Santander Bank Polska expands the Finansiaki project with new lesson plans for children and young people
Santander Bank Polska has made new teaching materials available for teachers as part of its original financial education project, Finansiaki. The lesson plans will help teenagers understand key financial topics—why we pay taxes, how insurance works, and what the difference is between “to have” and “to be,” as well as what materialism means. The youngest group—preschoolers—will learn more about money.
The four new lesson plans were developed based on findings from the study “Attitudes of children and young people toward finance.”* The results indicate, among other things, a surprisingly high level of materialism and low understanding of the role of taxes among Polish teenagers. Nearly 60% believe they would be happier if they could buy more, and half of the respondents stated that having more money in adulthood would lead to greater satisfaction. More than 80% consider paying taxes important. At the same time, 63% indicated that it would be better if taxes did not have to be paid at all. In the area of insurance, almost all respondents (92%) believe that insuring themselves and their belongings is important, yet more than 21% of teenagers think it would be better if there were no mandatory insurance.
The lesson plans were prepared in cooperation with Dr. Agata Trzcińska, an economic psychologist from the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Warsaw and a substantive consultant for the Finansiaki project. They comply with the core curriculum for primary schools and preschool education. The materials can be downloaded free of charge from www.santander.pl/finansiaki.
For grades VII–VIII, three lessons have been prepared: “Is Nina a materialist?” (ethics/civics – quality of life, purchasing decisions), “The Finansiaks’ taxes” (mathematics/economics – types of taxes, civic responsibility), and “How do the Finansiaks protect themselves from bad luck?” (education for safety/mathematics – insurance, financial consequences of unforeseen events). The youngest children — preschoolers — will learn to distinguish banknotes and coins from the lesson plan “Dino, banknotes and coins.”
We chose these topics because Santander Bank Polska’s research showed that young people have very limited knowledge about taxes and insurance — yet these are the basics of adult life. We want them to understand why we pay taxes and how the insurance system works, because lack of this knowledge may lead to real problems in the future. The same study also showed that young people are highly materialistic. Many of them associate success and happiness with money and material things — with what can be bought or shown. That is why in our lessons we want to present a different perspective: that money is an important part of life, but it cannot be a measure of happiness and success. Relationships, a sense of purpose, developing passions, helping others, and doing things that truly matter are what define these values
Financial education is not only about discussing how to manage money, but also about the values we should follow. The new lesson plans aim to help young people understand that financial stability and independence also come from consciously distinguishing needs from created wants and taking a responsible approach to consumption. It is also important for them to know that taxes are the main source of funding for public services. This will allow them to participate more consciously in society in the future.
The main platform of the Finansiaki project is the educational portal www.santander.pl/finansiaki, where parents and teachers will find various materials and teaching aids, such as lesson plans, articles, games, quizzes, and guides. Additionally, posts supporting adults in talking to children about finance are published on the “Finansiaki to my” social media profiles.
[*] A quantitative study carried out in 2024 on behalf of Santander Bank Polska with a nationwide sample of 2,055 children and young people aged 10–18, conducted using the CAWI method by the Positive Education Institute Foundation with the support of the Ariadna National Research Panel.
