Banking and budgeting basics is one of five lesson plans belonging to our primary school financial literacy content for ages 7-11 in P4-7 or Years 3-6 to teach children about money. We recommend that you start with Samir’s birthday budget challenge and then complete the remaining four lessons (which all contain interactive challenges) in any order. Alternatively, you can use them as a standalone resource. 

The Banking and budgeting basics lesson focuses on supporting children to understand basic banking vocabulary by matching the correct definition to each term, and take their income and expenditure into account to create their own budget. This helps to build positive money habits in the future whilst practising elements of maths.

The activity requires access to a screen and is designed to be completed as a class, either in the classroom or remotely. There is the option to use the short Online lesson film (4 minutes approx.) to deliver the second activity around budgeting and/or issuing the worksheet for independent work.

Teaching resources

• Banking and budgeting basics: Lesson plan – for use with a group of students in the classroom or in a remote session
• Banking and budgeting basics: Presentation slides – to display to pupils and use alongside the lesson plan, with interactive fields to complete as a class
• Banking and budgeting basics: Interactive worksheet – can be provided to pupils so they can follow along and complete the activities in the full lesson plan while working remotely, which can be printed off or completed digitally
• Budgeting basics: Online lesson film – interactive film for remote or in class learning

Lesson learning outcomes

By the end of the lesson pupils will be able to:

• Understand some of the ways to manage money
• Recognise how using a bank account keeps money safe and can help them save
• Practise being responsible for managing their own money
• Know how to keep track of their money, and set and stick to a budget

How does this activity support financial education across the primary curriculum?

This content supports the Financial Education Planning Frameworks to help you deliver financial education across your primary school curriculum for P4-7 or Years 3-6 (KS2). The lesson can be used flexibly as a standalone resource or delivered as part of a series alongside the other four activities, and help develop Core transferable skills as well as financial capability.