Financial education
Money, tax and VAT
A full taught pathway through real money: budgets, payslips, income tax, National Insurance, VAT, public spending, borrowing, insurance, fraud, interest and pensions. Every lesson is mapped to a citizenship or maths objective, so it counts as curriculum work.
Money
Your progress
0 of 35 lessons finished · 0 of 9 objectives secure
Tax rates and thresholds are used as worked examples and change most years, so each lesson teaches the method and says to check the current figures.
Put it into practice
My money tracker
Plan a real monthly budget, log what you actually spend, and save towards goals — the hands-on companion to every stage below. It saves to your profile automatically.
Start here · Citizenship
Money while you grow up
Money at your age: pocket money and app balances, in-game spending and loot boxes, scams aimed at young people, and earning your own money for the first time.
- Pocket money, apps and watching a balanceUnderstand income, spending, saving and the choices involved in managing personal finances4 marked checks30 min
- In-game spending and loot boxesUnderstand the functions and uses of money, the importance and practice of budgeting, and managing risk4 marked checks30 min
- Scams aimed at young peopleUnderstand the functions and uses of money, the importance and practice of budgeting, and managing risk4 marked checks30 min
- Earning your own moneyUnderstand income, spending, saving and the choices involved in managing personal finances4 marked checks30 min
Stage 1 · Citizenship
Everyday money: where yours goes
Year 8 start: track a real week's spending, sort needs from wants, and check a receipt and your change.
- Where your money actually goesUnderstand income, spending, saving and the choices involved in managing personal finances4 marked checks25 min
- Needs, wants and the choice in betweenUnderstand the functions and uses of money, the importance and practice of budgeting, and managing risk4 marked checks25 min
- Checking a receipt and your changeUnderstand the functions and uses of money, the importance and practice of budgeting, and managing risk4 marked checks25 min
Stage 2 · Citizenship
Saving up for something you actually want
Save for something you actually want, write a first weekly budget, and see what subscriptions really cost.
- Setting a savings goal that worksUnderstand income, spending, saving and the choices involved in managing personal finances4 marked checks30 min
- Your first weekly budgetUnderstand the concept of a personal budget, opportunity cost, and the balance between managing money day-to-day and planning for the future4 marked checks30 min
- Phone contracts, subscriptions and things that keep chargingUnderstand income, spending, saving and the choices involved in managing personal finances4 marked checks30 min
Stage 3 · Maths
Working out value in a real shop
Sale prices, offers that only look cheap, price per 100 g, and splitting a bill fairly.
- Sale prices and offers that only look cheapWork interchangeably with terminating decimals and their corresponding fractions, and define percentage as 'number of parts per hundred'4 marked checks30 min
- Price per 100 g and splitting a bill fairlyUse compound units such as speed, unit pricing and density to solve problems4 marked checks30 min
Stage 4 · Citizenship
What money is and how to run a budget
What money actually does, and how to build a budget that survives contact with real life.
- What money actually doesUnderstand the functions and uses of money, the importance and practice of budgeting, and managing risk4 marked checks30 min
- Building a personal budgetUnderstand the concept of a personal budget, opportunity cost, and the balance between managing money day-to-day and planning for the future4 marked checks30 min
Stage 5 · Citizenship
Earning, payslips and tax
Kinds of income, then every line of a payslip: gross to net, income tax bands, National Insurance and tax codes.
- Income, spending and saving choicesUnderstand income, spending, saving and the choices involved in managing personal finances4 marked checks30 min
- Reading a payslip: gross pay, tax and National InsuranceUnderstand a range of financial products and services, and how public money is raised and spent4 marked checks30 min
Stage 6 · Citizenship
VAT and public money
VAT hidden inside prices, the 20%, 5% and zero rates, other duties, and where public money is raised and spent.
- VAT: the tax hidden in the priceUnderstand a range of financial products and services, and how public money is raised and spent4 marked checks30 min
- Where public money comes from and goesUnderstand a range of financial products and services, and how public money is raised and spent4 marked checks30 min
Stage 7 · Citizenship
Borrowing, insurance and risk
Credit and APR, debt priorities and free help, insurance and excess, and how to spot a scam.
- Credit, APR and the real cost of borrowingUnderstand credit, debt, insurance and the risks attached to different financial products4 marked checks30 min
- Debt, insurance and managing riskUnderstand credit, debt, insurance and the risks attached to different financial products4 marked checks30 min
- Scams, fraud and protecting your moneyUnderstand the functions and uses of money, the importance and practice of budgeting, and managing risk4 marked checks30 min
Stage 8 · Maths
The maths behind the money
The arithmetic underneath: percentages, interest, reversing a discount, unit pricing and compound growth.
- Percentages of money you can do in your headWork interchangeably with terminating decimals and their corresponding fractions, and define percentage as 'number of parts per hundred'4 marked checks30 min
- Percentage change: interest, discounts and original pricesSolve problems involving percentage change, including percentage increase and decrease and original value problems4 marked checks30 min
- Unit pricing and value for moneyUse compound units such as speed, unit pricing and density to solve problems4 marked checks30 min
- Compound interest with a formulaSubstitute numerical values into formulae and expressions, including scientific formulae4 marked checks30 min
Stage 9 · Citizenship
Bank accounts and planning ahead
Choosing accounts, protection and complaints, pensions, and balancing this month against the next forty years.
- Bank accounts and financial productsUnderstand a range of financial products and services, and how public money is raised and spent4 marked checks30 min
- Pensions and planning for the long termUnderstand the concept of a personal budget, opportunity cost, and the balance between managing money day-to-day and planning for the future4 marked checks30 min
Stage 10 · Citizenship
Renting and buying a home
Renting a first place: deposits, tenancies and rights. Then mortgages properly — deposit, loan to value, interest, term — the true cost of running a home, and renting versus buying compared over five years.
- Renting your first placeUnderstand the functions and uses of money, the importance and practice of budgeting, and managing risk4 marked checks30 min
- How a mortgage actually worksUnderstand credit, debt, insurance and the risks attached to different financial products4 marked checks30 min
- The true cost of running a homeUnderstand a range of financial products and services, and how public money is raised and spent4 marked checks30 min
- Rent or buy? Comparing the numbersUnderstand the concept of a personal budget, opportunity cost, and the balance between managing money day-to-day and planning for the future4 marked checks30 min
Stage 11 · Citizenship
Life skills: running your own money
The life skills: your first month living independently, feeding yourself on a real budget, phone and car contracts that tie you in, and sorting your own tax code, receipts and complaints.
- Your first month living independentlyUnderstand the concept of a personal budget, opportunity cost, and the balance between managing money day-to-day and planning for the future4 marked checks30 min
- Feeding yourself on a real budgetUse compound units such as speed, unit pricing and density to solve problems4 marked checks30 min
- Contracts that tie you in: phones, travel and carsUnderstand credit, debt, insurance and the risks attached to different financial products4 marked checks30 min
- Your own tax, receipts and putting things rightUnderstand income, spending, saving and the choices involved in managing personal finances4 marked checks30 min
Where this leads
Straight into GCSE citizenship and maths
Percentage change, interest and compound units are examined maths topics, and public finance and financial products sit inside GCSE citizenship. This pathway is the groundwork for both.