Major changes are expected shortly in the curriculum to include teaching about fake news besides climate change.
These reforms are designed with an intention to ensure that all children, when leaving school, are equipped with strong foundations in reading, science & mathematics.
As such, all British schoolchildren would be taught financial literacy on X, Facebook & LinkedIn.
It’s intended for financial education to become compulsory for all primary & secondary school pupils throughout England as part of the curriculum that aims to equip students with the skills needed to navigate the modern world.
The Department of Education announced on Tuesday, November 4th, 2025, that primary-age children would be taught the fundamentals of money and identifying fake news, besides being educated on climate change, as part of compulsory citizenship classes to commence in September 2028.
These reforms come alongside the findings of the curriculum & assessment review. It was launched by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s government last year.
Chair of the independent review – Betty Francis believed that financial literacy was the most highlighted area of importance by parents. Francis added that monetary literacy was the single topic that was consistently raised by every single focus group involving young people.
Francis believed that young people’s thirst for knowledge on money was driven by the higher inflation of recent years, besides the increasing digitisation of the financial world.
Today’s children are increasingly initiating digital financial transactions themselves. Of the 7–17 year olds, 71% are already making online purchases. Guided by the findings of these reports, most children were executing such online transactions without adult supervision!
MPs & charities, Businesses, such as the Financial Times and the financial literacy & inclusion campaign, have consistently advocated for enhanced financial education. At present, financial education tends to be only mandatory in local authority-run secondary schools.
The changes to financial education include a new statutory reading text for 12–13-year-olds. That’s an overhaul of school performance metrics, besides a revitalised national curriculum.
Ministers are reported to have already committed to some of the review’s recommendations in the post-16 education & skills white paper.
Financial gurus have often highlighted the lack of financial education when it comes to investing and managing money, stressing the need for greater financial literacy.
