Cheese really does matter in Nottingham – an interview with Eversheds

Cheese really does matter in Nottingham and there’s no better time to understand the importance of finance than when at school. We asked Mark Fletcher, Senior Partner at Eversheds in Nottingham to tell us more.

What is Cheese Matters?

It’s a programme that teaches children about how to manage money (Cheese being a term used in the States to mean money) and take responsibility for financial decisions. In Nottingham, Eversheds has partnered with two other large Nottingham based companies, Capital One and Ikano Bank and together we have developed and written the materials and we deliver these modules using employee volunteers. We also use Business in the Community, a charity which brokers relationships between businesses and community organisations, including schools to manage the administration of the programme and liaison with schools.

The session is a 2 hour workshop aimed at Year 9 students (13/14 year olds), which combines role-play, film and interactive activities set in the context of a character called Johnny Caerphilly who has been summoned to court on a personal bankruptcy charge.

Through the interactive activities, students are taught:

  • How to budget.
  • What you might spend your household income on.
  • What to think about when you want/need to borrow money.
  • How different types of credit work (mortgages, loans, credit/storecards etc).
  • What to look for when signing a contract for a credit product.
  • How your credit history can affect you.
  • What happens if you borrow too much and can’t pay it back.

What has Cheese Matters achieved since its launch?

In the School year 2012-2013 the partnership trained over 70 volunteers to deliver around 20 sessions to over 1,200 students in 7 schools. During 2013–2014 the partnership has extended the delivery of Cheese Matters to all 15 inner-city schools in Nottingham and already piloted this with a school in Leeds through Eversheds’ Leeds office.  Numbers are yet to be confirmed but we are likely to have delivered to over 2,000 students to date.

The programme has been awarded PFEG accreditation for teaching materials; has won the best CSR programme at the card and payment awards; resulted in the Nottingham Eversheds office winning the investment in the community award at the local law society awards and also becoming a finalist in the Independent Newspaper’s “Peer” awards, judged in September.

What are your future plans and how can people get involved?

The plan is to spread “Cheese Matters” further and deliver to even more schools in Nottingham and other cities.  We are currently looking for other companies who might want to assist in the delivery so the programme can have an even greater impact. If your business is interested please contact Steve Little at BiTC on: Steve.Little@bitc.org.uk