CHILDREN at an after school club in Skipton were given lessons in money management, thanks to Yorkshire Building Society.

Youngsters from the charity SELFA were given ‘Money Minds’ lessons on planning a party and arranging a holiday by colleagues from the society’s Skipton branch.

The session introduced the children to the basics of budgeting by costing and planning a celebration event and a holiday for their group.

Money Minds is a free programme consisting of a series of activities and projects designed to promote discussion and learning among children and young people aged five to 19 of all abilities.

Christine Langdale, from YBS Skipton, said: “Learning how to effectively manage finances is a vital life skill. It was great to see how engaged the children were during the sessions. The sessions enabled them to test and expand their vocabulary and understanding of money through fun activities.

“We’re committed to supporting schools and local organisations in teaching financial education and hope that our Money Minds programme will help to improve financial capability in the UK.”

Money Minds lessons is delivered by the business as part of its corporate volunteering scheme. Each employee has 31 hours paid leave every year to carry out volunteering in local communities.

Samantha Pickard Watkinson, activity coordinator at SELFA, said: “Money Minds is a great concept and really engaging for all. The session got them thinking about taking responsibility for their own money, in a creative way, relevant to their age. All the children really enjoyed the project party lesson and found it very beneficial.”

Since the society launched Money Minds in 2015 more than 35,000 children in the UK have benefitted from a lesson.

More information about Money Minds including details on how to sign up a school for a lesson can be found at www.ybs.co.uk/your-society/money-minds .