VCSE Built Environment
VCSE Built Environment asks learners to know how apps, digital mapping, GIS, photography and drones support site analysis, to research a Welsh building project, and to plan projects and compare options, but most marks come from hands-on trade work. Unit 1 can be sat on screen, Unit 2 responses must be submitted digitally, and Unit 3 practical work reaches the moderator only as photographs or recordings, with no software named anywhere. The single biggest thing KS3 should build is clear photo and video recording of practical work, saved and named so it can stand as evidence, alongside simple spreadsheet planning.
- Awarding body
- WJEC
- Level
- Level 1 and Level 2
- First taught
- September 2027
- Amount of digital work
- Low
- Specification
- Open the specification
- Step before
- Foundation Built Environment, Entry Level and Level 1
How this qualification is assessed
- Unit 1: Introduction to the Built Environment Sector: Examination (sector test) 1 hour, 50 marks, 20%, set and marked by WJEC, paper-based or on-screen
- Unit 2: The Built Environment in Focus: NEA 6 hours 30 minutes, 50 marks, 20%, set and marked by WJEC, tasks based on a case study released each year on Portal
- Unit 3: Skills Development and Demonstration: NEA 14 hours, 90 marks, 60%, set by WJEC, marked by the centre and moderated by WJEC, practical tasks in three chosen trades plus an evaluation
Skills that use Digital rights, licensing and ownership
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Researching a Welsh building project and referencing sources
Unit 2 is based on a case study of a Welsh building project, and up to two hours can be scheduled for research before the assessment tasks. The assessment pack sets out the research approach and referencing, and the content asks learners to evaluate real Welsh developments such as Cardiff Bay regeneration.
DCF: Sourcing, searching and planning digital content, Digital rights, licensing and ownership, Evaluating and improving digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils search for three facts about a well-known Welsh building, such as the Senedd or the Wales Millennium Centre, and list the web pages they used with titles.
- Year 8
- Pupils compare a council web page and a news article about a local regeneration scheme, note who wrote each and when, and say which is more reliable for facts about cost.
- Year 9
- Pupils research a Welsh development such as the Queen's Market redevelopment in Rhyl within a one hour limit, keep notes in OneNote with a link and reliability rating for each source, and finish with a reference list.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Section 3.2, Unit 2, page 42; Section 3.3, page 43; Unit 2, Section 2.2.2, page 24
“a further two hours can be scheduled for research prior to the completion of the assessment tasks”
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.
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 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.
Progression step 5
I can search efficiently for information for my digital work and evaluate the reliability of sources of information, justifying opinions and reasons for choices, and I can reference work using appropriate methods.
I can refer appropriately to sources of information used in my digital work.
Good to know
- Unit 1 can be sat on paper or on screen: "Centres may enter candidates for either a paper-based or an onscreen version of the test" (Section 3.2, page 42).
- Typing is optional for Unit 2: "The assessment must be submitted digitally, either as scanned handwritten responses or completed digitally" (Section 3.2, page 42).
- Unit 3 practical work reaches the moderator only as images or video: evidence "must be submitted digitally, either as scanned photographs or recordings of the construction tasks completed" (Section 3.2, page 43).
- No software is named. For Unit 2 "There are no specific requirements for assessment" (page 21), and for the Unit 1 on-screen test centres are pointed to the WJEC website for system requirements (page 12).
- Rules on AI are not in the specification. Further information "including information on the use of AI" is in the WJEC guides to conducting non-examination assessment, and "learners will be supervised by a teacher while completing assessment tasks" (Section 3.3, page 43).
- Appendix A maps Data and Computational Thinking to Units 1 and 2 but not Unit 3, and Citizenship to only four sections, 1.1.2, 2.2.1, 2.2.2 and 2.3.3 (pages 50 to 51).
Links with other qualifications
Site analysis, land use and flood risk overlap with GCSE Geography, and choosing materials and planning a sequence of work overlap with GCSE Design and Technology, so shared KS3 work on digital maps and spreadsheet comparisons would serve all three.
Source: WJEC Level 1/Level 2 VCSE Built Environment specification, approved by Qualifications Wales, teaching from September 2027, for award from 2029 (© WJEC CBAC Ltd 2026).