Pupils in England are to be taught how to spot the risks of in-game purchases as well as to scrutinise the claims of influencers in a new suite of lessons designed to improve their financial literacy.
The package of 80 lessons is aimed at teaching pupils aged five to 16 how to navigate online spending, after reports of children spending large sums of their own or their parents’ money online, often inadvertently.
Parents have found to their cost their children often do not realise that special features, extras and “loot boxes” offering a competitive advantage mid-game cost real money and end up racking up large bills.
One Guardian reader recently described how their eight-year-old daughter spent more than £8,500 over 90 days on the Apple app store, unaware that the money she was spending was real.
The girl had been sending money to YouTube channels and the YouTubers then befriended her on Roblox in an attempt to make more money from her. “To me, this is financial grooming,” the parent said.
The new resources, produced by the Oak National Academy, which was set up during the pandemic to support online learning, are aimed at helping children avoid such mistakes.
Lessons for primary school children teach them where money comes from, how to keep track of it, and the difference between wants and needs. They can learn about credit and debit cards, the tactics advertisers use, and how to keep money safe from scammers.
Resources for secondary schools are designed to help pupils understand inflation, personal risk, cryptocurrency and investing. There are also lessons on how to understand bank statements and payslips, and how to scrutinise data and claims made by campaigners, advertisers and online influencers.
Parents and financial experts have campaigned for years for better financial education for children to prepare them for the everyday challenges of adult life.
The recent interim report on the government’s independent curriculum and assessment review noted that parents and children want an increased focus on applied knowledge and skills in the curriculum, including finance and budgeting.
John Roberts, Oak’s interim CEO, said: “By giving teachers the tools to provide well-sequenced, engaging financial learning, we can make sure it resonates with children to support them through adulthood.”
Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: “There’s a strong case for more financial education on the curriculum in general but we must be mindful of not further overloading an already packed school day.”
Sarah Hannafin, head of policy at the National Association of Head Teachers, added: “Online platforms also need to step up to the plate, however, by strengthening age verification procedures, improving monitoring, providing clearer functions for reporting concerns and introducing more transparent codes of conduct setting out the implications of misuse.”
