Skills for Life: Values for Life
Values for Life is a Pearson Skills for Life unit in which learners name their personal values and those of society, work out how values are formed, weigh their benefits and costs, and at Level 1 and Level 2 show how values act as a moral compass when facing a modern challenge. It is one 10 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 by the centre. Digital demand is low: no assessment criterion needs technology. Digital work sits in online research and infographics named in Annexe C, optional presentations, digital ethics as one possible challenge, and acknowledging sources and AI.
- Awarding body
- Pearson
- Level
- Entry Level 1 to Level 2
- Guided learning hours
- 10
- 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, rising from listing personal and societal values to identifying how values are formed and the benefits and costs of values in society. There are no mandatory evidence requirements, so the centre chooses the evidence. Internally assessed by the centre through a centre-devised assignment or Pearson's adaptable Authorised Assignment Brief, subject to Pearson standards verification, graded Pass or Fail. 10 guided learning hours.
- Level 1 and Level 2: One assessment criterion at each of Level 1 and Level 2: describe (Level 1) or explain (Level 2) how personal values and those of society can act as a moral compass in a changing world. There are no mandatory evidence requirements. Internally assessed by the centre through a centre-devised assignment or Pearson's adaptable Authorised Assignment Brief, subject to Pearson standards verification, graded Pass or Fail. 10 guided learning hours.
The digital skills in this qualification
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Researching values and modern challenges online
Annexe C links the unit to digital competence through research using online resources and finding online visuals and infographics, for example about a modern-day challenge or Welsh values. Learners at Entry 3 gather information from given sources and Level 1 learners select from a limited range of provided sources. The criteria do not require online research, so this is a suggested route, not an assessed skill.
DCF: Sourcing, searching and planning digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils use given keywords to search a children's charity website for one value it promotes, such as kindness, and save the page link in a class document.
- Year 8
- Pupils search for information about the Well-being of Future Generations Act, change their keywords when results are unhelpful, and note which site was most reliable and why.
- Year 9
- Pupils find two online infographics about a modern challenge such as climate change, judge which source is more trustworthy, and record full references for both.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Annexe C, SfL 28 Digital Links, page 165; Levels of supervision and support, page 131
“Research and use of online resources; locating and presenting online visuals”
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.
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Applying values to digital ethics
Level 1 guidance names digital ethics as one modern challenge to which learners can apply their moral compass, describing benefits and costs; at Level 2 learners explain at least three benefits and three costs of applying a moral compass to their chosen challenge. This is assessed only if the learner or centre picks digital ethics, since it appears as one example among several challenges.
DCF: Health and well-being, Online behaviour and online bullying
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils sort cards showing online actions, such as sharing a friend's photo without asking, into kind and unkind, and name the value each one shows or breaks.
- Year 8
- Pupils discuss whether it is fair to post a funny video of a classmate, then write down which of their values guided their answer.
- Year 9
- Pupils list the benefits and costs of a rule such as 'always ask before posting a photo of someone', and explain how their moral compass helps them decide.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Essential information for assessment decisions, Level 1 and Level 2, page 130
“modern challenges such as sustainability, digital ethics, mental health, or equality and inclusion”
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 demonstrate appropriate online behaviour and apply a range of strategies to protect myself and others from possible online dangers, bullying and inappropriate behaviour, e.g. turn off comments on digital media, reporting, block users.
Progression step 4
I can reflect on the role of digital media in my life and habits.
I can understand the implications of online actions, including my digital footprint and the legal implications of sharing inappropriate material.
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Presenting values work as a digital presentation
The guidance suggests evidence such as an independently produced presentation at Level 1 and multimedia presentations at Level 2, alongside paper options such as a moral compass diagram. Annexe C also mentions presenting online visuals and infographics. The format is the centre's choice, so the digital production itself is not assessed.
DCF: Creating digital content, Evaluating and improving digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils make a one slide moral compass in presentation software, placing four of their values around a compass image.
- Year 8
- Pupils build a short slide show on how a value such as fairness helps a community, adding one image and one infographic with captions.
- Year 9
- Pupils create a narrated multimedia presentation on a modern challenge, choosing layout and images to suit a Year 7 audience and checking it fits the purpose.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Essential information for assessment decisions, Level 1 and Level 2, page 130; Annexe C, page 165
“multimedia presentations demonstrating consideration of modern-day challenges”
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.
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Acknowledging sources and AI use
At every level learners must certify that their evidence is their own and reference any sources and any AI they used, and final work must be in their own words. Using AI without acknowledging it is malpractice. This applies to all evidence for the unit.
DCF: Digital rights, licensing and ownership, Sourcing, searching and planning digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils add a 'where I found this' box to a poster, listing the website names they used.
- Year 8
- Pupils compare a paragraph they wrote with one copied from a website, discuss why copying is plagiarism, and reference the website properly.
- Year 9
- Pupils keep a source log for a short project, including a note of any AI tool they used and what it helped with, and explain why both are acknowledged.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Requirements relating to permitted/prohibited resources, page 131
“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 "SfL 28" with 10 guided learning hours (Unit summary, page 6), half the 20 hours of the WJEC Values for life unit, and it belongs to the Skills for Life suite, whose qualification numbers run from "C00/5443/4" for the Entry Level 1 Award to "C00/5445/0" for the Level 2 Diploma (Qualification titles, pages 3 and 4).
- A unit is passed at one level only: "Learners can only achieve each unit once, at a single level" (Rules of Combination, page 6). Units and qualifications are graded Pass or Fail.
- The teaching content is not in the specification: "This can be found in the Teaching and Learning Support document for this unit", and "Content is compulsory except when 'e.g.' is given" (Unit content, page 129).
- The centre chooses the evidence: "there are no mandatory evidence requirements" (Essential information for assessment decisions, page 129). Suggested formats range from "short audio recordings" at Entry 1 (page 129) to "multimedia presentations" at Level 2 (page 130).
- The guidance is written around a volunteering "community centre" setting and a "modern-day challenge" task such as "sustainability, digital ethics, mental health, or equality and inclusion" (Level 1 and Level 2, page 130). These appear as examples, so centres can choose their own context.
- Pearson's assignment brief is optional: "AABs are not mandatory" (How to use this document, page 1), and centres set and mark the final assessment themselves (Internal assessment, page 8).
- 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 131).
- The specification has some editing slips. Page 8 calls the brief an "Authorised Assessment Brief" under the heading Authorised Assignment Briefs, and the GLH table on page 142 of this Skills for Life specification is headed "Requirements for Skills for Work units".
Links with other qualifications
Pearson says the unit supports the Religion, Values and Ethics guidance (Statements of what matters mapping, page 132), so it sits most naturally beside GCSE Religious Studies, and its work on how society, culture and media shape values links with GCSE Social Studies. Digital ethics as a modern challenge links with GCSE Digital Technology. Within the WJEC Skills Suite, Ethical choices, Faith and belief in the community and Equality, diversity and inclusion cover neighbouring ground. Compared with the WJEC Values for life unit, the Pearson unit is half the size (10 hours, not 20), has one assessment criterion per level rather than four learning outcomes, puts its teaching content in a separate support document, and centres its guidance on a moral compass diagram, a community centre volunteering context and Welsh values such as those in the Well-being of Future Generations Act (Annexe E, page 177).
Source: Pearson Entry Level 1 to Level 2 Skills for Life Award, Certificate and Diploma Qualifications Specification, Issue 1, August 2026, Unit SfL 28: Values for life.