AQW 19625/22-27


Mr Danny Donnelly
Alliance Party
East Antrim


Tabled Date: 10/12/2024
Answered On Date: 18/12/2024
Priority Written: No


Question:
To ask the Minister of Education, pursuant to AQW 17476/22-27, whether gambling harm is addressed through teaching on gambling, gaming and financial capability across several areas of the curriculum in (i) all primary schools; and (ii) all post-primary schools.


Answer:
In the Northern Ireland curriculum, the topic of gambling harm is explored through the wider themes of financial capability, risk management and making responsible choices. While the term "gambling harm" is not always explicitly referenced, the curriculum includes aspects that enable students to comprehend the dangers and outcomes linked to gambling and related behaviours.
Financial capability, encompassing awareness of gambling and gaming, is already established as a statutory and essential component of the curriculum. Opportunities for the teaching and learning of financial capability occur across the curriculum and through young people’s everyday experiences inside and outside school.
At primary level, financial capability is most closely associated with Mathematics and Numeracy, however, it features across all the areas of learning. For example, under Personal Development and Mutual Understanding, using the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment’s (CCEA) Gambling and Gaming Awareness resource, teachers can help pupils understand what gaming is, the types of games available and the associated risks. This includes the amount of time spent on gaming, in-game transactions, and the difference between ‘selected’ and ‘random’ (gambling) purchases.
At post-primary level, financial capability is further embedded across the curriculum and teachers should provide pupils with opportunities to enhance their knowledge and understanding of a range of finance issues, to develop skills that will enable them to make competent and responsible financial decisions throughout their lives. Under the Learning for Life and Work (LLW) area of learning, using CCEA’s Gambling and Gaming Awareness resource, teachers can help pupils recognise that gambling and gaming products are designed to make money, and that advertising actively promotes them. Furthermore, LLW also provides young people with opportunities to explore issues around addiction and its implications for financial wellbeing.
Educating students about the risks associated with gambling is consistent with the objectives of the curriculum. These aims include promoting critical thinking and informed decision-making, providing students with the necessary skills to navigate risks in their personal and financial affairs, and tackling contemporary societal issues, such as the increasing acceptance of gambling via digital platforms.