Skills for Life: Understanding Self and Others
Understanding Self and Others is an Open Awards Skills for Life unit offered at 5 levels, Entry Level 1 to Level 2, in which learners explore identity, emotions and how to manage them, communication, healthy relationships, diversity and inclusion. Each level is a 20 hour unit assessed through provider designed tasks, role play and observation, with evidence in a portfolio. Digital demand is low: the unit lists Literacy and Digital as cross-curricular skills and names social media trends and digital consent as examples at Level 2, but no criterion requires digital work.
- 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 (CBM151): 3 learning outcomes and 6 assessment criteria: identifying a personal preference and stating a personal characteristic, identifying an emotion in themselves and in others, and taking part in a group activity and demonstrating a helpful behaviour. Tasks include matching, simple verbal responses, recognition and supported demonstration, with evidence in a portfolio. 2 credits, 20 guided learning hours. Pass only.
- Entry Level 2 (CBM152): 3 learning outcomes and 6 assessment criteria: identifying personal strengths and interests and a similarity or difference with others, identifying different emotions and ways to manage them, and demonstrating active listening and taking part in a collaborative task. 2 credits, 20 guided learning hours.
- Entry Level 3 (CBM153): 4 learning outcomes and 8 assessment criteria: outlining strengths and areas for improvement and explaining how achievements affect feelings, identifying triggers for emotions and using coping strategies, demonstrating supportive behaviour and taking part in a discussion to reach a shared goal, and identifying benefits of a diverse community and ways to show respect. 2 credits, 20 guided learning hours.
- Level 1 (CBM154): 5 learning outcomes and 10 assessment criteria: describing personal qualities and outlining areas for self-development, describing the physical and mental effects of emotions and using techniques to manage them, demonstrating verbal and non-verbal communication and supporting others in group tasks, describing healthy relationships and how to access support, and describing the benefits of diversity and planning a way to promote inclusion. 2 credits, 20 guided learning hours.
- Level 2 (CBM155): 5 learning outcomes and 10 assessment criteria: explaining internal and external factors that shape identity and evaluating strengths against goals, explaining links between thoughts, feelings and behaviours and adapting regulation strategies, resolving a conflict through communication and evaluating own teamwork, comparing healthy and unhealthy relationships and explaining boundaries and consent, and describing the impact of stereotyping and planning an inclusion activity. 2 credits, 20 guided learning hours.
Skills that use Health and well-being
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Recognising how social media shapes identity and stereotypes
Level 2 learners explain internal and external factors that shape identity, with social media trends as an example, and describe the impact of stereotyping and prejudice, including how labelling affects self-esteem. The online examples are suggestions, so this is taught, not assessed.
DCF: Health and well-being, Identity, image and reputation
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils list ways technology affects how they feel about themselves, both good and bad.
- Year 8
- Pupils look at examples of online trends and discuss how they might change what young people wear, say or do.
- Year 9
- Pupils analyse how people present themselves differently online and how stereotypes in social media can affect self-esteem.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Level 2, AC 1.1 and 5.1, pages 24 and 25
“social media trends”
Progression step 3
I can identify the wider positive and negative influences of technology, e.g. on my life, on society, on the environment.
I can think critically about information shared online, e.g. the impact of sharing images and videos, metadata of images and videos.
Progression step 4
I can discuss the benefits and risks of presenting myself in different ways online.
I can identify stereotypes and their impact in a range of media.
Good to know
- Each level is a separate unit worth "Guided Learning Hours: 20" and 2 credits (Unit Content, pages 11, 13, 16, 19 and 23).
- Barred combinations: "with the exception of British Sign Language (BSL), units with the same title at different levels are barred for completion within the same qualification" (Open Awards Level 1 Qualification Guide, Qualification Units, page 17), so a learner can complete this unit at one level only within a qualification.
- All criteria must be met: "All assessment criteria must be met in full for the learner to be awarded a ‘pass’." Tasks are designed by the provider and checked through pre-course verification (Assessment Approach, page 8).
- Evidence goes in a portfolio, paper or digital, and "Wherever possible, e-portfolios are encouraged." (Assessment Approach, page 8).
- Sensitive content: delivery needs "staff who can facilitate discussion of personal and sensitive topics in a safe and supportive environment" and "access to pastoral or safeguarding support where required" (Staffing Resources, page 6).
- The unit specification gives no rules on AI tools or on referencing sources; it must be read with the Qualification Guide and the Open Awards Provider Handbook (Qualification Documentation, page 3).
- Digital resources are optional: equipment includes "access to digital devices where appropriate" (Physical Resources, page 7).
- Some wording looks draft: the Entry Level 2 unit (CBM152) is headed "Level: Entry Level 1" (page 13), Level 2 is headed "Level: Two (12)" with LO1 "Understand tactors influencing identity" (page 23), and Entry Level 3 asks for "two personal strengths and wo areas for improvement" and how achievements "make them fee" (page 17).
Links with other qualifications
The unit sits in the Health and Well-being Area of Learning and Experience and supports the Relationships and Sexuality Education cross-cutting theme, linking to the WJEC GCSE in Physical Education and Health, and the Pearson unit of the same name covers similar ground. Digital consent and social media influence connect to the Open Awards Skills for Life unit Online Safety and the DCF citizenship strand, and the diversity work links to Faith and Belief in the Community.
Source: Open Awards Skills for Life Unit Specification, Understanding Self and Others, Entry Level 1 to Level 2.