Foundation English
WJEC Entry Level/Level 1 Foundation English is a two year, 120 guided learning hour course for learners aged 14 to 16 working at entry level, graded Entry 1 to Level 1 Pass, with a route on to GCSE English Language and Literature. It covers practical reading and writing, real-world and creative writing, and speaking and listening. Digital work is light and mostly indirect. Learners read webpages, infographics and online adverts as non-continuous texts, may take the Unit 1 topic tests on screen, write forms such as blogs in Unit 2, and research their Unit 3 presentation from a range of sources, where digital lives is one of the four set themes. The specification asks centres to use digital technology but does not assess digital skills directly.
- Awarding body
- WJEC
- Level
- Entry Level and Level 1
- First taught
- September 2027
- Amount of digital work
- Low
- Specification
- Open the specification
How this qualification is assessed
- Unit 1: Reading and Writing for Practical Purposes: Two topic tests of 40 minutes each (plus 10 minutes reading time), 30%, 60 marks (2 x 30), set and marked by WJEC, taken on screen or on paper within a four week assessment window under invigilated examination conditions
- Unit 2: Reading and Writing for Real-World and Creative Contexts: Written assessment of two tasks of 40 minutes each (plus 10 minutes reading and planning time), 40%, 40 marks (2 x 20), outline set by WJEC and tailored by the centre, sat under high control conditions, marked by the centre and moderated by WJEC
- Unit 3: Speaking and Listening for Real-World and Literary Contexts: Speaking and listening assessment of approximately 12 minutes: an Individual Researched Presentation of 3 to 5 minutes and a group discussion of a literary extract of 5 to 7 minutes, 30%, 40 marks (2 x 20), WJEC set tasks, marked by the centre and moderated by WJEC
Skills that use Identity, image and reputation
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Talking about the advantages and disadvantages of digital lives
Digital lives is one of the four set themes for the Individual Researched Presentation. The presentation must describe the topic, explain some advantages and some disadvantages and give a view with reasons, so a learner choosing this theme weighs up the effects of technology on people.
DCF: Health and well-being, Identity, image and reputation
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils keep a one day diary of their screen time and sort what they did into good uses and less helpful uses.
- Year 8
- Pupils list two advantages and two disadvantages of young people using social media, using one fact they have found for each, and share them in a group.
- Year 9
- Pupils give a two minute talk on a digital lives topic such as online gaming or digital footprints, explaining advantages and disadvantages and finishing with their own view and a reason.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 3, Section 3.1, page 17; Section 3.2, page 21
“explain issues clearly, considering both advantages and”
Progression step 3
I can identify the wider positive and negative influences of technology, e.g. on my life, on society, on the environment.
I can understand the importance of balancing game and screen time with other parts of my life, e.g. explore the reasons why I might be tempted to spend more time playing games or find it difficult to stop playing and the effect this has on my well-being.
Progression step 4
I can reflect on the role of digital media in my life and habits.
I can understand that I have a digital footprint and that this information can be searched, copied and passed on.
Good to know
- Unit 1 can be on screen or on paper: "Centres can select to administer the topic tests either in digital or paper format" (Unit 1, page 10), with separate entry codes for Unit 1 "(Onscreen)" and "(Paper)" (Section 5.1, page 25).
- The Unit 1 tests include "multiple choice questions (MCQs), objective test questions (OTQs) and short and longer answer questions" (Section 3.2, page 20), so learners taking them on screen need to be confident typing longer answers.
- Unit 2 is a timed task: "The tasks must be sat under high control conditions." (Section 3.2, page 20). The specification does not say whether responses are handwritten or typed, so check the Assessment Pack.
- Using technology is encouraged but not marked: learners should "make use of digital technology when completing the qualification", and these "experiences will not be directly assessed" (page 18).
- Presentations are evidenced by the teacher, not by recordings: "performance evidence (e.g. presentations) must be documented using observation records" (Section 3.3, page 22).
- There are no specific rules on AI. Learners and teachers "sign declarations confirming the authenticity of submitted work" (page 22) and "Candidates must not take part in any unfair practice" (Section 4, page 24).
- Appendix A ticks Citizenship, Interacting and Collaborating, and Producing for all three units, but leaves "Data and Computational Thinking" without any ticks (Appendix A, page 29).
- The cover carries a warning that "The UK Government has announced plans to restrict social media use by children under 16" (page 1), which may affect social media texts and tasks.
Links with other qualifications
Foundation English is designed as a step towards GCSE English Language and Literature, which the specification names as a progression route. The digital skills overlap closely: both read webpages and other digital texts critically, both include a researched individual presentation built from online sources, and both ask learners to write in forms such as blogs and reviews. The GCSE steps these up with longer researched work, judging the reliability of sources more formally and writing in a wider range of digital forms. The digital lives theme also links with Digital Technology and with online safety work in the Health and Well-being Area of Learning and Experience.
Source: WJEC Entry Level/Level 1 Foundation English specification, approved by Qualifications Wales, teaching from September 2027, for award from 2029 (© WJEC CBAC Ltd 2026).