RedSTART was launched in 2012 with the aim of teaching primary-school-age children financial basics at home, in school and in the community. By August 2021 the organisation had reached more than 40,000 children across the UK, achieved via interactive, fun workshops delivered digitally and in person to children between the ages of 4 and 13.
In September 2025, RedSTART set a new strategy: to provide the government with evidence that teaching primary-aged children about money can boost their confidence, enhance their aspirations and expand their horizons, as well as delivering educational and practical benefits.
The Work of RedSTART
RedSTART’s aim is to give the most disadvantaged children in the UK a lift when it comes to their financial futures. The charity provides financial education in partnership with over 600 volunteers, local businesses and major financial institutions in five locations across the country. RedSTART fosters and tracks pupils’ development through seven years of primary school, provides resources for parents and teachers, and runs progressive programmes that build on previous years’ knowledge. The charity is included in the Education and Arts Cause Portfolio of Percent for Good, an organisation founded by Mark Lyttleton to make it easier for professionals to donate to the causes that matter to them.
RedSTART’s Programme
The fun, interactive learning experiences provided by RedSTART are for children aged 4 to 11 and are delivered through schools. All school-based activities and workshops are followed by learning opportunities to complete and discuss at home and are complemented by an app that rewards students and allows them to spend the tokens they’ve earned in a real-world environment.
The programme’s content is fully accredited and covers the recommended objectives as set out in the Young Enterprise Financial Education Framework. Children learn about earning, spending and saving, risk and reward, financial fraud and budgeting. In Reception, the children’s book Save Your Acorns by Robert Gardner forms the basis of activities for the youngest children, while in Years Five and Six the programme develops children’s understanding to focus on earning, growing and saving. The programme also looks at influences on how we save and spend, borrowing, value for money and emotional links to money.
Corporate Partners
RedSTART works with a small number of committed, enthusiastic partners. Such partnerships may involve the organisation delivering RedSTART workshops in their school or office or helping fund the charity’s work. Each partnership can be tailored to the needs of the organisation, with account taken of what it can offer to the children and schools the charity works with across the UK.