What is in the pocket: UK and Australia compared
Two features make both systems friendlier to teach than the American one. Every coin value is a number children already skip count in (5, 10, 20, 50), and the coins get physically larger as they get more valuable, with the single Australian exception of the $2.
| United Kingdom | Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| Coins | 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, £1, £2 | 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c, $1, $2 |
| Smallest coin | 1 penny | 5 cents (1c and 2c withdrawn in 1992) |
| Smallest note | £5 | $5 |
| Odd one out | The 50p and 20p are seven-sided | The $2 is smaller than the $1 but worth more |
| Written as | £3.45, or 45p on its own | $3.45, or 45c on its own |
Circulating coins and the smallest notes children commonly see. Both countries also have commemorative coins in circulation, which are legal tender at their face value.
Start by sorting, not counting
Give a handful of mixed coins and ask for them to be sorted into piles by value, then ordered from least to most valuable. This is where children learn the coins by sight, and where you find out whether they are judging by size (a reasonable strategy that mostly works) or by reading the number.
Say the value out loud each time. British children need to hear twenty pence and fifty pence rather than twenty and fifty, because the p matters when pounds arrive.
Then count one coin type by skip counting
A pile of 20c or 20p coins is skip counting by twenty: 20, 40, 60, 80, 100. This is the moment money starts reinforcing the times tables rather than competing with them, and it is why the 5, 10 and 20 coins are the ones to start with.
When the total passes 100, convert out loud: one hundred pence is one pound; one hundred cents is one dollar. Doing this while counting builds the link, rather than teaching it separately later.
Then mixed coins, largest first
For mixed handfuls, teach the habit of starting with the largest coin and counting on. Sort largest to smallest first, then count: 50, 70, 80, 85. Counting on from the biggest keeps the running total in reach and avoids the classic error of counting the many small coins first and losing track.
Worked example, UK: a 50p, two 20p and a 5p. Fifty, seventy, ninety, ninety-five. Ninety-five pence.
Worked example, Australia: a $2, a 50c, two 20c and a 10c. Two dollars, two fifty, two seventy, two ninety, three dollars. Three dollars exactly.
The Australian rounding rule
Australia has no 1c or 2c coin, so cash totals are rounded to the nearest 5 cents at the till: 1 and 2 cents down, 3 and 4 cents up to 5, and so on. Prices are still written to the cent, and card payments are charged exactly, so a $4.98 item costs $5.00 in cash and $4.98 on a card.
This is worth teaching explicitly, because it is the one place Australian money questions differ from every worksheet imported from elsewhere, and because children notice the discrepancy in real shops before anyone explains it.
Then making change
Making change is counting up from the price to the amount handed over, not subtracting. For a £6.40 item paid with a £10 note: 6.40 up to 6.50 is 10p, up to 7.00 is 50p more, up to 10.00 is £3. So £3.60 change. The same hops work on a number line, which is why elapsed time and making change are usually taught with the same picture.
Australian example: a $7.30 item paid with $10. Thirty up to $7.50 is 20c, up to $8 is 50c, up to $10 is $2. So $2.70 change.
Common mistakes
- Mixing units: writing £3.45p or reading $0.45 as forty-five dollars. Insist on one unit per amount.
- Judging value by size alone, which breaks on the Australian $2 and the British 5p.
- Counting small coins first and losing the total. Sort largest to smallest before counting.
- Subtracting to make change instead of counting up, which reintroduces regrouping errors for no reason.
- Assuming a decimal point works like it does in other maths: £2.5 means two pounds fifty, and children write it meaning two pounds five.