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The Financial Literacy Project, developed and managed by Basic Skills Cymru, aims to use financial literacy as a context for improving literacy and numeracy – in addition to improving learners’ financial capabilities. The approach works as financial literacy is a context that is meaningful and relevant to people of all ages.
The ‘Money Management’ course at Parc Prison in Bridgend is making a real difference to prisoners’ lives. It is a practical course, accompanied by training workshops for the tutors, that is flexible enough to adapt to different needs and real enough to be useful to people’s everyday concerns.
Basic Skills tutor Beth Reese runs the Money Management course every Wednesday from 6-8pm at Parc Prison. Beth found the ‘short programmes’ course materials (developed with the Financial Services Authority to support the Financial Literacy Project) easy to use and flexible enough to enable her to tailor the content to meet individual needs, e.g. on how to set up a bank account, or how to manage a budget. She sees this course as a way of encouraging prisoners to think differently about money, learn the benefits of saving, and not ‘taking the easy alternative’.
At Parc Prison, a number of prisoners have also trained as ‘Peer Partners’. Having completed Level 2 literacy and numeracy, they can go on to train as learner supporters, helping other prisoners develop their basic skills. They wear ‘Peer Partner’ tee-shirts and work alongside other learners in basic skills classes, supporting their reading or maths.
Alex Bird is the Foundation Skills Curriculum Team Leader at HMP Parc responsible for organising the basic skills and social/life skills education programme for inmates – adults and young people aged 18-21. She was keen to take part in the new Financial Literacy Project when it was announced, and the first 10 week course was set up as part of the pilot funded by Basic Skills Cymru. Now well into their second 10 week course, there is a waiting list of learners.
Alex is proud of a number of initiatives at Parc. Delivering and developing the Financial Literacy initiative is one of them, and the ‘Prisoners as Peer Partners’ scheme is another – both supporting basic skills development. In addition Parc Prison also runs a popular ‘Storybook Dads’ scheme which supports prisoners with their reading and encourages them to record stories for their children. Together the initiatives are helping prisoners to develop skills they can use when they are released - to improve their lives at home and at work.
For further information see the list of Financial Literacy Project resources.
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