Credit union is a saving grace for schoolkids

Jul 16 2010 by Andy Newport, Paisley Daily Express

CLEVER youngsters are queuing up to join a unique scheme which encourages them to save some cash for a rainy day.

The Renfrewshire-Wide Credit Union (RWCU) has been rolling out a unique saving club for children at schools across the Paisley area.

The aim of the project – which is a Scottish first – is to create a co-ordinated network of school credit unions to target youngsters at nursery, primary and high school level.

And, uniquely, the initiative hands children control over how it is run.

Eight schools – including St Catherine’s Primary, in Paisley; St James’ Primary, in Renfrew; and St John Bosco Primary and St Anne’s Primary, both in Erskine – have already signed up to the project.

Bosses at the RWCU hope to increase that number to 20 once schools return from their summer break.

And the eventual aim is to have credit unions established in all 65 of Renfrewshire’s schools.

Alison Dowling, the RWCU’s communications and development manger, said that, with Britain still recovering from the effects of the global credit crunch, there has never been a more important time to ensure that kids know the value of money.

She added: “Our plan is that kids will be able to sign up to the scheme at nursery and then take their savings with them when they move up to primary school.

“The senior kids at the school will run the credit union and the process will be repeated when they move on to high school.

“We’re supporting the kids to make a weekly deposit and we’re hoping this will help them build up a saving habit.

“Psychologically, it’s important to get into the habit of saving money. If you do something at the same point every week, whether it’s football training or a dance class, it becomes part of your routine and it becomes second nature.

“We want to connect that same link with saving money. We want saving to become a part of every-day life.”

Around 1,000 kids in Renfrewshire are already signed up to the credit unions and many have managed to tuck away considerable sums of cash.

Alison said: “The response we have had so far has just been absolutely astonishing. We’ve got one child who has managed to save up £300, which is incredible.

“Typically, we’re seeing pupils who have been given Christmas money or cash for their birthday that they have not spent and they come in and deposit that.

“We’ve seen some kids come in with 50p to deposit and others who come in with as much as £100 if they have been given that for a special occasion.

“It’s not about getting kids to save huge amounts or asking them to come in every week and put in all of their pocket money. It’s more about just building the habit of putting something away, no matter how big or small the sum is.”

As well as building up savings, the project also teaches kids numeracy and literacy skills and gives them an insight into marketing.

Alison explained: “The way most of the primary schools are running the scheme is that the primary six class are the management committee and they oversee every element of the enterprise, whether it be a runner fetching the kids from the other classes to bring them to the deposit room, someone counting the money or another writing up the paperwork.

“At high school level, the kids are even taking on the task of banking the cash.

“It’s a real world experience. This is not pretend money they are dealing with. They have to follow real and very stringent financial rules and regulations.

“We are giving them a very early taste of some of the tasks they will have to perform in the workplace.

“We’re trying to give the kids a rounded education. With the state of the country’s economy, we are living in a time of limited resources, so everything that schools get involved with now has to have added value.

“We have to demonstrate what the kids are getting out of the credit union. Otherwise, we may as well just hand the kids a piggy bank and tell them to fill it with their loose change.”

Alison also believes the credit crunch may encourage Renfrewshire’s younger generation to appreciate the importance of saving.

She added: “The recession has made kids more aware of the financial world. They will have heard things at home and may unfortunately even have experienced the rough end of it through their parents being made redundant.

“There are very few people who won’t have been affected by the recession and that has opened a door for us to go and speak to kids and make them aware of the importance of saving.”