Scams & Online Safety
CONCEPTUALRecognising financial scams and tricks; phishing emails and fake websites; protecting personal and financial information online; 'if it seems too good to be true, it probably is'
Mastery Evidence
- Identify at least two warning signs of a scam (asking for personal details, too-good-to-be-true offers, urgency)
- Explain why you should never share passwords or bank details online
- Describe what to do if they receive a suspicious message or email (don't click, tell an adult)
Assessment Prompt
“If [child] received a message saying they'd won a prize and just needed to enter their details, would they know it's probably a scam?”
Prerequisites3
- Looking After MoneyhardAges 5—7
- Ways to PayhardAges 7—9
- Deepfakes and AI-Generated ContentsoftAges 9—11
Show full prerequisite tree
- Looking After Money hard
Must understand basic money safety before learning about sophisticated scams
- Reading and writing numbers to 20 hard
Recognising coin values requires reading numerals (1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50)
- How Many in Total? hard
Reading/writing numerals 0–20 requires understanding that numerals represent quantities (cardinality)
- One-to-one counting hard
Cardinality principle builds on one-to-one correspondence — you must count correctly to know the last number tells 'how many'
- Writing digits 0-9 hard
Writing numerals requires the motor skill of forming digits 0-9 (taught in English handwriting)
- What Money Is hard
Must understand what money is before learning to recognise specific coins and notes
- Reading and writing numbers to 20 hard
Recognising coin values requires reading numerals (1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50)
- How Many in Total? hard
Reading/writing numerals 0–20 requires understanding that numerals represent quantities (cardinality)
- One-to-one counting hard
Cardinality principle builds on one-to-one correspondence — you must count correctly to know the last number tells 'how many'
- Writing digits 0-9 hard
Writing numerals requires the motor skill of forming digits 0-9 (taught in English handwriting)
- What Money Is hard
Must understand what money is before learning to recognise specific coins and notes
- Coins & Notes hard
Must recognise coins/notes and their values before practising buying transactions
- Reading and writing numbers to 20 hard
Recognising coin values requires reading numerals (1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50)
- How Many in Total? hard
Reading/writing numerals 0–20 requires understanding that numerals represent quantities (cardinality)
- One-to-one counting hard
Cardinality principle builds on one-to-one correspondence — you must count correctly to know the last number tells 'how many'
- Writing digits 0-9 hard
Writing numerals requires the motor skill of forming digits 0-9 (taught in English handwriting)
- What Money Is hard
Must understand what money is before learning to recognise specific coins and notes
- Deepfakes and AI-Generated Content soft
Cross-domain: understanding AI-generated fake content (AI) enriches online scam awareness (Money & Finance)
- AI Mistakes and Limitations hard
Must understand AI limitations before evaluating AI-generated content
- Machine Learning Basics hard
Must understand how training works before understanding why it can go wrong
- Step-by-Step Instructions soft
Understanding algorithms helps grasp how voice assistants process commands
- Computers in Everyday Life hard
Must know computers exist before understanding they follow exact instructions
- Smart Versus Not-Smart Devices hard
Must understand smart devices before exploring voice assistants as a specific smart device
- Computers in Everyday Life hard
Must know what computers are before sorting smart vs not-smart things
- Smart Versus Not-Smart Devices hard
Must understand smart things before spotting AI all around daily life
- Computers in Everyday Life hard
Must know what computers are before sorting smart vs not-smart things
- Step-by-Step Instructions hard
Must understand that computers follow instructions before learning about data as their input
- Computers in Everyday Life hard
Must know computers exist before understanding they follow exact instructions
- Patterns and Classification hard
Must understand patterns and sorting before grasping the training process
- Data and Information for Computers hard
Must understand data before learning how computers find patterns in it
- Step-by-Step Instructions soft
Understanding algorithms helps grasp how voice assistants process commands
- Computers in Everyday Life hard
Must know computers exist before understanding they follow exact instructions
- Smart Versus Not-Smart Devices hard
Must understand smart devices before exploring voice assistants as a specific smart device
- Computers in Everyday Life hard
Must know what computers are before sorting smart vs not-smart things
- Smart Versus Not-Smart Devices hard
Must understand smart things before spotting AI all around daily life
- Computers in Everyday Life hard
Must know what computers are before sorting smart vs not-smart things
- Step-by-Step Instructions hard
Must understand that computers follow instructions before learning about data as their input
- Computers in Everyday Life hard
Must know computers exist before understanding they follow exact instructions
- Step-by-Step Instructions soft
Understanding algorithms helps grasp how voice assistants process commands
- Computers in Everyday Life hard
Must know computers exist before understanding they follow exact instructions
- Smart Versus Not-Smart Devices hard
Must understand smart devices before exploring voice assistants as a specific smart device
- Computers in Everyday Life hard
Must know what computers are before sorting smart vs not-smart things
- Smart Versus Not-Smart Devices hard
Must understand smart things before spotting AI all around daily life
- Computers in Everyday Life hard
Must know what computers are before sorting smart vs not-smart things
- Step-by-Step Instructions hard
Must understand that computers follow instructions before learning about data as their input
- Computers in Everyday Life hard
Must know computers exist before understanding they follow exact instructions
- Patterns and Classification hard
Must understand patterns and sorting before grasping the training process
- Data and Information for Computers hard
Must understand data before learning how computers find patterns in it
- Step-by-Step Instructions soft
Understanding algorithms helps grasp how voice assistants process commands
- Computers in Everyday Life hard
Must know computers exist before understanding they follow exact instructions
- Smart Versus Not-Smart Devices hard
Must understand smart devices before exploring voice assistants as a specific smart device
- Computers in Everyday Life hard
Must know what computers are before sorting smart vs not-smart things
- Smart Versus Not-Smart Devices hard
Must understand smart things before spotting AI all around daily life
- Computers in Everyday Life hard
Must know what computers are before sorting smart vs not-smart things
- Step-by-Step Instructions hard
Must understand that computers follow instructions before learning about data as their input
- Computers in Everyday Life hard
Must know computers exist before understanding they follow exact instructions
Unlocks1
- AI Data Collection and PrivacysoftAges 9—11