Skills for Life: Community Participation
Community participation is a Skills for Life unit in which learners find out about local services, learn about active citizenship and sustainability, and plan, take part in and evaluate a community activity or project. It is one 20 hour unit that learners combine with others into a Skills for Life or Skills for Work Award, Certificate or Diploma. Digital demand is low because no assessment criterion requires digital work. Digital skills sit in researching local services online, making posters, leaflets or digital content to promote an initiative, planning the activity, and exploring online platforms for community change such as FixMyStreet.
- Awarding body
- WJEC
- Level
- Entry Level 1 to Level 2
- Guided learning hours
- 20
- First taught
- September 2027
- Amount of digital work
- Low
How this unit is assessed
- Entry Level (Entry 1, Entry 2, Entry 3): Three learning outcomes (knowing the community and local services, active citizenship and sustainability, and taking part in a simple community activity or project), each with assessment criteria at Entry 1, Entry 2 and Entry 3. Evidence goes in a portfolio, internally assessed by the centre and externally quality assured by WJEC. 20 guided learning hours.
- Level 1 and Level 2: Four learning outcomes (understanding the community and local services, the impact of active citizenship and sustainability, planning and taking part in a community activity or project, and evaluating it), each with assessment criteria at Level 1 and Level 2. Evidence goes in a portfolio, internally assessed by the centre and externally quality assured by WJEC. 20 guided learning hours.
Skills that use Sourcing, searching and planning digital content
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Researching local community services online
At Level 1 and Level 2 learners research and describe a range of community services, and a suggested activity is to research them online or through interviews and produce a brief report or presentation. The criteria require learners to describe or compare services, but online research is one suggested route, so the digital part is taught rather than assessed.
DCF: Sourcing, searching and planning digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils use the council website to find the opening times and address of their nearest library and leisure centre, and copy the web address under each fact.
- Year 8
- Pupils search for three local services for young people, such as a youth club, a food bank and a health centre, adjusting their keywords when results are not local enough.
- Year 9
- Pupils research two local services online, judge which sources are official and up to date, and list their sources at the end of a one page comparison.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Amplification, learning outcome 1, page 8; Suggested activities, page 9; Level 1 and Level 2, learning outcome 1, assessment criteria 1.1 and 1.2, page 6
“Research local community services online or through interviews and produce a brief report or presentation”
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 evaluate the reliability of sources of information, justify my opinions and reasons for choices, and reference using appropriate methods.
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Planning a community activity with digital tools
At Level 1 learners contribute to planning a community activity, suggesting roles or tasks, and at Level 2 they plan and organise it, suggesting roles and responsibilities. Planning is required by the assessment criteria, and listed evidence includes planning sheets, task lists and simple project plans. Using a shared document or spreadsheet for the plan is optional.
DCF: Sourcing, searching and planning digital content, Collaboration
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils list the jobs for a class bake sale in a simple table in Word, with a name next to each job.
- Year 8
- Pupils build a shared task list in Google Sheets or Microsoft Planner for a school garden tidy up, with roles, deadlines and a done column.
- Year 9
- Pupils plan a small charity event in a shared online document, setting edit permissions, a timeline, roles and a list of resources needed.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Level 1 and Level 2, learning outcome 3, assessment criterion 3.1, page 6; Amplification, learning outcome 3, page 8; Sources of evidence, page 9
“Plan a small community project, assigning roles, tasks, and timelines”
Progression step 3
I can independently create and plan work before beginning a digital task.
I can work with others to create an online collaborative project for a specific purpose, sharing and appropriately setting permissions for other group members, e.g. editing, commenting, viewing.
Progression step 4
I can select and effectively use a variety of planning techniques.
I can independently select and use a range of online collaboration tools to create a project with others in one or more languages, e.g. making use of online technology to share and present ideas to others.
Good to know
- The unit codes are S604E1, S604E2, S604E3, S604L1 and S604L2, and the unit is 20 guided learning hours (Unit overview, page 3).
- No special equipment is needed: "Assessment of this unit should not require any specific resources" (Resources required for assessment, page 11).
- Evidence can be digital or spoken. Possible sources include "Photographs of learners taking part in community-based tasks or activities" and "Short learner reflections (written, audio, video, or scribed)" (Sources of evidence, page 9), and "extended written work is not required unless appropriate" (page 9).
- Suggested assessment tasks "are not mandatory" and teachers may adapt them or write their own (Skills for Life and Work specification, section 4.1, page 18).
- AI rules apply to the portfolio: misuse includes "Failing to acknowledge use of AI tools when they have been used as a source of information" (specification, section 4.6, page 21).
- The pack notes that planned UK limits on social media for under 16s "may impact some of our qualifications" (page 2), which matters for any online campaign work.
- Appendix A maps the unit to Digital competence, along with Numeracy, Critical thinking and problem solving and Personal effectiveness (specification, Appendix A, page 28).
Links with other qualifications
The pack names GCSE Social Studies and VCSE Public Services as related WJEC qualifications, and Democracy in action, Equality, diversity and inclusion, Ethical choices, Everyday law, Faith and belief in the community, Sustainability in action, Teamwork, Values for life and Sustainable economic development as closely related Skills Suite units. Researching local services and sustainability issues also links with GCSE Geography, and making promotional posters and leaflets links with GCSE Digital Technology.
Source: WJEC Community participation unit delivery and assessment pack, read with the WJEC Entry 1 to Level 2 Skills for Life and Skills for Work specification, approved by Qualifications Wales, teaching from September 2027 (© WJEC CBAC Ltd 2026).