Skills for Work: Wellbeing and Work
Wellbeing and Work is a Pearson Skills for Work unit about looking after your wellbeing at work: taking breaks, managing workload and work-life balance, using sources of support, and building positive working relationships through polite communication, active listening and, at Level 2, conflict resolution and feedback. It is one 10 hour unit that learners combine with others into a Pearson Skills for Work Award, Certificate or Diploma, from Entry 1 to Level 2, assessed internally by the centre. Digital demand is low: no criterion mentions technology, and Annexe C gives only "online, search" as the digital link. Digital work sits in finding support online, balancing screen use and choosing communication channels.
- 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 stating a simple way to look after wellbeing at work and showing a positive interaction to identifying methods for managing wellbeing and demonstrating ways to build and maintain positive working relationships. 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.
- Level 1 and Level 2: One assessment criterion at each of Level 1 and Level 2: describe (Level 1) or explain a range of (Level 2) practical ways to manage wellbeing at work, and demonstrate strategies for building and maintaining positive working relationships, in different contexts at Level 2. Role-play, observation or workplace simulation can be used. Internally assessed by the centre, subject to Pearson standards verification, graded Pass or Fail. 10 guided learning hours.
The digital skills in this qualification
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Finding sources of workplace support
Entry 2 and Entry 3 learners identify or name at least one formal or informal source of support at work, such as a supervisor, HR or an employee assistance programme, and Level 2 learners know how to access the right channel independently. Annexe C links the unit to online searching, which suits finding support organisations, but the criteria do not require online research.
DCF: Sourcing, searching and planning digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils search the school website or Hwb for who to talk to about worries in school and make a small help card.
- Year 8
- Pupils search for two youth wellbeing services in Wales, such as Meic, and note how to contact each one.
- Year 9
- Pupils research what an employee assistance programme is, compare two reliable sources, and explain in a short note when a worker might use one.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Essential information for assessment decisions, Entry 2, page 93, Entry 3 and Level 2, page 94; Annexe C, SfW 18 Digital Links, page 122
“identify at least one formal or informal source of support at work”
Progression step 3
I can adjust keywords and search techniques to find relevant information.
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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Balancing screen use within a healthy work-life balance
Entry 3 and Level 1 learners identify or describe ways to manage wellbeing such as taking regular breaks and maintaining a healthy work-life balance, and Level 2 learners explain setting boundaries and stress-reduction techniques. The specification does not mention screens or technology, so the digital wellbeing link is a teaching opportunity, not an assessed requirement.
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils keep a one week log of their screen time and list three screen-free activities they could swap in.
- Year 8
- Pupils discuss how checking messages late at night could affect a worker's sleep and energy the next day, and suggest a simple rule.
- Year 9
- Pupils design a personal plan for screen breaks during a long study session, using a timer app, and reflect on whether it helped.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Essential information for assessment decisions, Entry 3, page 93, Level 1 and Level 2, page 94
“setting boundaries to manage workload, practising time management, seeking feedback, using stress-reduction techniques”
Progression step 3
I can understand the importance of balancing game and screen time with other parts of my life, e.g. explore the reasons why I might be tempted to spend more time playing games or find it difficult to stop playing and the effect this has on my well-being.
Progression step 4
I can reflect on the role of digital media in my life and habits.
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Choosing how to communicate in formal and informal contexts
Level 1 learners adapt their approach for contexts such as a formal meeting or an informal chat with peers, and Level 2 learners show professionalism in formal contexts and cooperation in informal ones. The criteria do not mention email or messaging, so choosing a suitable digital channel is a natural extension rather than an assessed requirement.
DCF: Communication, Online behaviour and online bullying
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils sort messages, such as asking a teacher for help and inviting a friend round, into the best way to send them: face to face, email or a chat message.
- Year 8
- Pupils rewrite an informal chat message as a polite email to a supervisor asking for help with a task.
- Year 9
- Pupils compare email, a video call and a face to face meeting for raising a workload problem, and justify which they would choose and why.
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 94
“adapt their approach depending on the context, such as a formal meeting or an informal interaction with peers”
Progression step 3
I can show an understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of different forms of communication and when it is appropriate to use each, e.g. explain when video conferencing may be more appropriate than e-mail, and vice versa; explain the pros and cons of using instant messaging in social contexts; talk about purpose and audience.
Progression step 4
I can select and use different online communication tools for specific purposes with higher levels of competence, e.g. set up and manage an address book, organise contacts, use advanced features of e-mail provider (signature, auto reply, read receipt, widgets).
I can act appropriately online, keeping myself safe and behaving in a responsible manner.
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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 the websites they used to the bottom of a wellbeing poster.
- Year 8
- Pupils discuss why handing in AI-written work as their own is unfair, then write a sentence acknowledging a tool they used.
- Year 9
- Pupils keep a source log for a wellbeing leaflet, recording websites and any AI tool used, and explain how they checked the information.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Requirements relating to permitted/prohibited resources, page 96
“A learner will have committed malpractice if they use AI tools without acknowledging them”
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 "SfW 18" with 10 guided learning hours (Unit summary, page 5), half the 20 hours of the WJEC Wellbeing and work unit. "Learners can only achieve each unit once, at a single level" (Rules of Combination, page 6).
- Practical demonstration is part of every level, and "Role-play, observation, or workplace simulation can be used to assess these skills" (Essential information for assessment decisions, Level 2, page 94).
- Level 1 names four components of wellbeing: "physical, mental, social, and financial" (Essential information for assessment decisions, Level 1, page 94), so financial wellbeing is part of the Level 1 description.
- The centre chooses the evidence: "there are no mandatory evidence requirements" (page 93), and teaching content is in Pearson's separate Teaching and Learning Support document (Unit content, page 93).
- 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 96).
- Annexe C gives no numeracy link and only "online, search" as the digital link (page 122).
- The specification has editing slips: Entry 1 refers to "a work-related problems affecting their feelings" (page 93), and page 8 of this Skills for Work specification says "Every unit in our Skills for Life qualifications includes an Authorised Assessment Brief".
Links with other qualifications
Ways to manage stress, breaks and work-life balance sit beside GCSE Physical Education and Health and GCSE Health and Social Care, and Childcare, and positive working relationships and organisational culture link with GCSE Business. Within the WJEC Skills Suite, Mental health and wellbeing looks at the same ideas from a personal angle, and Healthy relationships and Teamwork cover related communication skills. Compared with the WJEC Wellbeing and work unit, the Pearson unit is half the size (10 hours, not 20), has one criterion per level rather than four learning outcomes, and puts its weight on demonstrating positive working relationships in role-play or simulation, while the WJEC unit gives screen time and digital wellbeing more attention.
Source: Pearson Entry Level 1 to Level 2 Skills for Work Award, Certificate and Diploma Qualifications Specification, Issue 1, August 2026, Unit SfW 18: Wellbeing and work.