"However, I think that most people need to be encouraged to help themselves. We need to teach budgeting in schools, we need to teach proper home economics."
We do teach this in school as part of the Every Child Matters programme, however I don't know how much they take in and I find it all a bit depressing. My husband and I have good jobs but can't afford to live in the area where I teach, where my husband is from, as the smaller homes are holiday homes for Londoners and the rest are big houses bought by rich londoners when they retire. The area around is very beautiful but this means they won't build affordable homes, if they do build it would be luxury. So how do I tell the kids they won't be able to live in the pretty village like their parents?
I don't really know much about social housing but having seen the Pram Face documentary I get the impression that money is not just handed out, and that for some people who have had a hard start in life things do look very bleak and complicated.
