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 Sourcing, searching and planning digital content
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Finding information on approved websites and online news
Suggested tasks across both units have learners use approved websites, printed screenshots and online news outlets such as BBC Wales and ITV News Wales to find examples of public service organisations, career pathways, digital communication and local incidents. At Level 1 learners research independently, for example four digital platforms or incidents locally, in Wales, the UK and internationally, and present what they find.
DCF: Sourcing, searching and planning digital content, Identity, image and reputation
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils use a teacher's list of approved websites to find two facts about their local fire and rescue service and note which site each fact came from.
- Year 8
- Pupils search BBC Wales News for a local incident with two different sets of keywords, bookmark the article and say whether it was an emergency, a non-emergency or a large-scale event.
- Year 9
- Pupils research one public service career across three sites, such as the service's careers page, Careers Wales and a news report, list the sources and say which they trust most and why.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 1, examples of tasks LO1.1, LO1.3 and LO1.5, pages 28, 30 and 32; Unit 2, examples of tasks LO2.1, page 50
“use approved websites or printed screenshots to find examples of digital communication”
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.
I can think critically about information shared online, e.g. the impact of sharing images and videos, metadata of images and videos.
Progression step 4
I can search a variety of sources using relevant search techniques with increased complexity.
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Building a simple information website
A suggested Level 1 task for LO2.2 has learners develop a website, using programs available through Hwb, as a mock information page that signposts people in their local area to the right public service for non-emergencies, emergencies and large-scale events. This needs planning pages, writing short content and linking to services.
DCF: Sourcing, searching and planning digital content, Creating digital content, Storing and sharing
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils build a one page Google Site about school safety contacts with a heading, an image and a short paragraph.
- Year 8
- Pupils add three pages to a Google Site, one each for emergencies, non-emergencies and planned events, with buttons that link between the pages.
- Year 9
- Pupils sketch a site map, then build a mock local help website that signposts 999, 101, 111 and the council with hyperlinks to the real services, and check that every link works.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 2, examples of tasks LO2.2, page 51
“which could be a mock information page for individuals in their local area”
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.
I can create and share hyperlinks to local, network and online files.
Progression step 4
I can select and effectively use a variety of planning techniques.
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 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).