Every pupil in Scotland will be taught how to look after their personal finances under a new Scottish Government initiative.

The move follows a report into financial education in Scottish schools that found provision was “patchy and inconsistent”.

The evaluation, carried out in 2008, found that some 14% of schools did not teach any financial education – while less than half of those that did treated it as a topic in its own right.

The research, by Edinburgh-based George Street Research, also found that some school staff lacked the confidence to teach the subject, and some schools were unaware of the wide range of resources available to help them.

Secondary schools place less focus on providing financial education than primary schools, the report said, adding: “There is a lack of co-ordination and communication across different departments in many

secondary schools and this leads to delivery of financial education in a piecemeal manner.”

As a result of the report, Fiona Hyslop, the Education Secretary, has asked curriculum body Learning and Teaching Scotland to produce a plan to drive forward improvements to financial education.

Speaking during a visit to Gylemuir Primary School, in Edinburgh, Ms Hyslop said she wanted to ensure that good quality financial education was delivered to every pupil.

“Ensuring our young people have a strong understanding of financial and money management skills is critical – particularly at this time of credit crunch, economic uncertainty and change,” she said.

“The research demonstrates that many schools provide very effective financial education for pupils and that a wide number of organisations – in both the public and private sectors – are offering support to schools.

“However, that is not good enough. We need to make sure that no child misses out and every school in Scotland offers the high quality financial education our young people need.”

Bernard McLeary, chief executive of LTS, said the development of “financial capability” in young people was crucial.

“We will work with a range of partners to establish a delivery plan for financial education linked to numeracy developments in the context of the new school curriculum,” he said.

“The delivery plan will support schools by providing a planned, coherent programme of financial education from early years to 18.”

A working group of numeracy specialists will now be set up by LTS to take forward the delivery plan for financial education alongside teachers and experts from the financial services industry.

The delivery plan will set out how financial education can be taught through a general focus on numeracy skills, as well as developing specific new teaching resources.

The body will also look at improvements to the advice and support available for pupils.

The Scottish Government also believes that the Curriculum for Excellence – a Scotland-wide reform of what is taught ins schools – will help young people understand how to manage budgets, learn about affordability and develop money management skills.

Financial education currently takes place within a number of subjects, including maths, personal and social education, environmental studies, business education and home economics.