Halton Housing Trust is encouraging children to save their pennies for rainy day, in a bid to give the youngsters a good understanding of the value of money from an early age.

Members of the Trust’s Welfare Support Team visited Halton Lodge Primary School on the Grange Estate in Runcorn to talk to the Year 5 and 6 pupils.

The Trust’s own money saving experts encouraged the children to save up their pocket money if they were looking to buy themselves a treat. In a bid to prevent a cycle of borrowing and increasing debt, the children were given basic budgeting advice. The pitfalls of borrowing money from non-reputable sources, including the problems with using loan sharks, was highlighted, as well as providing a basic understanding about typical Annual Percentage Rates (APRs) added to loans.

To kick start their savings, Amber Cairns, the Trust’s Welfare Support Officer, presented the youngsters with a money box and a one pound coin.

Amber said: “We wanted to teach the children in a fun and interactive way that saving a little of their pocket money each week could help buy themselves a real treat.

“We want to invest in the adults of the future at an early age to teach them the value of saving up for those essential gadgets or new trainers. They will really appreciate these things a lot more if they have saved up for it themselves, rather than face the spiralling worry debt can bring.”

The Trust, a social landlord who has properties in Runcorn and Widnes, is committed to providing sound financial advice for its customers through a dedicated welfare support service.

They also want to make sure that customers have access to appropriate financial products and services so they can manage their finances on a day-to-day basis and plan for the future. This is achieved by extending a helping hand to customers who have mounting bills, are struggling with their finances, need some practical advice on their benefit entitlement or how to best manage their finances on a day-to-day basis.

Gaynor Dickson, head teacher of Halton Lodge Primary School, said: “As part of the government’s Every Child Matters agenda, we are always looking for ways to develop the ‘Achieve Economic Well-being’ outcome, which is part of our school improvement plan. We are extremely grateful to Amber and her colleagues for their presentation, which supported us in helping to raise our pupils’ awareness of the importance of financial matters.”