[The Human Santapede]

Children will be taught how to budget and how mortgages work as the government seeks to modernise the national curriculum in England's schools.

They will also be taught how to spot fake news and disinformation, including AI-generated content, following the first review of what is taught in schools in over a decade.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the government wanted to "revitalise" the curriculum but keep a "firm foundation" in basics like English, maths and reading.

Head teachers said the review's recommendations were "sensible" but would require "sufficient funding and teachers".

The government commissioned a review of the national curriculum and assessments in England last year, in the hope of developing a "cutting edge" curriculum that would narrow attainment gaps between the most disadvantaged students and their classmates.

It said it would take up most of the review's recommendations, including scrapping the English Baccalaureate (EBacc), a progress measure for schools introduced in 2010.

It assesses schools based on how many pupils take English, maths, sciences, geography or history and a language - and how well they do.

The Department for Education (DfE) said the EBacc was "constraining", and that removing it alongside reforms to another school ranking system, Progress 8, would "encourage students to study a greater breadth of GCSE subjects", like arts.

The former Conservative schools minister, Nick Gibb, said the decision to scrap the EBacc would "lead to a precipitous decline in the study of foreign languages", which he said would become increasingly centred on private schools and "children of middle class parents who can afford tutors".

Other reforms coming as a result of the curriculum review include:

* Financial literacy being taught in maths classes, or compulsory citizenship lessons in primary schools

*More focus on spotting misinformation and disinformation - including exploring a new post-16 qualification in data science and AI

* Cutting time spent on GCSE exams by up to three hours for each student on average

* Ensuring all children can take three science GCSEs

* More content on climate change

* Better representation of diversity

The review also recommended giving oracy the same status in the curriculum as reading and writing, which the charity Voice 21 said was a "vital step forward" for teaching children valuable speaking, listening, and communication skills.

Asked what lessons would be removed from the school day, Phillipson told BBC Radio 4's Today programme it would not be a case of swapping out content for new topics but that there would be "better sequencing" of the curriculum overall.

"We need to ensure that we avoid duplication so that children aren't repeating the things that they might have already studied," she added.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cddr3v6j9mmo