Foundation Creative and Media Production, and Technology
Foundation Creative and Media Production, and Technology is a two-year Entry Level and Level 1 course for learners in Years 10 and 11 who learn best through practical work, graded from Entry 1 Pass to Level 1 Pass. Unit 1 looks at Welsh creative media companies, audiences, job roles, regulators and ethics, and learners usually show this through digital posters, presentations, quizzes or podcasts. Unit 2, which carries most of the points, is digital almost throughout: learners plan, make and edit one media product in audio-visual, audio, interactive media or graphic design and publishing form, using cameras, smartphones, microphones and editing software, then save and export it. All evidence is submitted digitally. Key Stage 3 should build confident filming, recording, image editing and exporting for a named audience.
- Awarding body
- WJEC
- Level
- Entry Level and Level 1
- First taught
- September 2027
- Amount of digital work
- High
- Specification
- Open the specification
- Next step up
- VCSE Creative and Media Production, and Technology, Level 1 and Level 2
How this qualification is assessed
- Unit 1: Introduction to Welsh creative media industries: Centre marked non-examination assessment, a portfolio of evidence from teacher-set activities, maximum assessment time of 9 hours (typically 7 to 9 hours), 40 of the 112 qualification points, assessed in centre and moderated by WJEC; 36 guided learning hours, intended to be taught first and available from summer 2028
- Unit 2: Creative and media production tools and processes: Centre marked non-examination assessment, a portfolio of evidence from teacher-set activities, maximum assessment time of 38 hours (typically 25 to 38 hours), 72 of the 112 qualification points, assessed in centre and moderated by WJEC; 84 guided learning hours, available from summer 2029
Skills that use Sourcing, searching and planning digital content
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Generating ideas with mood boards, mind maps and AI prompts
In Unit 2 learners generate and develop ideas for a media product for a target audience using planning and idea development tools such as mood boards, mind maps, storyboards, sketches or mock-ups and scripts. The content also lists prompts in AI tools to generate initial ideas, and Level 1 learners select planning tools to develop and communicate their ideas clearly.
DCF: Sourcing, searching and planning digital content, Creating digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils build a digital mood board in slide software for a short advert about their school, collecting images, colours and a font that suit Year 6 pupils.
- Year 8
- Pupils make a mind map in an online tool for a podcast idea, then type a prompt into an AI tool for three more ideas and note which one they would keep and why.
- Year 9
- Pupils respond to a short brief for a poster about a Welsh event by making a mood board and a digital mock-up, and add a note on how each choice suits the target audience.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 2, LO2.1, page 23; Assessment criteria 2.1.1 and 2.1.2, page 28
“in AI tools to generate initial ideas”
Progression step 3
I can independently create and plan work before beginning a digital task.
I can use a range of software to select, produce and edit a range of multimedia components for a purpose, such as:
- text and images, e.g. format text (bold, underline, italics, highlight); insert and edit text boxes; columns; use refine tools (spellchecker, find and replace); word wrap; crop; alter size and shape; alter images; add effects; trim and split sound and video clips; transitions; onion skin
- presentation, e.g. page orientation; animations; transitions; remove and alter images; use background; use action buttons to create hyperlink; embed objects.
Progression step 4
I can select and effectively use a variety of planning techniques.
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Planning a production with digital storyboards, shot lists and schedules
In Unit 2 learners use pre-production tools such as storyboards, production schedules, shot lists or image lists and voice-over plans to plan and organise their product, and keep their planning safe and organised digitally or on paper. Level 1 learners create and follow a plan with realistic timescales, resources and responsibilities, and example tasks include using digital tools to build a production schedule.
DCF: Sourcing, searching and planning digital content, Storing and sharing
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils fill in a six-frame storyboard template in slide software for a 30 second clip, adding a sketch or photo and one line of description to each frame.
- Year 8
- Pupils plan a short film in a shared spreadsheet with a shot list of shot types and locations, and a simple schedule of who films what and when.
- Year 9
- Pupils produce a full pre-production pack for a one minute promotional video, with a storyboard, shot list, kit list and dated schedule saved in one organised folder, and update it after a test shoot.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 2, LO2.2, pages 23 and 24; Assessment criteria 2.2.1 and 2.2.3, page 29; Examples of tasks, page 34
“use appropriate digital tools to create a plan/timeline/production schedule”
Progression step 3
I can independently create and plan work before beginning a digital task.
I can manage files and folders locally or online, e.g. move files to a folder.
Progression step 4
I can select and effectively use a variety of planning techniques.
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Researching Welsh media companies and presenting findings digitally
In Unit 1 learners learn about Welsh creative media companies such as S4C, ITV Cymru, Boom Cymru and Wales Interactive, the purpose of their products, job roles and post-16 routes. Example tasks include researching companies and presenting findings as a poster, infographic, presentation or podcast, and making interactive digital quizzes.
DCF: Sourcing, searching and planning digital content, Creating digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils search the S4C website for three programmes for young people and present them on one slide with an image and a sentence about each.
- Year 8
- Pupils research a Welsh games or TV company with set search terms, list their sources and make an infographic about what it makes and why.
- Year 9
- Pupils research a creative media job role in Wales from careers websites, check the sources are reliable, and record a short podcast explaining the role and the route into it.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 1, LO1.1 and LO1.3, page 13; Examples of tasks, pages 17 and 19
“research Welsh creative media companies and present their findings”
Progression step 3
I can adjust keywords and search techniques to find relevant information.
I can begin to reference sources used in my work, and consider if content is reliable.
Progression step 4
I can search a variety of sources using relevant search techniques with increased complexity.
I can select and use a variety of appropriate software, tools and techniques to create, modify and combine multimedia components for a range of audiences and purposes, such as:
- text and images, e.g. explore and use effectively image manipulation techniques; explore and use appropriately the many aspects of document layout; use animation, video and audio effects such as echo, tempo, envelope, layering, frame rate, key frames
- presentation, e.g. use design tools; adapt themes and colours to suit the purpose; create master templates.
Good to know
- All evidence for both units is submitted online: "All evidence must be submitted digitally." Paper work and physical evidence must be scanned, photographed or filmed (Section 3.3, page 40).
- Learners make one product in one media form: "a creative media product in one of the following media forms", audio-visual, audio, interactive media or graphic design and publishing (Unit 2, page 23).
- Equipment depends on that choice: "Depending on the media form chosen by the learner", centres may need video and audio recording equipment, software such as Adobe Creative Suite, and audio and audio-visual editing software (Unit 2, page 22).
- Coding is not required for websites: "learners are not required to create websites through programming languages such as HTML", and web design software or templates are acceptable (Unit 2, page 26).
- AI is part of the taught content: learners use prompts "in AI tools to generate initial ideas" (page 23), AI tools are a source of feedback (page 24), and the "use of AI" is an ethical consideration (Unit 1, page 14).
- Tasks are set by the centre: "Teachers have the flexibility to design assessment tasks" (Section 3.1, page 39), and "Learners must be supervised by a teacher while completing assessment activities." (Section 3.5, page 41).
- The cover warns that "The UK Government has announced plans to restrict social media use by children under 16, which may impact some of our qualifications." (cover page), which may matter for social media examples.
- Appendix A (page 48) maps Digital Competence Producing to every learning outcome in both units, Citizenship to LO1.2, LO1.4, LO2.2 and LO2.5, Interacting and collaborating to LO2.3, and Data and computational thinking to none.
Links with other qualifications
The specification names the WJEC VCSE Creative and Media Production, and Technology as the next step after a Level 1 Pass. The VCSE shares the same skills: pre-production planning with storyboards and schedules, filming, recording, photography, editing, copyright, regulation, AI and appeal to a target audience. It steps them up from one teacher-set product in a single media form to WJEC-set briefs, a separate pre-production NEA and a multi-modal promotional campaign that combines an audio-visual or audio element with an interactive or graphic design element, with a production journal and a one hour sector test. Filming, editing and media regulation also link with GCSE Digital Media and Film, and image editing and web design link with GCSE Digital Technology.
Source: WJEC Entry Level/Level 1 Foundation Creative and Media Production, and Technology specification, approved by Qualifications Wales, teaching from September 2027, for award from 2029 (© WJEC CBAC Ltd 2026).