We are delighted to launch two gambling education lesson plans — with accompanying PowerPoints — for primary pupils (Key stage 2), and highlight updated Key stage 4 lessons that reflect latest practice.
We are also launching our latest podcast episode on current trends regarding gambling harms and young people, as well as one-page briefings summarising key extracts from our teacher handbook on ‘How to address gambling through PSHE education’.
These materials are all free to download from our gambling education page and have been developed with BeGambleAware, a charity that commissions national prevention and treatment services to keep people safe from gambling harms.
Primary lesson plans and PowerPoints: Exploring risk in relation to gambling
Children and young people are increasingly exposed to gambling and gambling-related activity through gaming, advertising, social media, betting shops, arcades and casinos. We have launched two primary lesson plans in recognition that the issue needs to be addressed at an earlier age, in a way that lays the ground for learning in the secondary phase.
The materials will support children to recognise, evaluate and manage risk and link this to gambling. They will also explore influences and pressures on people to gamble and show young people how to get help should they or others need it:
- Lesson 1 – ‘Exploring risk’: this lesson explores pupils’ understanding and assessment of risk in a variety of situations and develops helpful strategies for managing when risk arises.
- Lesson 2 – ‘Chancing it!': a Year 6 lesson exploring risk in relation to gambling and its effect on wellbeing.
Secondary lesson plans and PowerPoints
Secondary schools will be required to ‘teach about the risks related to online gambling including the accumulation of debt’ from September as part of statutory Health Education. These three key stage 4 lesson plans will support you to cover the topic with confidence.
Updated for 2020, these latest versions reflect current best practice and the latest version of the PSHE Education Programme of Study. They will support pupils to identify risks and understand how to make good decisions in risky situations; to develop strategies for recognising and managing impulsive behaviour; and to understand the role and influence of advertising.
Podcast - Reducing the odds of gambling harm through PSHE
In this new episode of "“PSHE talks”, Sam is joined by Subject Specialists Anne Bell and Sally Martin and Dr Elly Hanson — an independent clinical psychologist who’s been researching PSHE’s role in gambling harm prevention work. Together they discuss the wider context for this work and explore the current trends around gambling harms and young people. Our guests give their unique insight into what they believe schools should be covering on this topic and practical advice on effective delivery of gambling education in the classroom.
Handbook and one-page briefings
We published our teacher handbook in December — a ‘how-to’ guide for covering gambling education through PSHE. Our new one-page briefings cover a selection of key content from the handbook under four themes: the rationale for delivering gambling education; what effective gambling education looks like; considerations for visitors working with schools; and considerations for schools when working with visitors.