Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department plans to introduce requirements for schools to teach pupils in secondary school about the dangers of gambling online.

The Government wants all schools to deliver a high-quality education that ensures all young people are equipped with the knowledge they need to prepare them for adult life, including the risks associated with harmful behaviour and addiction.

Schools are required to teach a balanced and broad curriculum that promotes the spiritual, moral, social, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils, and prepares pupils for the opportunities, experiences and responsibilities of later life. The Department is aware that some schools choose to teach about gambling and addiction in an age-appropriate way, as part of their wider school curriculum or through Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHE).

The non-statutory PSHE programme of study, published by the PSHE Association, includes teaching about gambling (including online) and its psychological and financial impact. There are also organisations that work with schools and children to raise awareness of the risks around gambling, including the Young Gamblers Education Trust.