Skills for Life: Sustainability In Action
Sustainability in action is a 20 hour Skills for Life unit, one of many units learners combine into a Skills for Life or Skills for Work Award, Certificate or Diploma. Learners find out what sustainability means, why society should act sustainably, and how it is approached locally, in Wales through the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and in other countries. They then plan and carry out sustainable actions at home, school or college and keep a record. Digital demand is low: no criterion needs a computer, but the record, the research on Wales and other countries and a presentation of case studies are natural places for logs, charts, searching and slides.
- 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. 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. Evidence goes in a portfolio, internally assessed by the centre and externally quality assured by WJEC. 20 guided learning hours.
Skills that use Evaluating and improving digital content
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Presenting sustainability case studies
Learners may show what they know about sustainability projects through a slide presentation with notes and pictures, at any level. This is one possible source of evidence, not a requirement, so the digital presentation itself is taught rather than assessed.
DCF: Creating digital content, Evaluating and improving digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils make three slides with a photo and a caption about a local community garden.
- Year 8
- Pupils create a short presentation on a Welsh recycling campaign, adding speaker notes and choosing images that suit their audience.
- Year 9
- Pupils produce a presentation comparing a local and an international project, then improve it after peer feedback on layout and clarity.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Sources of evidence, page 11
“presentation using PowerPoint or a similar tool for notes and pictures to show case”
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 ensure my output is appropriate for specific purposes.
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.
Good to know
- Unit codes are S625E1, S625E2, S625E3, S625L1 and S625L2, and the unit is 20 GLH in the Skills for Life suite (Unit overview, page 3).
- No special equipment is needed: "Assessment of this unit should not require any specific resources." (Resources required for assessment, page 13).
- Evidence does not have to be written: "evidence may be verbal, written, practical or visual" (Sources of evidence, page 11), and the portfolio "is not limited to paper-based materials" (specification section 4.1, page 18), so photos, video and digital logs are acceptable.
- Suggested assessment tasks "are not mandatory"; teachers may adapt them or devise their own (specification section 4.1, page 18).
- AI tools may be used only if acknowledged: learners "cannot be credited for any work they produce for assessment which is not their own" (specification section 4.6, page 21).
Links with other qualifications
The pack names GCSE Geography as a linked WJEC qualification, and its work on climate change, biodiversity and how Wales and other countries manage resources overlaps directly with this unit. Within the Skills Suite, the pack suggests delivering it alongside Community participation, Home management and maintenance, Practical gardening, Skills in the natural environment and Sustainable economic development, which share planning and carrying out sustainable activities and reflecting on their impact.
Source: WJEC Sustainability in action 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).