IG Group and Learn with Parents Collaborate to Reduce Educational Inequality in the UK

IG Group (LSEG:IGG) (“IG”), a leading global fintech, and Learning with Parents, a UK-based education charity, today announced a collaboration which aims to address educational inequality by empowering parents to engage with their children’s learning. IG Group funded an initial pilot program with a £50,000 donation, which has supported programmes for 3,000 families across England.

June Felix, Global CEO, IG Group said:

“Studies show that money habits are largely formed by age seven, increasing the chances of intergenerational struggles with financial literacy. Learning with Parents’ programmes aim to complement schools’ efforts by engaging parents in their vital role providing educational support for their children. We believe the private sector has a key role to play in addressing the obstacles that individuals face in obtaining educational resources, specifically in STEM subjects, which are the building blocks of financial literacy. We are thrilled to collaborate with Learning with Parents to enhance access to quality education resources for UK families. This collaboration is a critical connection between teachers, students, and parents to get better outcomes from our collective efforts.”

Learning with Parents aims to address the achievement gap by developing parents’ engagement in their children’s learning and providing the framework and tools to better support their education. Through initiatives such as programmes for primary schools that replace traditional homework with child-led videos and hands-on family activities, Learning with Parents works to help parents overcome barriers they face in supporting their children’s education at home to help the 1.7 million children living in poverty in the UK.[1] These children are more likely to fall behind in education, creating a distinct achievement gap by the age of 11 which impacts future life chances.

Tom Harbour, CEO of Learning with Parent said:

“The structural challenges faced by many families across the UK too often leaves children from disadvantaged backgrounds limited by their circumstances. By the age of 11, a disadvantaged child is on average nine months behind their peers in English and Maths. Beyond that, these children are at greater future risk of becoming unemployed, having poor health, and ending up incarcerated. Sadly, we are seeing further residual impact from the pandemic. Through our partnerships with companies like IG Group, we have greater ability to support families and change the narrative around parents’ engagement in disadvantaged communities.”

IG Group’s initial donation was supplied by its Brighter Future Fund, the Company’s vehicle for funding community outreach projects. Through this fund, the company offers grants to carefully chosen charitable initiatives all around the globe. Previous partnerships with education charities include:

£2 million commitment to Teach For All’s UK network partner Teach First; £2 million commitment to Teach For All and their network partners around the globe, including Teach The Nation and Teach For Poland, both recently established to tackle educational inequality in South Africa and Poland, respectively; and a long-term partnership with Code First Girls, a charity dedicated to transforming tech by providing the skills, space and inspiration for women to become developers and future leaders. IG’s focus on financial literacy stems from the value it places on educational content to inform and empower the trading experiences of its clients.