Foundation Hair and Beauty
VTCT Skills Foundation Hair and Beauty is a two-year Entry Level to Level 1 work-related qualification for learners in Years 10 and 11, assessed by two VTCT-set assignments marked by the centre. Literacy carries most of the weight: in Unit 1 learners identify, list and outline job roles, hazards, the structure of hair, skin and nails, and consultation and customer care, using technical terms and some Welsh greetings and safety signs. In Unit 2 they read sources to explore a theme, write a plan, talk with their model during the practical work and write a reflection. Numeracy is light: timing each step of a plan, ordering coats and layers, and dividing hair into equal sections. There are no calculations.
- Awarding body
- VTCT Skills
- Level
- Entry Level and Level 1
- First taught
- September 2027
- Amount of literacy work
- Medium
- Amount of numeracy work
- Low
- Specification
- Open the specification
- Next step up
- VCSE Hair and Beauty, Level 1 and Level 2
How this qualification is assessed
- UWCO3 (Unit 1): Foundations of the Hair and Beauty industry: Non-examined assessment, an assignment brief set by VTCT Skills and changed every year, completed under supervision within a maximum of 6 hours 30 minutes, four tasks of 8 marks each (32 raw marks), 30% of the qualification (75 UMS), marked by the centre with a level-based mark scheme and externally moderated by VTCT Skills, 40 guided learning hours, taken in Year 10 with one resit allowed in Year 11
- UWCO4 (Unit 2): Introduction to Hair and Beauty techniques based on a theme: Non-examined assessment including practical hair styling, face-painting and nail finishes, an assignment brief set by VTCT Skills and changed every year, completed under supervision within a maximum of 8 hours 30 minutes, three tasks of 12, 16 and 12 marks (40 raw marks), 70% of the qualification (175 UMS), marked by the centre with a level-based mark scheme and externally moderated by VTCT Skills, 100 guided learning hours, taken in Year 11 with no resit
Skills that use Understanding, response and analysis
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Reading safety signs, instructions and procedures
Learners recognise hazards and follow instructions and safety signage, including bilingual signs such as Llawr gwlyb, Wet floor, and follow safety and hygiene procedures during practical work. Assessment criteria 2.1 to 2.3 in Unit 1 and 3.1 in Unit 2 require this, although learners are not expected to interpret legislation.
Literacy: Reading strategies, Understanding, response and analysis
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils match photos of red, yellow and green bilingual safety signs from around school to their meaning in English and Welsh.
- Year 8
- Pupils scan the instructions on a nail polish remover label and highlight every safety warning and what to do if it gets in the eyes.
- Year 9
- Pupils read a one page salon hygiene procedure, pick out the steps for cleaning tools and disposing of waste, and turn them into a short checklist for a practical lesson.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: UWCO3 (Unit 1), taught content 2.2 and 2.3, pages 43 to 45; UWCO4 (Unit 2), taught content 3.1, page 65; assessment criteria, pages 55 and 73
“Safety signs give clear warnings and procedures that must be followed”
Progression step 3
I can use a range of strategies for finding information, e.g. skimming for gist, scanning for detail.
I can read closely, identifying and noting features of texts, e.g. introduction, sequence, illustrations, formality, key vocabulary.
Progression step 4
I can use a range of strategies, e.g. speed reading, close reading, annotation, prediction, to skim texts for gist, key ideas and themes, and scan for detailed information.
I can read closely, follow up and use additional material in texts to extend my understanding.
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Researching sources to explore a theme
Learners explore a themed look using magazines, social media, posters, adverts, fashion images and hair and beauty books, and pick out the key elements of a theme such as colours, textures, accessories, mood and inspiration source. Assessment criteria 1.4 and 2.1 require this, and the reading is mostly visual with short captions and labels.
Literacy: Understanding, response and analysis
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils cut images from a magazine for a summer theme and write one label for each saying its colour or mood.
- Year 8
- Pupils use a hair and beauty book and a website to find three facts about Celtic patterns, and sort them into colours, shapes and textures.
- Year 9
- Pupils gather ideas for an Eisteddfod look from a magazine, a poster and a teacher-chosen website, then write a short summary of the key elements they will use and where each came from.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: UWCO4 (Unit 2), taught content 1.4 and 2.1, pages 60 and 61; assessment criteria 1.4 and 2.1, page 73
“Learners should be able to use straightforward methods to explore ideas, using:”
Progression step 3
I can make use of reference/digital sources to select, summarise and synthesise information, referencing as appropriate.
I can collate and make connections, e.g. prioritising, categorising, between information and ideas from different sources including digital and audio-visual texts.
Progression step 4
I can research a wide range of reference and digital sources to develop a full understanding of a topic or issue.
Good to know
- There is no examination. Both units are a "Non-Examined Assessment" that is "Externally set, internally marked, internally quality assured externally moderated" (Section 5.1, page 16), so literacy and numeracy are shown through written tasks, practical work and talk with a model.
- Unit 2 counts for 70% and has no resit: "There is no resit opportunity for the Non-Examined Assessment (NEA) UWCO4 (Unit 2)." (Section 5.4.4, page 22).
- Welsh language is part of the content: learners "Use foundational Welsh greetings" with clients (Unit 1, taught content 4.3, page 52) and learn bilingual safety signs such as "Llawr gwlyb" (taught content 2.3, page 45).
- Learners do not interpret law: "learners are not expected to interpret legislations/regulations" (Unit 1, taught content 2.2, page 43), and in Unit 2 reflection "learners are not expected to repeat or improve the hair and beauty skills during the session" (taught content 4.3, page 72).
- No marks for spelling, punctuation and grammar are mentioned. Teachers mark with a "level-based mark scheme" and "holistic descriptors" (Section 5.3.2, page 19) and may not give specific feedback on evidence during the assessment (Section 5.4.7, page 23).
- The numeracy is light. The Curriculum for Wales mapping links numeracy only to Unit 2 "LO2.2 (time needed for steps)" and the number of coats and order of layers in LO3.4 (Section 11.1, page 76), and nothing in Unit 1.
- Centres must check learners can cope with the "relevant literacy, numeracy, and academic aspects of the qualification" (Section 2.2, page 7), though there is no formal entry requirement.
- The document has leftover errors from other VTCT Skills specifications: Unit 2 reflection asks learners to link answers to "the finished dish" (taught content 4.1, page 71), it refers to the "VCSE NEA Teacher/Assessor Guidance and Marking Criteria" (Section 7.4, page 28), and the Unit 2 assessment requirements read "externally set, set" (page 73).
Links with other qualifications
There is no WJEC Foundation or VCSE in Hair and Beauty, so this VTCT Skills qualification has no WJEC version to compare with; it leads on to the VTCT Skills Level 1/2 VCSE Hair and Beauty, which the specification names as a progression route. The consultation, customer care and bilingual greetings link with the WJEC Skills for Work units Customer Service and Working in Wales and the Skills for Life unit Understanding Self and Others, all suggested in the specification, and with WJEC Foundation Retail and Customer Service. The technical vocabulary for hair, skin and nails builds on GCSE The Sciences or Integrated Science, the written outlines and reflections on GCSE English Language and Literature, and the Welsh greetings on GCSE Core Cymraeg or Cymraeg Language and Literature. The light numeracy of timing and sequencing sits well below GCSE Mathematics and Numeracy.
Source: VTCT Skills Entry Level/Level 1 Foundation Hair and Beauty, Qualification Specification CO1W1, qualification number C00/5369/0, version P1, first published 01/09/2026, approved by Qualifications Wales for teaching from September 2027.