Skills for Life: Skills in the Natural Environment
Skills in the Natural Environment is a Pearson Skills for Life unit in which learners learn outdoor survival skills or sustainable living practices, such as building a shelter, filtering water, foraging safely, planting and composting, and take part in, then plan and lead, an activity outdoors. It is one 20 hour unit that learners combine with others into a Pearson Skills for Life Award, Certificate or Diploma, from Entry 1 to Level 2, assessed internally through a centre set assignment. Digital demand is low: no criterion needs technology, and Pearson's mapping lists only optional GPS, online research and photo or video evidence.
- Awarding body
- Pearson
- 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 (Entry 1, Entry 2, Entry 3): One assessment criterion at each of Entry 1, Entry 2 and Entry 3, moving from listing simple survival skills and features of the natural environment and taking part in a simple outdoor activity, to identifying survival skills and their purposes and taking part in a basic survival or sustainable-living activity. Evidence is chosen by the centre, which sets and marks the assessment; Pearson quality assures it through standards verification. 20 guided learning hours.
- Level 1 and Level 2: One assessment criterion at Level 1 (describe the importance of survival skills and sustainability, then plan and take part in a basic survival or sustainable-living activity) and one at Level 2 (explain survival skills and sustainability principles, then independently plan and carry out such an activity). Evidence is chosen by the centre, which sets and marks the assessment; Pearson quality assures it through standards verification. 20 guided learning hours.
The digital skills in this qualification
-
Researching survival and sustainability information online
Level 2 learners identify, gather and use relevant information to plan and run their activity, and Pearson's mapping suggests online resources for survival and sustainability research. Gathering information is required at Level 2, but no criterion requires it to come from digital sources, so the online research is suggested only.
DCF: Sourcing, searching and planning digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils search a teacher chosen website for three plants that are safe to grow in a school bug hotel garden and bookmark the page.
- Year 8
- Pupils adjust their search terms to find a reliable guide to building a simple shelter and note who wrote it and when.
- Year 9
- Pupils compare two online guides to filtering water, judge which is more reliable, and use it to write the steps for a practical task.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit SfL 24, Essential information for assessment decisions, Level 2, page 114; Annexe C, SfL 24 row, page 164
“identify, gather, and use relevant information to inform actions”
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.
-
Recording outdoor activities with photos and video
Pearson's mapping lists photo and video evidence as a digital link, which suits a unit where every level involves a practical outdoor activity. Learners or staff may photograph or film the shelter, compost bin or workshop as evidence. This is a suggested form of evidence, not a requirement.
DCF: Creating digital content, Storing and sharing
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils take three photos showing the stages of planting seeds and save them in a named folder.
- Year 8
- Pupils film a one minute clip of their group building a den and add captions naming each step.
- Year 9
- Pupils edit photos and video of a litter pick into a short annotated record of the activity, choosing shots that show safety and teamwork.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Annexe C, SfL 24 row, page 164; Unit SfL 24, Essential information for assessment decisions, page 113
“Optional GPS; online resources for survival/sustainability research; photo/video evidence”
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 manage files and folders locally or online, e.g. move files to a folder.
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.
-
Using GPS and location features safely
Pearson's mapping lists optional GPS use for navigating outdoors. Where it is used, learners need to understand what location sharing and tagged photos reveal and make sensible decisions about them. This is optional and not required by any criterion.
DCF: Identity, image and reputation, Online behaviour and online bullying
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils use a map app on a school tablet to find a marked spot on the school grounds.
- Year 8
- Pupils discuss the benefits and risks of a phone sharing their location during an outdoor activity and agree class rules for it.
- Year 9
- Pupils check whether photos taken outdoors carry location data, turn off location tagging, and explain why this matters before sharing them.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Annexe C, SfL 24 row, page 164
“Optional GPS; online resources for survival/sustainability research”
Progression step 3
I can identify the benefits and risks of mobile devices broadcasting the location of the user/device.
Progression step 4
I can understand that photographs, locations and tags can be tracked and can make informed decisions accordingly.
-
Referencing sources and acknowledging AI use
Learners must certify that their evidence is their own and clearly reference any sources and any artificial intelligence used, and using AI without acknowledging it is malpractice. This applies to all evidence for the unit, including any written plan or research for the outdoor activity.
DCF: Digital rights, licensing and ownership, Sourcing, searching and planning digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils list the website and book they used to find out about composting at the bottom of their fact sheet.
- Year 8
- Pupils discuss why copying an AI answer about shelter building would be plagiarism and write an acknowledgement for an AI tool they used to check spellings.
- Year 9
- Pupils keep a log of every source and AI tool used while planning an outdoor activity and turn it into a reference list.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit SfL 24, Requirements relating to permitted/prohibited resources, page 114
“they have clearly referenced any sources and any artificial intelligence used”
Progression step 3
I can understand that copying the work of others and presenting it as my own is plagiarism.
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 evaluate the reliability of sources of information, justify my opinions and reasons for choices, and reference using appropriate methods.
Good to know
- The unit is Unit SfL 24 and carries 20 guided learning hours: "SfL 24 Skills in the natural environment 20" (Unit summary, page 5), the same size as the WJEC unit of the same name.
- A unit counts once only: "Learners can only achieve each unit once, at a single level" (Rules of Combination, page 6).
- Learners must take part in a practical outdoor activity at every level, and at Level 2 they "independently plan and lead or manage a sustainable living or survival task" (Essential information for assessment decisions, pages 113 to 114). Centres need a suitable outdoor site and supervision for activities such as "starting a fire with supervision" (Entry 3, page 113).
- Evidence is the centre's choice: "there are no mandatory evidence requirements and centres can select the type of evidence" (page 113); assessment evidence can include "observation records, witness testimony" (Internal assessment, page 9), which suits practical outdoor work.
- AI may be used only if acknowledged: "A learner will have committed malpractice if they use AI tools without acknowledging them" (Requirements relating to permitted/prohibited resources, page 114).
- Pearson's own mapping is inconsistent: the Annexe B grid ticks numeracy and literacy but not digital for this unit (page 159), while Annexe C lists digital links of "Optional GPS; online resources for survival/sustainability research; photo/video evidence" (page 164). Annexe E also gives "No direct link" for every cross-cutting theme (page 175), although the unit mentions the Countryside Code.
Links with other qualifications
The work on the natural environment, ecosystems and sustainability links with GCSE Geography and the biology in GCSE The Sciences and GCSE Integrated Science, and the outdoor activity, safety and leadership link with the WJEC Foundation and VCSE in Sport and Leisure. Within the Skills Suite it pairs with Sustainability in Action and Practical Gardening, and with Pearson's Preparing for an outdoor expedition unit. Compared with the WJEC Skills in the Natural Environment unit, which is also 20 guided learning hours, the Pearson unit has one criterion per level instead of four learning outcomes, lets learners choose between survival skills and sustainable living, and requires Level 2 learners to plan and lead their own activity; the WJEC unit gives more weight to studying local environments, ecosystems and human impact. Neither unit requires digital work.
Source: Pearson Entry Level 1 to Level 2 Skills for Life Award, Certificate and Diploma Qualifications specification, Issue 1, August 2026, Unit SfL 24: Skills in the natural environment.