What has the UK economy got to do with me? (Complete scheme of work)
Key stage 4 (ages 14-16) • Finance & The Economy • Core Curriculum
What has the UK economy got to do with me?
This scheme of work is part of ACT’s key stage 4 model curriculum and addresses the requirements of the National Curriculum for Citizenship using a key enquiry question – What has the UK economy got to do with me? – as the focus. It forms part of our model core curriculum which is exclusively available to School and College Members.
About this scheme of work
This scheme of work develops students’ knowledge and understanding of the UK economy and helps them appreciate its relevance to them.
Students explore where the government’s money comes from and consider spending priorities nationally and locally, including the need for emergency spending. They then focus on the role of taxation, looking in detail at how Income Tax and National Insurance contributions are calculated and learning how to read a payslip. They find out about credit and debt in both individual and national contexts and debate a range of ethical issues through case studies. Is our current tax system fair? Is it wrong to try to avoid paying tax? Should countries always have to pay back debt? Finally, they consider how, as individuals, we all contribute to the economy in our day-to-day lives before returning to the key question for this scheme of work – What has the UK economy got to do with me?
National curriculum links
Income and expenditure; credit and debt; insurance; savings and pensions; financial products and services; how public money is raised and spent.
Citizenship skills
Making judgements, evaluation, analysis, debate, discussion, communication, advocacy, oracy, critical thinking, problem solving, use of evidence, informed choices, political literacy.
Citizenship concepts
Law, fairness, ethics, rights and responsibilities, economy, political ideology, budgeting, money management, society.
Building progression
This scheme of work is part of ACT’s model core curriculum for Citizenship in secondary schools, which has been designed to develop and deepen students’ knowledge, skills and understanding throughout Key Stages 3 and 4. Other units linked to this Year 11 scheme of work include:
Year 7: What is the true cost of the things we buy?
Year 8: What can be done to improve the local economy?
Year 9: Fraud is the biggest crime in society – what can we do
about it?
Join as a School and College Member to access the complete collection of lesson plans, slides and support resources.
- Lesson 1: Where does the government’s money come from?
- Lesson 2: How does the government decide how to spend money?
- Lesson 3: How much of our pay goes to the government?
- Lesson 4: Why should we pay tax?
- Lesson 5: How do individuals and countries use credit and debt?
- Lesson 6: What role can I play in the future of the UK economy?
