Foxtel and Screen Australia announced a new four-part documentary series from producer Essential Media with best-selling author and media commentator Scott Pape, aka the Barefoot Investor – Money School.
Premiering on Foxtel in early 2020, Money School follows behind the scenes as Scott launches a financial revolution that he hopes will change the nation – starting with kids in school.
Scott has created a brand-new money education program for primary and secondary schools, based on his best-selling books, which he hopes to eventually roll out to every school in Australia – beginning with a number of pilot schools this year.
The Barefoot Money Movement has received an overwhelming response since its launch in May, with 8991 principals and teachers supporting the initiative, and over 2000 schools, or one in five of all Australian schools, applying to be part of the program.
Scott Pape said: “Kids spend a total of around 2,300 days at school. Yet not even one of those days is dedicated to teaching them essential money skills. Debt is tearing families and communities apart – a quarter of the nation can’t repay their credit cards, and a million homeowners are under stress. It’s clear that money education needs to be better.
“Too many Australians don’t have the skills to pay the bills. Most of us had to learn these skills the hard way, because we were never taught them in school. Our kids deserve better. My goal is that by teaching the kids, we help their parents too. And when we help parents, we can change the nation.”
Wendy Moore, Foxtel Group General Manager, Lifestyle, said: “It’s incredibly rewarding for the Lifestyle team to be working with Scott to capture such a fabulous, positive movement that literally starts from the ground up. That we can take this knowledge to such a wide audience is so powerful, and the fact that it is so authentically Australian makes it a perfect project for our audience.”
Money School is produced by Essential Media exclusively for Foxtel, with principal production investment from Screen Australia.
Head of Documentary at Screen Australia, Bernadine Lim, said: “Culturally we can be hesitant to talk about our personal finance, so the premise of this documentary stood out to us as a unique opportunity to explore a touchy subject. Coupled with the fact Essential Media have a proven track record in delivering insightful Australian content that is highly accessible, Money School will definitely be one to watch.”
Well-known and respected by Australian audiences, Pape’s refreshingly real approach to money aims for financial control and security whatever your stage in life. A former investment advisor, his first book, The Barefoot Investor – The Only Money Guide You’ll Ever Need, has sold 1.6 million copies and is the highest-selling non-fiction book of the last 20 years in Australia. In September 2018 he released the follow up, The Barefoot Investor for Families which broke the record for first-week sales of non-fiction in Australia.
Money School is currently in production and will premiere on Foxtel’s Lifestyle channel early next year.
