What is Junior Newbury Building Society?

JNBS encourages positive discussion around saving and spending and develops the foundations for solid long-term money habits.

The scheme consists of a series of activities and projects designed to teach children the entire savings process by opening their own ‘branch’ within the school. Role play, such as encouraging children to understand the role of a cashier, teaches the mechanics of a savings account in a fun way.

How does it work?

Pupils are trained to take on the role of a cashier, and are responsible for making sure money is correctly collected and calculated. They get to:

• Take the money,

• count it out with an adult, and

• update the payee's record of receipt card, just like a real cashier!

Every time a saver pays money in at their JNBS school branch, they get a sticker. If they pay in 10 times, they get a bronze certificate, 20 times a silver certificate, 30 times a gold certificate and 40 times means a special Super Saver certificate and a JNBS pin badge! Pupils can pay up to £50 a week in, but can't withdraw money.

The best thing about the process is that it allows children to watch their money grow and feel a sense of achievement as their saving total increases bit by bit. 

How do you receive the funds from schools?

Every week a teacher from the school will visit their local Newbury Building Society branch to pay in the money collected during the week. They should also bring with them the transaction sheets completed by JNBS cashiers, which are used by our own branch teams to allocate the money to the children’s savings account.