Junior Members and Schools
Money smart kids grow up to be money smart adults. That's why working with young members and in schools is so important to Pioneer. To help promote membership we offer all of our juniors FREE membership up to 18 years old. There's no minimum age for a junior member. There are lots of benefits for children who learn to manage their money themselves. They are more aware of the value of money and how savings can grow. They tend to be more confident with money, and are likely to make better financial decisions in future.
Some of our junior members join directly. Quite often it's a relative - Mum, Dad, aunt, uncle or grandparent - who opens their account for them and may pay in savings too, but we always love to see our junior members at collection points and would encourage them to manage their savings themselves where they can.
Other junior members join through their school, and we run collection points so they can pay into their savings each week.
How do I open a Junior Member account?
Anyone can open a junior member account, all that is required is a birth certificate and proof of address, but there must be an adult signatory for the account. You can open an account at any of the contact points or schools we work in. There are a couple of important differences between a junior and adult membership you should be aware of.
Junior members cannot access loans, but at 18 their account will change to an adult account, and they could then apply for member loans. The beneficiary for junior accounts (i.e. the person who any savings and insurance payments would go to in the event of a person's death) MUST be a legal parent or guardian, no matter who pays money into the account.
Which schools have a Pioneer saving scheme already?
We already have saving schemes running in the following schools, so if your child goes to one of these just ask in school about joining:
• Cadicotes Primary Academy
• Corpus Christi RC Primary School
• Ayresome Primary School
• Archibald Primary School
These are 'closed' collections. They are not open to the public but parents who are members may also be able to pay in money through the school collection.
Information for Parents, Teachers and Heads
Currently all of our schemes operate in junior schooIs, but we would be more than happy to work with any school in the Middlesbrough authority area. If your school doesn't currently have a Pioneer Junior Member scheme, speak to us about how we might work together to set one up.
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There is no set way of running a school saving scheme, it's different in each school, and can be run to suit your school or curriculum. Collections are normally made on the same day each week.
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There is a little bit of extra work either for staff or parents to help manage the scheme, but it's always worth the effort to help children to understand money and to get them into the great habit of regular saving.
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Please Contact Us for more information and to see how we can work together to help schools and children in our communities.