Skills for Work: Wellbeing and Work
Wellbeing and work is a 20 hour Skills for Work unit about what wellbeing at work means, managing workload and work-life balance, building positive working relationships, handling disagreements and knowing when to ask for support. It is one unit that learners combine with others into a Skills for Work, or Skills for Life and Work, Award, Certificate or Diploma, from Entry 1 to Level 2. Digital demand is low: no criterion asks for technology. Digital links sit in balancing screen time within work-life balance, planning tasks with a to-do list, choosing how to communicate at work, an optional digital wellbeing charter or poster and finding online support.
- 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 (what wellbeing means at work, managing workload and work-life balance, positive working relationships, dealing with work problems and asking for help), with assessment criteria at Entry 1, Entry 2 and Entry 3. Evidence goes in a portfolio, internally assessed by the centre and externally quality assured by WJEC. 20 guided learning hours, Skills for Work group.
- Level 1 and Level 2: The same four learning outcomes, with assessment criteria at Level 1 and Level 2. Evidence goes in a portfolio, internally assessed by the centre and externally quality assured by WJEC. 20 guided learning hours, Skills for Work group.
Skills that use Health and well-being
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Balancing screen time within a healthy work-life balance
Learners describe what workload and work-life balance mean, give signs of poor balance and ways to keep a healthy balance, from Entry 1 to Level 2. These are required by the assessment criteria, but the pack never mentions technology, so linking balance to screen time and evening messages is the teacher's choice.
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils keep a one week log of time spent on homework, screens, sport and sleep and share one thing they would change.
- Year 8
- Pupils put a week of screen time and activity data into a simple spreadsheet table and make a bar chart to show where their time goes.
- Year 9
- Pupils discuss a short scenario about a worker answering work messages late at night, then write two signs of poor balance and two rules for healthy phone use after work.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Entry Level, learning outcome 2, assessment criteria 2.1 to 2.4, page 5; Level 1 and Level 2, learning outcome 2, assessment criteria 2.1 and 2.2, page 7
“Describe at least two signs of poor work-life balance.”
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.
I can identify the wider positive and negative influences of technology, e.g. on my life, on society, on the environment.
Progression step 4
I can reflect on the role of digital media in my life and habits.
I can demonstrate healthy online behaviours and identify unacceptable behaviour.
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Finding sources of support, including online services
Learners identify people and places that can help, from a person at work at Entry 1 to at least three sources of support at Level 1. The amplification adds external services such as helplines and unions, and the pack lists charity websites for teachers, so searching for and judging trustworthy online help is a taught extension rather than a requirement.
DCF: Sourcing, searching and planning digital content, Health and well-being
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils search a school approved list of websites to find one place a young person can go for help with worry and note its name.
- Year 8
- Pupils search for two youth wellbeing services, change their keywords to get better results and bookmark the most useful page.
- Year 9
- Pupils compare a charity website and a random forum post about stress at work and explain which source is more reliable and why.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Level 1 and Level 2, learning outcome 4, assessment criterion 4.3, page 8; amplification of learning outcome 4, page 13; resources available to support delivery, pages 15 and 16
“external services (such as employee helplines or unions)”
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 evaluate the reliability of sources of information, justify my opinions and reasons for choices, and reference using appropriate methods.
I can identify ways of reporting unacceptable online behaviour.
Good to know
- Unit codes run from Entry 1 to Level 2: "Unit Codes S667E1 S667E2 S667E3 S667L1 S667L2" (Unit overview, page 3).
- No digital resources are needed: "Assessment of this unit should not require any specific resources." (Resources required for assessment, page 16), and the unit is delivered in "standard classroom environments" (page 15).
- Evidence can be digital. Sources of evidence include "recording of practical demonstrations of evidence, such as role-plays or discussions" and "annotated photographic evidence of sorting/matching activity" (Sources of evidence, page 14), and the specification says the portfolio "is not limited to paper-based materials" (Section 4.1, page 18).
- Writing is kept light: "extended written work is not required unless appropriate" (Sources of evidence, page 14).
- AI rules apply to the portfolio. AI misuse includes "Using AI to complete parts of the assessment so that the work does not reflect the learner's own work, analysis, evaluation or calculations." and "Failing to acknowledge use of AI tools when they have been used as a source of information." (Section 4.6, page 21).
- Suggested assessment tasks are optional: "These tasks are not mandatory." (Section 4.1, page 18). Every digital activity in this file is a teacher's choice, not a requirement.
- Appendix A of the specification maps this unit to Literacy only among the integral and cross-curricular skills, and does not tick Digital Competence (Appendix A, page 30).
Links with other qualifications
The pack names Customer service, Fairness and inclusion in the workplace, Rights and responsibilities in the workplace, Understanding the changing labour market and Working in Wales as closely related Skills for Work units, and the Skills for Life unit Mental health and wellbeing covers stress, wellbeing and seeking help from a personal angle. Ideas about wellbeing, stress and support also sit in GCSE Physical Education and Health and GCSE Health and Social Care and Childcare, and the employer and employee view of motivation and productivity links with GCSE Business. On the digital side, the screen time and online behaviour points connect with the citizenship work in GCSE Digital Technology and the Online safety unit.
Source: WJEC Wellbeing and work 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).