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 Identity, image and reputation
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Linking contracts, consent and data protection to digital life
The amplification uses contract, for example signing an agreement for a mobile phone, and consent as key legal terms, and a suggested workplace visit looks at how data protection law is applied. These give teachers a natural link to online terms and conditions and personal data, but the pack never requires online contexts, so this is taught context rather than an assessed digital skill.
DCF: Identity, image and reputation, Online behaviour and online bullying, Health and well-being
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils read the permissions screen of a free game app and sort what it asks for into fine to share and think twice before sharing.
- Year 8
- Pupils read a simplified mobile phone contract and the terms of a social media app, then highlight what they are agreeing to and what consent means in each.
- Year 9
- Pupils explain in a short written answer what personal data a shop holds about them after an online order and what the law says the shop must do to keep it safe.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Amplification LO1, pages 8 and 9; experiences, page 11
“consumer rights, or data protection are applied in real working environments”
Progression step 3
I can identify the benefits and risks of giving personal information and device access to different software.
I can understand the risks and legal consequences of sending intimate images and content/sexting.
Progression step 4
I can understand the implications of online actions, including my digital footprint and the legal implications of sharing inappropriate material.
I can make informed choices while making online choices, including making in-app purchases and clicking on adverts.
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).