Introducing Nebula Learning: Free online finance classes for UK schools
We started Nebula Learning to ensure that every teenager in the UK receives a quality financial education. We provide free, plug-and-play finance classes to UK schools in order to tackle falling financial literacy in the UK.
Nearly 25% of Britons aged 18 to 30 are in constant debt and just 40% of UK schools teach personal finance, according to the BBC and the Guardian, respectively. However, teachers that we have spoken to often say they lack the time and resources to teach personal finance. What’s more is that teachers often also report that teenagers want to learn more about money management.
Our course
We are currently running a free pilot of the first version of our personal finance course. Over 100 schools have signed up to the pilot and we look forward to adapting our course based on the feedback that we receive from both teachers and pupils.
The course consists of three parts that cover economics, personal finance and investment. We have structured our course in this way because we want to comprehensively improve financial outcomes for teenagers, rather than merely offer them a few tips on saving and budgeting. For example, understanding how the economy functions, even at a basic level, impacts long-term financial decision-making.
We also want the course to be effortlessly simple for teachers to deliver in a variety of classroom settings. Each part of the course is divided into five sub-sections that each consist of roughly five minutes of video content and quiz questions that assist engagement and retention. We also provide teachers with a resource pack that contains driving questions and discussion points to provoke relevant class debate.
Our pilot schools are either delivering the course in PSHE classes and making use of our discussion topics or taking advantage of its flexible structure and completing the sub-sections during morning form groups. Some schools are even booking out computer rooms so that their pupils can complete the course individually. Most are simply completing the course by projecting it onto a whiteboard in classrooms.
We cannot, however, achieve our goals without the support of schools. If you represent a school and are interested in joining our pilot, then please fill out this short form and we will issue you with an access code.
Our long-term plan
Aside from a small grant from Elmbridge Borough Council, we are self-funding this project until we can ensure its long-term financial sustainability. We are committed to maximising how many pupils can use our resources by trying to ensure that schools can use our course for free.
As such, we are looking for ways that mean we avoid directly charging schools. Currently, we envisage that as we expand to more schools across the country, we will be able to attract corporate sponsorship. Alternatively, we may eventually apply for long-term government funding.
If this model succeeds, we may consider making online courses that can be regularly updated and freely provided to schools. Careers advice, for example, is one area that pupils might derive enormous benefit from.
Get in touch
Over the next few months, we will be reaching out to teachers that have supported us so far in order to form a teacher advisory board (we will have to come up with a more attractive name in time). Teachers are on the educational frontline everyday so we need their support in order to effectively support them.
So, if you’re a teacher or simply interested in what we’re doing, then please do get in touch with me at beth@nebulalearning.co.uk. Alternatively, if you’re keen to run our free pilot in your school then please fill out this short form and we will issue you with an access code.
We look forward to working with teachers and pupils on this journey!
