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.
Skills that use Online behaviour and online bullying
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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.
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.