in traditional classroom settings
How WizeUp makes a difference
WizeUp partners with a range of banks, building societies and charitable trusts to offer fully funded and subsided programmes to schools, ensuring that we can offer free financial education to more young people than ever before, while maintaining our accessibility and impact mission.
Support us
You can support WizeUp by:
• Bringing our programmes to your school or youth group.
• Partnering with us or sponsoring our initiatives to expand our reach.
• Donating or fundraising to help us develop new resources and programmes.
• Sharing our financial literacy resources with students and parents.
Learn more
Read our Annual Report to see how WizeUp is making a difference. Explore our programmes and workshops for schools, colleges, and youth groups. Find out how our Youth Advisory Panel are helping to make our programmes more effective for young people
Sources: Parliamentary Select Committee on Financial Education
Sources: Step Change | ONS | University of Birmingham
Sources: UK Government | Fairness Foundation.
WizeUp’s mission is to ensure that every young person has access to high-quality financial education before entering adulthood. Through workshops, school programmes, and partnerships, we help students develop practical money management skills and the confidence to make informed financial decisions.
Our vision is a future where all young people leave education equipped with the financial knowledge and skills needed to thrive in adult life. We will help young people of all abilities to make confident decisions about their finances through adaptable, inclusive, engaging learning experiences.
We will gather evidence of behavioural change to monitor the impact of our sessions, measured through knowledge retention and students' own assessment of their confidence following our sessions, as well as insights we gather from their teachers. Our impact reporting can be seen via our online dashboard.
“I wasn’t aware of how exactly pensions worked and how much you needed to save in order to live a comfortable life off your pension, but after the session, my understanding was broadened.”
Year 12 Student, St Mark’s Catholic School
“As university approaches and I have a job for myself, learning to budget was extremely important as I have become more independent due to my increase in funds. From WizeUp, I got a budget planner for the coming years."
Year 12 Student, English Martyrs Sixth Form College
“One lesson covered the idea of setting clear financial goals and working towards them. I’ve tried doing this by budgeting more effectively and seeing what I need to avoid. The concept of paying yourself first has been impactful, so I make sure to set aside savings before covering other stuff.”
Year 12 Student, Barnhill Community High School
WizeUp delivers fully funded and subsidised financial literacy workshops and programmes for schools, FE colleges and youth organisations across the UK. The charity helps young people build practical money management skills, including budgeting, saving and understanding financial risks.
Financial literacy helps young people make informed decisions about money, avoid debt and develop the confidence to manage their finances independently as adults.
WizeUp Financial Education offers a variety of in-school programmes for KS2-5 learners, including a dedicated primary programme, a secondary and sixth form programme, a London region programme, in partnership with the Jack Petchey Foundation and an inclusive SEND / PRU programme. We are also offering a new outreach pilot Football programme for community organisations to reach students who may not otherwise have access to financial education.
© 2026 WizeUp Financial Education. All rights reserved.
Registered Charity Number 1190032
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