SCHOOLS and churches across Bracknell will act as contact points to encourage residents to join the Berkshire Credit Union (BCU).

Churches and schools will hold the drop in sessions for members of the public to discuss their options face to face with BCU representatives.

The sessions are designed to help with financial worries after Christmas. According to the BCU managing personal finance after the festive season can be particularly difficult.

Nicola Philpott, assistant headteacher at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, said: "Parents are under so many different types of pressure and stress, financial pressure is huge for most families.

“We all want to give our children the best opportunities in life but keeping up with children's demands for the latest toys, trainers or electronics can be really difficult.”

The BCU are a community institution who offer financial advice including ways to allocate money and pay bills and ideas on how to save each month.

In 2018 figures released by the Bank of England revealed that over 2 million people in the UK are already a part of the Credit Union.

Nicola added: “The launch of the Bracknell contact points will provide a welcome opportunity for families to develop good financial habits.”

“The Credit Union have a great financial education programme for primary school children to encourage thrift from an early age that we are looking into delivering in our school."

The contact points include St Joseph Church, St Margaret Clitherow Church, Holy Trinity Church and Crown Wood primary school.

Mrs Hartman, who is a mother, said: " I have never heard of Credit Unions before. It sounds like such a good idea. People are searching for an alternative to banks.

"Being part of a cooperative makes you feel like you are contributing to something worthwhile rather than profits going straight to the bankers.

"Like a lot of mums I find it hard to make ends meet and stretch the money out to pay day at the end of each month."

The contact points will open on Monday, January 28 for more information visit: https://www.cslberks.org.uk/.