Foundation Public Services
Foundation Public Services is a two unit, portfolio assessed Entry Level and Level 1 qualification for learners aged 14 to 16 who want to find out about the police, fire and ambulance services, councils, the Armed Forces and voluntary groups. Its one directly digital learning outcome is LO1.3 in Unit 1, where learners name digital platforms such as websites, apps, social media and email and describe how public services use them to communicate, and Unit 2 adds the radios, tablets, drones and public warning systems services use at incidents. Most other digital work sits in the suggested tasks, such as online news research, digital posters, a mock website and a mock social media campaign, and all portfolio evidence must be submitted digitally.
- Awarding body
- WJEC
- Level
- Entry Level and Level 1
- First taught
- September 2027
- Amount of digital work
- Medium
- Specification
- Open the specification
- Next step up
- VCSE Public Services, Level 1 and Level 2
How this qualification is assessed
- Unit 1: Introduction to the Public Services Sector: Centre-marked non-examination assessment, portfolio of evidence from teacher-set activities, maximum assessment time 9 hours (typically 7 to 9 hours), 48 guided learning hours, 72 of the 152 qualification points, criteria at Entry 1, Entry 2, Entry 3 and Level 1, assessed in the centre and moderated by WJEC, available from summer 2028
- Unit 2: Public Services in Action: Centre-marked non-examination assessment, portfolio of evidence from teacher-set activities, maximum assessment time 15 hours (typically 11 to 15 hours), 72 guided learning hours, 80 of the 152 qualification points, criteria at Entry 1, Entry 2, Entry 3 and Level 1, assessed in the centre and moderated by WJEC, available from summer 2029
Skills that use Health and well-being
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Describing how public services use digital platforms to communicate
In Unit 1, LO1.3, learners name digital platforms that public services use, such as the NHS Wales app, council websites and police social media, and at Level 1 describe with examples how they are used to share information, take reports and support communities. The content also notes that the Welsh Language Standards require digital services to be available in Welsh and English. Suggested Level 1 tasks ask learners to decide which platform a service would use in a given situation and why.
DCF: Communication, Health and well-being
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils look at screenshots of their council website and the NHS Wales app and list three things each one lets people do, such as report a missed bin or book an appointment.
- Year 8
- Pupils compare a police social media post, a council web page and an email newsletter about the same local event, and say which one reaches people fastest and why.
- Year 9
- Pupils are given three situations, a missing person, a flood warning and a change to bin collections, choose the best digital platform for each in a short table and check whether the service offers it in Welsh and English.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 1, LO1.3 content, page 16; Unit 1, assessment criteria 1.3.1 and 1.3.2, page 23; Unit 1, examples of tasks LO1.3, page 30
“Public services use digital platforms, such as websites, apps, social media and email”
Progression step 3
I can show an understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of different forms of communication and when it is appropriate to use each, e.g. explain when video conferencing may be more appropriate than e-mail, and vice versa; explain the pros and cons of using instant messaging in social contexts; talk about purpose and audience.
I can identify the wider positive and negative influences of technology, e.g. on my life, on society, on the environment.
Progression step 4
I can select and use different online communication tools for specific purposes with higher levels of competence, e.g. set up and manage an address book, organise contacts, use advanced features of e-mail provider (signature, auto reply, read receipt, widgets).
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Knowing the digital equipment services use at incidents
In Unit 2, LO2.3, learners describe and at Level 1 explain the resources different services bring to an incident. The lists include communication equipment such as tablets, radios and mobile phones, drones, control rooms and public warning systems that use sirens, social media and websites.
DCF: Health and well-being, Communication
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils sort picture cards of police, fire and ambulance equipment into digital and non-digital, and say what a radio, a tablet and a drone are each used for.
- Year 8
- Pupils watch a short news clip of a flood response, note each piece of technology they see, such as radios, drones and text or siren warnings, and write the job it does.
- Year 9
- Pupils plan the communication kit for a mock incident at a school sports day, choosing between radios, mobile phones and a social media warning, and give one advantage and one drawback of each.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 2, LO2.3 content, pages 41 and 42; Unit 2, assessment criterion 2.3.2, page 46
“communication equipment such as, tablets, radios, mobile phones”
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 show an understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of different forms of communication and when it is appropriate to use each, e.g. explain when video conferencing may be more appropriate than e-mail, and vice versa; explain the pros and cons of using instant messaging in social contexts; talk about purpose and audience.
Progression step 4
I can select and use different online communication tools for specific purposes with higher levels of competence, e.g. set up and manage an address book, organise contacts, use advanced features of e-mail provider (signature, auto reply, read receipt, widgets).
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Planning a mock social media campaign
A suggested Level 1 task for LO2.4 has learners develop a mock social media campaign for a public service, such as fire service firework safety before bonfire night or a council campaign on fly tipping, to show skills including using digital platforms to communicate with communities. The specification's cover notes that plans to restrict social media use by under 16s may affect some qualifications, so a mock campaign that is not published suits this age group.
DCF: Creating digital content, Health and well-being, Evaluating and improving digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils look at three real public service social media posts and pick out what grabs attention, such as the image, the headline or a hashtag.
- Year 8
- Pupils design one mock post, not published, warning about firework safety, with an image, fewer than 40 words and the message in Welsh and English.
- Year 9
- Pupils plan a three post mock campaign for the council on fly tipping across one week in a template, say who each post is aimed at and change one post after peer feedback.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 2, LO2.4 content, page 43; Unit 2, examples of tasks LO2.4, page 54; cover, page 1
“Learners develop a mock social media campaign for one of the public services”
Progression step 3
I can use software tools to enhance the outcomes for specific audiences.
I can identify marketing elements designed to draw my attention.
I can ensure my output is appropriate for specific purposes.
Progression step 4
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.
I can suggest and make improvements that are relevant for audience and purpose, based on feedback and self-evaluation of my digital work.
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Understanding online harassment and internet safety
In Unit 2, LO2.2, malicious communications and harassment using social media are listed as non-emergency incidents the police respond to, so learners link online behaviour to the public services that deal with it. A suggested Level 1 task for LO2.4 has learners give a presentation to their class on the importance of internet safety.
DCF: Online behaviour and online bullying, Health and well-being
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils sort example online messages into friendly, unkind and threatening, and practise blocking and reporting on a mock app screen.
- Year 8
- Pupils discuss a case of repeated abusive messages and decide when to tell the platform, a trusted adult or the police on 101.
- Year 9
- Pupils prepare and give a short presentation to a younger class on staying safe online, explaining how harassment using social media can become a police matter.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 2, LO2.2 content, page 38; Unit 2, examples of tasks LO2.4, page 54
“malicious communications and/or harassment using social media”
Progression step 3
I can demonstrate appropriate online behaviour and apply a range of strategies to protect myself and others from possible online dangers, bullying and inappropriate behaviour, e.g. turn off comments on digital media, reporting, block users.
I can recognise language that could be deemed to be offensive (including racist, sexist, homophobic and transphobic language) in online activities.
Progression step 4
I can act appropriately online, keeping myself safe and behaving in a responsible manner.
I can understand the implications of online actions, including my digital footprint and the legal implications of sharing inappropriate material.
I can identify ways of reporting unacceptable online behaviour.
Good to know
- All work must reach WJEC in digital form: "All evidence must be submitted digitally." Paper work and physical evidence "should be scanned, photographed or filmed" and uploaded through IAMIS (Section 3.3, page 59).
- There is no examination or on-screen test. Both units are "Centre marked non-examination assessment" built as a "Portfolio of evidence" (Summary of assessment, page 5).
- Most digital activities are suggestions, not requirements: the example tasks "are not mandatory" (Section 2.1, page 10), and teachers design their own activities so long as they meet the assessment criteria (Section 3.1, page 58).
- No software or equipment is named for assessment: "There are no specific requirements for assessment." (Unit 1, page 12) and "No specialist resources are required for assessment." (Unit 2, page 37). The only software pointer is a website task using "programmes available via HUB" (page 51).
- Evidence can be digital media and recordings, including "video/audio recordings" of presentations or discussions and "photographic evidence" with context (Section 3.3, page 59).
- Entry 1 learners may use "assistive technology" as part of the high level of support they need (Section 3.4, page 60).
- The cover warns that "The UK Government has announced plans to restrict social media use by children under 16", which may affect social media tasks (page 1), so the suggested social media campaign is best kept as a mock up.
- The specification states no rule on AI tools. It refers only to malpractice: "Candidates must not take part in any unfair practice" (Section 3.8, page 62), and learners must be supervised when completing assessment activities (Section 3.5, page 60).
- Appendix A (page 67) maps Digital Competence Citizenship to LO1.3 and LO2.6, Interacting and collaborating to LO1.6 and LO2.5, Producing to LO1.7 and LO2.4, and Data and computational thinking to LO1.3 and LO2.5.
Links with other qualifications
The specification names VCSE Public Services as the Level 1/2 progression route. The Foundation shares its knowledge of how public services use digital communication, such as social media, websites, radios, tablets, drones and public warning systems, and its digital submission of evidence. VCSE Public Services steps this up with an external sector test that can be taken on screen, online research into a local wellbeing issue with referenced sources, and either recording and analysing fitness test data or planning a community project with digital tools and analysing survey feedback in a spreadsheet. The online research, safety messages and incident work also link with GCSE Social Studies, and the online safety content with GCSE Digital Technology.
Source: WJEC Entry Level/Level 1 Foundation Public Services specification, approved by Qualifications Wales, teaching from September 2027, for award from 2029 (© WJEC CBAC Ltd 2026).