The government has announced a sweeping overhaul of England’s national curriculum to ensure that young people leave school better prepared for modern life and work.
The reforms, unveiled by Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, follow recommendations from Professor Becky Francis’s Curriculum and Assessment Review and form part of the government’s wider “Plan for Change.”
A modern curriculum for a changing world
The updated curriculum aims to strengthen core skills in reading, science and maths while introducing practical lessons in areas such as financial literacy, media literacy and citizenship from primary level. For the first time, primary school pupils will be taught how to recognise misinformation and fake news, as well as the basics of money management – a move likely to be welcomed by those calling for greater financial education from an early age, something which we at IFA Magazine believe is incredibly important if we are to improve levels of financial literacy amongst the British public.
A new statutory reading test will be introduced in Year 8 to help identify pupils who need additional support, and writing assessments will be strengthened at Year 6. The government hopes this will tackle literacy gaps that often emerge during the early years of secondary school.
Greater emphasis on creativity, enrichment and digital skills
In a shift away from the narrow focus of recent years, arts GCSEs will be given equal status to humanities and languages, while every pupil will be entitled to access enrichment activities in areas such as sport, the arts, outdoor learning and civic engagement. Ofsted will assess how schools deliver this “core enrichment entitlement,” with parents able to view progress through new school profiles.
To help meet future workforce needs, schools will be encouraged to offer triple science GCSE as standard, and a new qualification in data science and artificial intelligence for 16–18-year-olds is under consideration. A broader computing GCSE will replace the existing computer science course to reflect the growing role of digital skills in the economy.
Financial literacy and life skills take centre stage
Perhaps most significant for long-term financial wellbeing, the government will make citizenship education compulsory in primary schools. This will cover financial literacy, democracy, law, rights and climate education – topics that have previously received limited classroom time. The changes could support a more financially capable generation, with children learning the value of money and the basics of personal finance before reaching secondary school.
Raising aspirations and opportunity
The reforms support the Prime Minister’s goal for two-thirds of young people to participate in higher-level learning by age 25, broadening access to further and higher education as well as technical routes.
Phillipson said: “It has been over a decade since the national curriculum was updated, and it’s more crucial than ever that young people are equipped to face the challenges of today, so they can seize the exciting opportunities that life has to offer.”
Implementation and next steps
The final version of the new national curriculum is expected to be published by spring 2027, with first teaching from September 2028. It will also be made digital and machine-readable, enabling teachers to more easily plan and sequence lessons.
For educators, parents and financial advisers alike, the inclusion of financial and media literacy marks a meaningful step towards helping young people develop practical knowledge and informed decision-making – essential skills for navigating both the economy and everyday life.
Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said: “It has been over a decade since the national curriculum was updated, and it’s more crucial than ever that young people are equipped to face the challenges of today, so they can seize the exciting opportunities that life has to offer.
“The path to our country’s renewal runs through our schools: they must be an epicentre of the strongest possible foundations of knowledge, and the skills to excel in the modern world.
“From the fundamentals of reading to the present danger of spotting fake news, as part of our Plan for Change, these landmark reforms will help young people step boldly into the future, with the knowledge to achieve and the skills to thrive as the world around us continues to rapidly evolve.“
Sharing her reaction to the review, Jennifer Piper, head of the Quilter Foundation, at Quilter said:
“The final curriculum review is a landmark moment for financial education in the UK. For years, we’ve known that money skills are as fundamental as reading and writing, yet the system has struggled to reflect that reality. This review finally recognises that financial education is not a luxury but a necessity.
“The findings from the Money & Pensions Service highlighted in the report are sobering. Despite financial education being compulsory in Citizenship since 2014, only a third of children recall learning about money at school. At the same time, 71% of 7–17-year-olds are already making online purchases, and two-thirds do so without adult supervision. These statistics underline the urgency of change, young people are making financial decisions earlier than ever, often without the knowledge to do so confidently. Improving financial education could help with the productivity issue plaguing the country too. The CBI estimates that greater financial literacy could add £7 billion to the UK economy and create more than 120,000 jobs every year.
“The review’s ambition is encouraging. It calls for financial education to start in primary school, making Citizenship including money skills, a core part of the national curriculum from Key Stage 1 onwards. It proposes a smarter, more integrated approach, where Maths provides the foundations and Citizenship brings those concepts to life in real-world scenarios. It also recognises the need for better resources and sequencing, and for collaboration with employers to embed financial literacy into post-16 education. However, whether it is adopted only time will tell.
“Through the Quilter Foundation* and partnerships with organisations such as Money Ready, formerly MyBnk, we’ve long championed the importance of financial education, at Quilter. We know that when young people understand money, they make better choices, feel more confident, and build stronger futures. But policy is only the beginning.
“This review is the clearest signal yet that the UK is ready to treat financial education as a core part of children’s education but proof will be in the pudding. If these recommendations are implemented, we can look forward to a generation leaving school with essential financial skills that can make them manage their finances more confidently.“
Commenting on the Department for Education’s Curriculum Review, Carol Knight, CEO of TISA, said:
“Teaching children about money is like explaining the rules of a game they’re already playing; with greater understanding, they can take part with confidence rather than uncertainty. Children encounter spending, digital payments, advertising and influence before they can even spell money, and they deserve the tools to navigate those experiences. This review rightly recognises that financial education is a core life skill, not an optional extra. TISA strongly welcomes the decision to include it as a compulsory part of the primary curriculum – something we have long been calling for.”
Commenting on the news, GoHenry’s founder Louise Hill, who has long campaigned for today’s outcome, said: “After five years of campaigning, two Governments, four Prime Ministers, and a lot of positive noise but no action, today’s news that financial education will finally be added to primary school curriculums in England is music to our ears. It’s what kids, teens and their families have repeatedly told us that they want and it’s crucial to ensuring the next generation receives a meaningful financial education that will help set them up for future success.
“What we need to do now is ensure that it’s not seen as ‘job done’. We need to learn from the fact that just adding financial education to the secondary school curriculum over the last 10 years hasn’t worked well enough. We must ensure that money lessons form a compulsory part of the timetable, teacher training is delivered, expert resources provided, funding made available and that it’s assessed. We’ll one hundred percent take today’s news as a very welcome win, but the hard work starts now.”
Alexandra Loydon, Group Advice Director – Advice Division at St. James’s Place, said: “We warmly welcome the announcement that financial education will take a more prominent role in the National Curriculum. We sadly have enduringly low levels of financial literacy and confidence in the country and this move should play a part to help build financial understanding and resilience. Our own research shows that currently parents see themselves as their children’s main financial influence (58%), remaining far ahead of schools (32%), which are themselves almost on a par with social media (28%). It would be a great benefit to everyone to find new ways to build positive money habits across all ages and for the whole family.
“Part of any financial education programme should be focussed on the importance of saving and investing and how to start building greater financial resilience in our lives. While we are very supportive of this move for education at school age, we should all also recognise the importance of financial education as a life-long journey, using key life moments as opportunities to bolster people’s financial literacy.”
