DCF Cymru Digital competence for Wales

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Skills for Life: Skills in the Natural Environment

Skills in the Natural Environment is an Open Awards Skills for Life unit offered at 5 levels, Entry Level 1 to Level 2, each a separate 20 guided learning hour unit. Learners prepare for outdoor activity, care for living things and green spaces, learn bushcraft such as knots and shelters, and from Level 1 plan sustainability activities, research a local Welsh environment and review their impact. Evidence is mostly practical and collected in a portfolio. Digital demand is low: only Literacy is listed as a cross-curricular skill and no criterion needs a device, but the examples include a digital poster, a short video and a blog post for sharing environmental messages.

Awarding body
Open Awards
Level
Entry Level 1 to Level 2
Guided learning hours
20
First taught
September 2027
Amount of digital work
Low
Specification
Open the specification
How this unit is assessed
  • Entry Level 1 (CBM136): Three learning outcomes: select at least 2 items for a short outdoor activity and demonstrate outdoor clothing, demonstrate care for a living thing and carry out a task to improve the local environment, and state what people need to stay warm and identify 2 natural materials. Evidence through matching, picture selection, demonstration and simple verbal responses. 20 guided learning hours, 2 credits.
  • Entry Level 2 (CBM137): Three learning outcomes: identify clothing for different Welsh weather and items for a survival or exploration kit, carry out 2 recycling or waste reduction tasks and help maintain a green space, and identify 2 native Welsh plants or wildlife and 2 features of a safe outdoor environment. 20 guided learning hours, 2 credits.
  • Entry Level 3 (CBM138): Three learning outcomes: identify 3 hazards in an outdoor setting and explain the purpose of 3 survival kit items, take part in 2 biodiversity activities and use 2 pieces of equipment to manage waste or resources, and identify 2 Welsh habitats and explain 2 ways to protect the local environment. 20 guided learning hours, 2 credits.
  • Level 1 (CBM139): Four learning outcomes: describe safe outdoor practice such as the Countryside Code with 3 examples and prepare kit lists for 2 activities, demonstrate 2 outdoor techniques such as knots and carry out a task such as shelter building safely, plan a sustainability activity and make a functional item from 3 natural materials, and review the impact of 2 of their own actions and research a local Welsh environment and communicate the findings. 20 guided learning hours, 2 credits.
  • Level 2 (CBM140): Four learning outcomes: plan a safe outdoor activity in a Welsh environment and explain the impact of human activity on an ecosystem with 3 examples, modify a shelter and follow safety procedures with 2 tools, compare 2 local habitats and create a resource promoting environmental stewardship, and review the success of an activity and assess 3 ways to reduce personal resource use. 20 guided learning hours, 2 credits.

The digital skills in this qualification

  1. Researching a local environment

    Assessed: Taught, but not assessed

    Level 1 learners must research a local environment in Wales and communicate their findings, and Level 2 learners compare local habitats. Providers must give access to a computer for digital resources, so online sources such as wildlife and habitat guides are a natural starting point, but the specification does not require digital research.

    DCF: Sourcing, searching and planning digital content

    Getting pupils ready

    Year 7
    Pupils search for 3 birds found in their local area, changing their keywords to add the place name when results are too general.
    Year 8
    Pupils research a Welsh peat bog using two websites, note who runs each site and record the sources.
    Year 9
    Pupils research a local woodland from 3 online sources, judge which is most reliable and use it to write a short fact file.
    Show the specification wording and the DCF statements

    Where it is in the specification: Level 1 (CBM139), AC 4.2, page 21; Physical Resources, page 7

    “4.2 Research a local environment”
    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.

  2. Creating a digital poster or video to share findings

    Assessed: Taught, but not assessed

    Level 1 learners communicate their research, and one example is a digital poster about animals in a Welsh peat bog shared on the school virtual learning environment. Level 2 learners create a resource to promote environmental stewardship, with examples including an infographic and a short TikTok-style video about the Countryside Code. Digital products are examples; talks, guides and walks also meet the criteria.

    DCF: Creating digital content, Evaluating and improving digital content

    Getting pupils ready

    Year 7
    Pupils make a one page digital poster about a minibeast they found, combining a photo, a heading and 3 facts.
    Year 8
    Pupils film and edit a 30 second clip showing one rule of the Countryside Code, adding a title and captions.
    Year 9
    Pupils design an infographic about composting for the canteen, test it on classmates and improve it from their feedback.
    Show the specification wording and the DCF statements

    Where it is in the specification: Level 2 (CBM140), AC 3.2 indicative content, page 27; Level 1, AC 4.2, page 23

    “Producing a short "TikTok-style" video demonstrating how to use the Countryside Code correctly”
    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.

    • I can suggest and make improvements that are relevant for audience and purpose, based on feedback and self-evaluation of my digital work.

  3. Publishing environmental work online responsibly

    Assessed: Taught, but not assessed

    Examples include sharing a digital poster on the school virtual learning environment and writing a blog post for the school website about a bird feeder made from recycled materials. Publishing for an audience means thinking about who will see the work, using images with permission and behaving responsibly online. These are examples, not requirements.

    DCF: Storing and sharing, Digital rights, licensing and ownership, Online behaviour and online bullying

    Getting pupils ready

    Year 7
    Pupils upload a nature photo to a class page on the school learning platform with a one line caption.
    Year 8
    Pupils write a short blog post about the school garden, crediting any image they did not take themselves.
    Year 9
    Pupils prepare a post for the school website, checking that no pupil faces or locations are shown without permission before it is published.
    Show the specification wording and the DCF statements

    Where it is in the specification: Level 2 (CBM140), AC 3.2 indicative content, page 27; Level 1, AC 4.2, page 23

    “Writing a blog post for the school website about how to build a DIY bird feeder from recycled materials.”
    Progression step 3

    • I can upload files from a local drive to online storage.

    • 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 act responsibly as creator and user of creative work, e.g. exploring decisions that creators make when exercising their creative rights and responsibilities, giving consideration to ethical, real-life issues.

    • I can act appropriately online, keeping myself safe and behaving in a responsible manner.

  4. Keeping an e-portfolio of outdoor evidence

    Assessed: Taught, but not assessed

    Learners collate evidence in a portfolio that can be digital or paper, and e-portfolios are encouraged wherever possible. Much of the evidence is practical, such as shelters, knots, planting and litter picks, so photos and short videos stored in an e-portfolio record it well. The format is a recommendation, not a criterion.

    DCF: Storing and sharing

    Getting pupils ready

    Year 7
    Pupils photograph a bug hotel they built and upload the picture to a named folder.
    Year 8
    Pupils record a short video of a knot they can tie and save it with a clear file name in their outdoor learning folder.
    Year 9
    Pupils organise photos, plans and reviews from an outdoor project into an e-portfolio with a contents page linking to each file.
    Show the specification wording and the DCF statements

    Where it is in the specification: Assessment Approach, page 8

    “Wherever possible, e-portfolios are encouraged.”
    Progression step 3

    • I can manage files and folders locally or online, e.g. move files to a folder.

    • I can upload files from a local drive to online storage.

    Progression step 4

    • I can use appropriate advanced file management techniques, e.g. version history, restore previous version, tagging, compression.

Good to know

Links with other qualifications

Pearson and WJEC both have a Skills in the Natural Environment unit at 20 hours; the Open Awards version is strongly Welsh in its examples and adds bushcraft such as knots, shelters and whittling. The habitats, biodiversity and human impact work links with GCSE Geography and the biology in GCSE The Sciences, and the outdoor activity and safety work links with the WJEC VCSE in Sport and Leisure. Within the Open Awards suite it pairs with Home Management and Maintenance for recycling and resource use and with Community Participation for local conservation.

Source: Open Awards Skills for Life Unit Specification, Skills in the Natural Environment, Entry Level 1 to Level 2 (units CBM136 to CBM140).