DCF Cymru Digital competence for Wales

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Personal Project

The WJEC Entry Level Personal Project is a stand-alone 60 hour qualification, graded Entry 1, Entry 2 or Entry 3, in which learners choose a topic that interests them and carry out a simple project. They submit a project plan and a final project, which can be written, oral, digital, an artefact, a performance or an event. It is assessed against the four Integral Skills: planning and organising, critical thinking and problem solving, creativity and innovation, and personal effectiveness. Digital demand is low. Digital work sits in planning, finding information on websites, saying where it came from, including AI tools, and presenting, and none of it has to be digital.

Awarding body
WJEC
Level
Entry Level
Guided learning hours
60
First taught
September 2027
Amount of digital work
Low
Specification
Open the specification
How this qualification is assessed
  • Planning and organising (learning outcomes 1 to 3): Assessment grid with seven criteria (plan a simple project, say what they want to achieve, use resources and time), each awarded 1, 2 or 3 points for Entry 1, Entry 2 or Entry 3, 21 points, 30% weighting. Internally assessed by the centre and externally moderated by WJEC.
  • Critical thinking and problem solving (learning outcomes 4 and 5): Assessment grid with six criteria (find and use simple information, notice and talk about problems), each awarded 1, 2 or 3 points, 18 points, 20% weighting. Internally assessed by the centre and externally moderated by WJEC.
  • Creativity and innovation (learning outcome 6): Assessment grid with three criteria (try out ideas, select colours, materials or designs, present their work), each awarded 2, 4 or 6 points, 18 points, 20% weighting. Internally assessed by the centre and externally moderated by WJEC.
  • Personal effectiveness (learning outcomes 7 and 8): Assessment grid with seven criteria (share and talk about ideas, think about what they have learned), each awarded 1, 2 or 3 points, 21 points, 30% weighting. Internally assessed by the centre and externally moderated by WJEC. All four grids are applied to one two-part final entry: the project plan and the final project.

Skills that use Creating digital content

  1. Presenting the project in their own way

    Assessed: In coursework (non-examination assessment, NEA)

    Every learner presents their work: at Entry 1 in a way they like, at Entry 2 in their own way, such as a poster, short presentation or photo, and at Entry 3 clearly in their own style. The specification lists digital as one possible project form, so slides, photos or video are options, not requirements.

    DCF: Creating digital content

    Getting pupils ready

    Year 7
    Pupils take a photo of something they made and add a title and one sentence to it in a slide.
    Year 8
    Pupils make three slides about a hobby with pictures and short captions, choosing colours and fonts they like.
    Year 9
    Pupils record a short video or narrated slideshow showing their finished mini project and explaining one choice they made.
    Show the specification wording and the DCF statements

    Where it is in the specification: Creativity and innovation, learning outcome 6, assessment criterion 6.3, page 13; section 2.5, page 9

    “Present their work clearly in their own style”
    Progression step 3
    • 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 use software tools to enhance the outcomes for specific audiences.

    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.

Good to know

Links with other qualifications

The Entry Level Personal Project leads on to the WJEC Personal Project Level 1 and Level 2, which assesses the same four Integral Skills with more independence. Because the topic is the learner's own choice, a project can grow out of any GCSE, VCSE or Foundation subject the learner enjoys, but no subject content is assessed. The planning, teamwork and reflection criteria overlap with Skills Suite units such as Teamwork and Personal development planning, which can be taken alongside it at Entry Level.

Source: WJEC Entry Level Personal Project specification, approved by Qualifications Wales, teaching from September 2027, for award from 2029 (© WJEC CBAC Ltd 2026).