Skills for Life: Skills in the Natural Environment
Skills in the natural environment is a 20 hour Skills for Life unit, from Entry 1 to Level 2, which learners combine with other units into a Skills for Life or Skills for Work Award, Certificate or Diploma. Learners study local environments, ecosystems and natural resources, the impact of human activity, and practical outdoor skills such as shelter building, navigation, planting and conservation, working safely and sustainably. Digital demand is low: no assessment criterion needs technology, and the pack does not list Digital competence among the unit's integral skills. Digital work sits in filming practical tasks as evidence, videos and case studies, wildlife survey records and presentations.
- 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, each with assessment criteria at Entry 1, Entry 2 and Entry 3 (unit codes S624E1, S624E2 and S624E3). Evidence is compiled into 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, each with assessment criteria at Level 1 and Level 2 (unit codes S624L1 and S624L2). Evidence is compiled into a portfolio, internally assessed by the centre and externally quality assured by WJEC. 20 guided learning hours.
Skills that use Sourcing, searching and planning digital content
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Researching environments and environmental issues
Learners use case studies or videos of woodland, beach, river and hill environments and look into local or global environmental issues. At Level 2 learners analyse local or global environmental issues and explain how humans depend on and manage resources; the pack does not say this must be researched online, so the digital research is suggested rather than required.
DCF: Sourcing, searching and planning digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils watch a short video about a Welsh woodland and note three animals and plants that live there.
- Year 8
- Pupils search for information about pollution in a local river using two different keyword sets and note which site each fact came from.
- Year 9
- Pupils research one global issue, such as plastic in the sea, from three sources, judge which source is most reliable, and list them as references.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Suggested activities, page 13; Level 1 and Level 2, learning outcome 2, assessment criterion 2.2, page 7
“case studies or videos of outdoor environments (e.g. woodland, beach, river, hills)”
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.
Good to know
- Each level has its own unit code: "S624E1", "S624E2", "S624E3", "S624L1" and "S624L2" (Unit overview, page 3).
- Outdoor access is needed: "Centres may need access to local green spaces, basic navigation tools (maps, compasses), and simple safety equipment" (Resources required for delivery, page 15), and assessment "should not require any additional resources to those required for delivery" (page 17).
- Practical evidence is best captured on camera: sources include "photos or short videos of learners carrying out survival tasks (e.g. building a shelter, using a compass, collecting water)" (Sources of evidence, page 14), and the portfolio "is not limited to paper-based materials" (Skills for Life and Work specification, Section 4.1, page 18).
- Navigation in the pack is with "maps or compasses" (Amplification of LO3, page 11); GPS or mapping apps are not required.
- AI tools can be used only if acknowledged; learners "risk committing malpractice if AI is misused", and misuse includes "Failing to acknowledge use of AI tools when they have been used as a source of information" (Skills for Life and Work specification, Section 4.6, page 21).
- Suggested assessment tasks in the pack "are not mandatory"; teachers may use, adapt or replace them (Skills for Life and Work specification, Section 4.1, page 18).
- Evidence sent to WJEC for quality assurance goes digitally: "all evidence submitted for sampling must be provided digitally by the centre" (Skills for Life and Work specification, Section 5.2, page 23).
Links with other qualifications
The pack names GCSE Geography and GCSE Biology as related; on this page the ecosystems, biodiversity and freshwater work links to GCSE Geography and to the biology in GCSE The Sciences and GCSE Integrated Science. It also names the Foundation and VCSE in Sport and Leisure, which share outdoor activity and risk assessment, and Built Environment, which here is the VCSE Built Environment. In the Skills Suite the pack suggests delivering it alongside Community participation, Basic first aid, Teamwork, Personal safety, Practical gardening, Sustainability in action, Overcoming barriers, Working in Wales and Jobs of the future.
Source: WJEC Skills in the natural environment 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).