VCSE Hair and Beauty
VCSE Hair and Beauty from VTCT Skills is a practical qualification in which learners plan a creative design concept and then carry out plaiting or twisting, basic make-up and nail art on a model. Unit 1 is a 60 minute on-screen multiple choice examination on the industry, health and safety, hair, skin and nails and sustainability, and Unit 2 is a 12 hour supervised NEA marked by the centre. Digital work is light and mostly optional: researching trends, keeping a design journal, blog or portfolio in digital or physical form, photographing work in progress and final looks, and knowing how online booking, social media marketing and digital consultations are changing the industry, which the examination can test.
- Awarding body
- VTCT Skills
- Level
- Level 1 and Level 2
- First taught
- September 2027
- Amount of digital work
- Low
- Specification
- Open the specification
- Step before
- Foundation Hair and Beauty, Entry Level and Level 1
How this qualification is assessed
- Unit 1 (UWCO1): Introduction to the Hair and Beauty industry: MCQ External theory examination, 60 minutes, 28 marks, 30% of the qualification grade, set and marked by VTCT Skills, taken on screen with a paper option, sat by the whole cohort in the April/May series at the end of Year 10 with one resit in Year 11 (best result counts); 40 GLH
- Unit 2 (UWCO2): Bringing basic Hair and Beauty concepts to life: Non-Examined Assessment, maximum 12 hours under supervision, 70% of the qualification grade, 48 raw marks across four tasks (8, 12, 16 and 12 marks), set by VTCT Skills with a new brief each year, marked and internally quality assured by the centre with a level-based mark scheme, externally moderated by VTCT Skills; brief released to learners in December of Year 11 and submitted in April, no resit; 100 GLH
Skills that use Data and information literacy
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Recording client information securely
Unit 1 teaches that client information from consultations must be recorded securely in line with data protection (GDPR), which the examination can test, and in Unit 2 learners keep consultation records for reference and compliance during their NEA services. The specification does not say whether records are paper or digital.
DCF: Identity, image and reputation, Data and information literacy, Digital rights, licensing and ownership
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils sort a list of personal details, such as name, allergies and phone number, into those that are safe to share and those that must be kept private.
- Year 8
- Pupils design a short digital consultation form for a pretend salon client in a form tool, choosing drop down options for hair type and a tick box for allergies.
- Year 9
- Pupils compare how two businesses describe what they do with customer data, then write three rules for keeping their own salon consultation records secure under GDPR.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 1 (UWCO1), LO2, criteria 2.1 and 2.2, pages 39 and 41; Unit 2 (UWCO2), LO2, criterion 2.2 Provide consultation techniques, page 62
“Record client information securely in compliance with Data Protection (GDPR)”
Progression step 3
I can identify the benefits and risks of giving personal information and device access to different software.
Progression step 4
I can create a data capture form, capture data, search data and create a database and spreadsheet with appropriate data input method.
Progression step 5
I can identify the key points required for creative work to be considered fair use and comply with data protection laws by exploring the legal and ethical considerations involved in using the creative work of others.
I can identify and describe the data protection policies of a variety of organisations located in different countries, and how this affects the way that they work.
Good to know
- Use the codes when dealing with VTCT Skills: the qualification is "Product code CO2W1" with "Qualification number C00/5368/8" (Qualification at a glance, page 5), and the units are UWCO1 (40 GLH) and UWCO2 (100 GLH) (Section 4, page 13), giving 140 GLH and a TQT of 175.
- The examination is on screen: "The MCQ External theory examination will be undertaken online using VTCT Skills on-screen assessment solution." A paper version is available, for example for reasonable adjustments (Section 5.3.1, page 17).
- Assessment is staged, "with UWCO1 (Unit 1) assessed in Year 10 and UWCO2 (Unit 2) assessed in Year 11" (Section 3.8, page 12). The examination has one resit and the best result counts, but "There is no resit opportunity for the Non-Examined Assessment (NEA)." (Section 5.4.8, page 21).
- The design record can be digital or paper: learners "Use digital or physical formats that are professional and accessible" (Unit 2, criterion 1.4, page 59). Centres submit NEA evidence and marks "using VTCT Skills e-testing platform" (Section 8.2.1, page 28).
- Practical work needs a model and salon resources. Learners plan "Model requirements" (Unit 2, criterion 1.3, page 57), and Unit 2 may be taught in a classroom or training salon with model chairs, mirrors, hair, make-up and nail products and PPE (Section 7.2, pages 24 and 25).
- Once the NEA starts, teachers "must not provide specific feedback on the evidence the learner is producing" (Section 5.4.6, page 21), and each learner signs a "Declaration of Authenticity Form" (Section 5.4.7, page 21). The specification does not mention artificial intelligence; it refers only to plagiarism, collusion and the VTCT Skills Sanctions Policy (pages 20 and 28).
- Grades are compensatory: "stronger performance in one component can offset weaker performance in the other" (Section 4, page 13). In the worked examples, learner B gets NYA in the examination but a Level 1 Merit overall (Section 6.1.2, page 23).
- The qualification "is not designed to award occupational competence" (Section 3.2, page 8), and teachers "are not required to hold specific occupational qualifications" in hair and beauty (Section 7.3, page 25).
- The document contradicts itself in places. Section 5.1 calls NEA task marking "high control" (page 16), but Appendix 1 heads it "medium control" (page 78). Unit 2 skin analysis gives "Classification (types I-V)" (page 61), but Unit 1 teaches six Fitzpatrick types up to "Type 6" (page 46). There are also typos: the heading "Uniformed Mark Scale (UMS)" (page 18) and "may compliment" (page 10).
Links with other qualifications
WJEC does not offer a VCSE in Hair and Beauty, so teachers have no WJEC version to choose instead. The closest qualification on the page is VTCT Skills Foundation Hair and Beauty, from the same awarding body, for learners working towards Level 1. The digital work in the Unit 2 design record, such as online research, mood boards and annotated photographs, matches the design portfolios in GCSE Art and Design and GCSE Design and Technology, both of which the specification lists as complementary subjects. The Unit 1 content on social media marketing and online booking links with GCSE Business. The specification names the WJEC Skills Suite units Customer Service and Working in Wales as complementary, and they share the customer consultation and Welsh labour market themes.
Source: VTCT Skills Level 1/2 VCSE Hair and Beauty Qualification Specification (product code CO2W1, qualification number C00/5368/8), version P2, 18/09/2026, approved by Qualifications Wales for first teaching September 2027 and first award summer 2029.