Skills for Life: Everyday Law
Everyday law is a 20 hour Skills for Life unit about how the law touches daily life: legal terms such as contract and consent, rights and responsibilities at home, work, in housing and as a consumer, where to get legal help, and the consequences of keeping or breaking the law. It is one unit that learners combine with others into a Skills for Life or Skills for Work Award, Certificate or Diploma. Digital demand is low. The only required digital link is judging the reliability of advice sources, which in practice includes websites; online research, flowcharts and screenshots of support services are suggested, not required.
- 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): Four learning outcomes (common legal terms, rights and responsibilities, where to get help, situations where the law applies), each with two 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 (legal concepts and terms, rights and responsibilities, accessing legal advice, how the law affects situations and decisions), each with two 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 Creating digital content
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Researching a law that affects daily life and presenting it
Level 1 and Level 2 learners can research a real example of a law affecting daily life and present findings to the group, and evidence may include research findings, short presentations and evidence of online research. This is a suggested activity only; the assessment criteria can be met through discussion, role-play or written work.
DCF: Sourcing, searching and planning digital content, Creating digital content, Digital rights, licensing and ownership
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils find three facts about a school or road safety rule on a website and put them on a two slide presentation with a picture and the web address of each source.
- Year 8
- Pupils plan a four slide presentation about the age rules for buying an item such as a knife or energy drink, then build it with headings, images and a list of sources.
- Year 9
- Pupils research a law such as the right to a refund for faulty goods, create a short presentation explaining what it means for a shopper, and present it to the class with sources listed on the last slide.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Suggested activities, page 10; sources of evidence, page 11
“Research a real-life example of a law affecting daily life and present findings to the group”
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 cite sources when researching and explain the importance of this, e.g. create simple lists for the referencing of digital and offline sources.
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 select and effectively use a variety of planning techniques.
Good to know
- The unit codes are "S609E1" to "S609L2" (Unit overview, page 3), one code per level from Entry 1 to Level 2, and the unit is 20 guided learning hours.
- No special resources are needed: "Assessment of this unit should not require any specific resources." (Resources required for assessment, page 12), and delivery uses "standard classroom environments" (page 11).
- Evidence can be digital. Possible sources include "Audio or video recordings of discussions, role-plays, or learner explanations" and "Evidence of online research, such as screenshots of legal support services reviewed" (Sources of evidence, page 11), and the specification says a portfolio "is not limited to paper-based materials" (section 4.1, page 18).
- Extended writing is not expected: "extended written work is not required unless appropriate" (Sources of evidence, page 11).
- AI can be used only if acknowledged. When properly referenced it "can be acceptable", but learners "cannot be credited for any work they produce for assessment which is not their own", and failing to acknowledge AI tools is malpractice (section 4.6, page 21).
- Suggested assessment tasks "are not mandatory"; teachers may use them, adapt them or write their own (section 4.1, page 18).
- Evidence sent to WJEC for sampling "must be provided digitally by the centre" (section 5.2, page 23).
Links with other qualifications
The pack names GCSE Social Studies and GCSE Religious Studies as related WJEC qualifications, and both explore rights, responsibilities and fairness in society. Consumer rights also appear in GCSE Business and in the VCSE and Foundation Retail and Customer Service, which cover the Consumer Rights Act 2015, while VCSE and Foundation Public Services cover criminal justice services such as the police and courts. Closely related Skills Suite units named in the pack are Community participation, Democracy in action, Looking after others, Financial literacy, Home management and maintenance, Online safety, Equality, diversity and inclusion, Ethical choices, Values for life, Rights and responsibilities in the workplace, and Fairness and inclusion in the workplace.
Source: WJEC Everyday law 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).