Skills for Life: Science and Technology in Everyday Life
Science and Technology in Everyday Life is an Open Awards Skills for Life unit in which learners use technology for everyday personal tasks: completing online forms, shopping online, managing money with banking and budgeting tools, and staying safe, ending at Level 2 with data protection, consumer rights and case studies of legal, social and ethical issues. Each level is 20 GLH and is assessed through provider-set practical tasks, often simulated, collected in a portfolio. Digital demand is high because nearly every criterion is carried out on a device or is about using technology safely and responsibly.
- Awarding body
- Open Awards
- Level
- Entry Level 1 to Level 2
- Guided learning hours
- 20
- First taught
- September 2027
- Amount of digital work
- High
- Specification
- Open the specification
How this unit is assessed
- Entry Level 1 (CBM131), 2 credits, 20 GLH: Four learning outcomes: identify words used in simple forms and enter up to five personal details into an online form with support, identify and select items on a shopping interface, identify prices and the cheaper option, and identify safe and unsafe behaviours when using technology. Suggested tasks are matching, supported demonstration, practical and sorting tasks set and marked by the provider.
- Entry Level 2 (CBM132), 2 credits, 20 GLH: Enter personal details and select options on a basic online form, complete a simple purchase using a digital interface and identify the information needed, use a digital tool to check balances or transactions and enter income and expenditure into a simple budgeting tool, identify rules for staying safe and report a digital or financial safety concern. Simulated forms, apps and websites can be used.
- Entry Level 3 (CBM133), 2 credits, 20 GLH: Complete at least three multi-section simulated online forms and identify how to stay safe when entering information, use search and filter tools and record key product information, review balances and update a budgeting tool over a short period, and identify legal, social and ethical issues in at least two scenarios and describe the consequences of digital behaviours.
- Level 1 (CBM134), 2 credits, 20 GLH: Complete online forms using features such as dropdown menus, date pickers and radio buttons, describe at least three risks of entering information online, compare deals using online comparison tools, explain at least three payment methods with strengths and weaknesses, create a monthly budget using an online tool, identify at least three online financial risks, and describe legal, social and ethical issues and their consequences in three scenarios.
- Level 2 (CBM135), 2 credits, 20 GLH: Complete a multipage online application form, explain GDPR principles in digital forms, explain and apply consumer rights in digital purchases, analyse financial options with at least three digital tools, evaluate at least three financial risks and how to reduce them, and analyse at least three case studies of legal, social and ethical issues, evaluating consequences and recommending actions in one combined task.
Skills that use Digital rights, licensing and ownership
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Understanding legal, social and ethical issues of technology use
Learners identify legal, social and ethical issues in at least two scenarios at Entry 3, such as copying someone's photo and posting it as your own or downloading a film, and describe consequences such as bans or reputational damage. At Level 1 they describe an issue of each type and its consequences, and at Level 2 they analyse at least three case studies, such as a data breach, and recommend actions to digital users. This is required by the assessment criteria.
DCF: Digital rights, licensing and ownership, Online behaviour and online bullying
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils discuss whether it is fair to post a friend's photo without asking, and write one rule for sharing other people's pictures.
- Year 8
- Pupils sort scenarios, such as downloading a film from an unofficial site, into legal, social and ethical issues and write a consequence for each.
- Year 9
- Pupils read a news case study of a data breach and write what happened, who was harmed and two recommendations for users and the company.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Entry Level 3 AC 4.1 and AC 4.2, page 20; Level 1 AC 4.1 and AC 4.2, pages 23 and 24; Level 2 AC 4.1 and AC 4.2, pages 26 and 27
“copying someone's photo and posting it as your own”
Progression step 3
I can understand that copying the work of others and presenting it as my own is plagiarism.
I can understand that images can be edited digitally and can discuss rights and permissions associated with this.
Progression step 4
I can understand copyright and can explain the legal and ethical dimensions of respecting creative work, e.g. exploring the ethical and legal ramifications of piracy and plagiarism and know that they are irresponsible and disrespectful, and I can apply my understanding of the rules and regulations to different scenarios.
I can understand the implications of online actions, including my digital footprint and the legal implications of sharing inappropriate material.
Good to know
- Every level is 2 credits and 20 GLH, with unit codes CBM131 (Entry 1) to CBM135 (Level 2) (Unit Content, pages 13, 16, 19, 22 and 25), matching the Level 1 Qualification Guide (Qualification Units, page 18).
- Only one level counts towards a qualification: "with the exception of British Sign Language (BSL), units with the same title at different levels are barred for completion within the same qualification" (Qualification Guide, Qualification Units, page 16).
- Assessment is set by the school and every criterion must be met: the suite is "assessed through assessment tasks and activities designed by the provider" and "No partial award can be made if any assessment criteria is not met" (Assessment Approach, page 8).
- Evidence goes in a portfolio that "can be presented digitally (e.g., through an e-portfolio system) or as paper-based", and "Wherever possible, e-portfolios are encouraged" (Assessment Approach, page 8). Tasks need pre-course verification and are checked by internal and then Open Awards external quality assurance.
- Neither the unit specification nor the Level 1 Qualification Guide says anything about AI tools, so the school's own malpractice and authentication rules apply.
- Devices are needed: the minimum resources include "access to digital devices, e.g., computers, laptops, or tablets" and "reliable internet access with appropriate filtering and safeguarding measures in place" (Physical Resources, page 7), plus "access to a controlled digital environment where learners can practice tasks safely" (page 6).
- Simulated tasks are expected: at Entry Level 2 the form "is likely to be a simulated form, such as a library or sports centre application form so that learners are not sharing their personal information unnecessarily" (Indicative Content, page 17), and simulated apps, websites, forms and budgets are named at every level.
- At Level 2, "AC 4.1 and 4.2 should be completed as one assessment task", using at least three case studies such as the "TikTok data breach" or the "Post Office Horizon Scandal" (Indicative Content, pages 26 and 27).
- Some wording looks like a draft: Level 1 AC 4.1 reads "Learners must describe use at least three scenarios" (page 23), Level 2 lists "online comparison sights" (page 26), and Entry Level 2 AC 2.2 says information "needed to complete an online" with a word missing (page 17).
Links with other qualifications
The Pearson Science and Technology in Everyday Life unit covers the same everyday tasks in 10 GLH, while the Open Awards unit is 20 GLH at every level and adds digital budgeting, GDPR, consumer rights and data breach case studies at Level 2. Both have high digital demand. The work on online safety, data protection and digital rights supports GCSE Digital Technology and the Digital Competence Framework strands on identity and online behaviour, and the budgeting and price comparison links to GCSE Mathematics Numeracy and to Open Awards units on money or home management. A school should avoid teaching the same online safety content twice if it also offers a separate online safety unit.
Source: Open Awards Skills for Life Unit Specification, Science and Technology in Everyday Life, Entry Level 1 to Level 2.