![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_0012-1-1024x768.jpeg\")
Pupils and staff from The Royal School for the Deaf Derby with colleagues from HSBC UK and RNID, who are working together to make financial education more accessible for deaf young people.<\/p>\nPupils and staff from The Royal School for the Deaf Derby with colleagues from HSBC UK and RNID, who are working together to make financial education more accessible for deaf young people.<\/p>\n
Pupils at The Royal School for the Deaf Derby<\/a> have become the first in the UK to take part in a pioneering banking programme designed specifically to make financial education more accessible for deaf people.<\/p>\n Year nine pupils are taking part in a national pilot led by HSBC UK<\/a> and the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID)<\/a>, helping shape the future of financial education resources for deaf students across the country.<\/p>\n Thanks to their input, the programme, part of HSBC UK\u2019s Smart Money initiative<\/a>, has been adapted to meet the communication needs of pupils who use British Sign Language (BSL), ensuring lessons about managing money, budgeting and banking are delivered in an accessible way.<\/p>\n Pupils completed six lessons through their PSHE timetable covering key financial topics including\u00a0saving, budgeting, borrowing, credit and fraud awareness before putting their new knowledge into practice during a visit to HSBC\u2019s Derby city centre branch.<\/p>\n The visit gave pupils the opportunity to see behind the scenes, including a tour of the vault, a demonstration of the money-counting machines and the chance to speak directly with staff about banking and financial services.<\/p>\n Year nine pupil Andrea said: \u201cI loved going to the bank, it was so much fun. The staff are learning to sign and they wanted to practise with us, which was really nice.<\/p>\n \u201cWe saw inside the vault where they keep all the money and used the money-counting machine to count \u00a31,000 in \u00a320 notes.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve loved learning about money. It\u2019s made me feel ready to be an adult and how to save up for a fast car one day.\u201d<\/p>\n The project is also helping shape future financial education resources for deaf young people, with feedback from pupils and staff at The Royal School for the Deaf Derby being used to improve materials for British Sign Language users.<\/p>\n During the visit, HSBC colleagues also had the opportunity to practise their BSL skills with pupils, who even presented staff with their own sign names \u2013 a special honour that can only be given by a member of the deaf community.<\/p>\n Sophie Croshaw,\u00a0head of science\u00a0at The Royal School for the Deaf Derby, said: \u201cFinancial education is an essential life skill, but it\u2019s important that deaf young people can access that learning in a way that reflects their communication needs.<\/p>\n \u201cThis programme is giving our pupils practical knowledge they\u2019ll use throughout their lives, from understanding bank accounts to managing everyday finances with confidence.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re incredibly proud to be part of this national pilot. Not only are our pupils benefiting from the programme today, but they\u2019re also helping shape resources that could support deaf young people in the UK in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n At the end of the visit each pupil was presented with a goody bag containing branded merchandise, including a water bottle, pens and a notebook.<\/p>\n Alistair Griffin, head of performance and delivery at HSBC UK, said: \u201cEveryone should be able to access the knowledge and confidence they need to manage money in everyday life.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re proud to pilot HSBC UK\u2019s Smart Money lessons, adapted in partnership with the RNID and The Royal School for the Deaf, to support BSL students\u2019 communication needs.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe feedback from the pupils and staff will help us strengthen our resources and continue improving accessibility across HSBC UK as we roll out the programme, so more deaf young people can feel ready for the financial decisions they\u2019ll face as they move into adulthood.\u201d<\/p>\n The pilot also forms part of HSBC UK\u2019s wider commitment to improving accessibility. Working with RNID, the bank has become the first in the UK to offer accredited British Sign Language training to all 23,000 of its employees, helping create a more inclusive experience for deaf customers nationwide.<\/p>\n Teri Deivine, associate director of inclusion at RNID, said: \u201cThis programme is a fantastic example of how accessible, tailored learning can help level the playing field for deaf young people.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMany hearing children pick up knowledge about money and banking through everyday conversations at home, in shops, or by simply overhearing discussions around them. Deaf young people can often miss out on these informal learning opportunities because they do not have the same access to those background conversations and experiences.<\/p>\n \u201cBy delivering financial education in BSL and creating opportunities for direct engagement with banking professionals, this initiative helps ensure deaf young people can develop the same confidence, understanding and independence as their hearing peers.\u201d<\/p>\n Headteacher Paul Burrows added: \u201cThis has been a fantastic opportunity for our pupils to gain valuable life skills while helping influence the future of financial education for deaf young people.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re always looking to work with organisations that genuinely want to improve accessibility and inclusion and this partnership is a great example of what\u2019s possible when organisations listen to the Deaf community.\u201d<\/p>\n ENDS<\/p>\n For further information, please contact Sarah-Louise Elton<\/a> at Penguin PR<\/a> on 01332 416228 or email [email\u00a0protected]<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pupils and staff from The Royal School for the Deaf Derby with colleagues from HSBC UK and RNID,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":101438,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[20667],"tags":[30688,28,9881,4197,72],"class_list":["post-101437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hsbc","tag-derby","tag-education","tag-hsbc","tag-pr","tag-schools"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/117077925223707157","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101437\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}