Foundation Health and Social Care, and Childcare
Foundation Health and Social Care, and Childcare is a two-year, two-unit Work-Related Foundation Qualification for learners aged 14 to 16 working at Entry Level or Level 1. Every learner takes Unit 1 on the sectors, communication, safeguarding and wellbeing, then either Unit 2 Adult Health and Social Care or Unit 3 Childcare, all assessed through a teacher-set portfolio moderated by WJEC. Literacy runs through everything: Unit 1 has a whole learning outcome on communicating with children and adults in Welsh or English, and evidence comes from role-plays, presentations, case studies, reports, leaflets and blogs. Numeracy is light and sits mainly in Unit 3, in child development milestones by age and in snack and mealtime tasks, with some planning of meals and daily routines in Unit 2.
- Awarding body
- WJEC
- Level
- Entry Level and Level 1
- First taught
- September 2027
- Amount of literacy work
- High
- Amount of numeracy work
- Low
- Specification
- Open the specification
How this qualification is assessed
- Unit 1: Introduction to the Health and Social Care and Childcare sector, and Basic Safeguarding: Compulsory, taught first. Centre marked non-examination assessment, a portfolio of evidence from teacher-set tasks, maximum assessment time 12 hours (typically 9 to 12 hours), 52 of the 120 qualification points, assessed in centre and moderated by WJEC. 48 guided learning hours, first moderated summer 2028.
- Unit 2: Adult Health and Social Care: Optional, taken instead of Unit 3. Centre marked non-examination assessment, a portfolio of evidence from teacher-set tasks, maximum assessment time 18 hours (typically 14 to 18 hours), 68 of the 120 qualification points, assessed in centre and moderated by WJEC. 72 guided learning hours, first moderated summer 2029.
- Unit 3: Childcare: Optional, taken instead of Unit 2. Centre marked non-examination assessment, a portfolio of evidence from teacher-set tasks, maximum assessment time 18 hours (typically 14 to 18 hours), 68 of the 120 qualification points, assessed in centre and moderated by WJEC. 72 guided learning hours, first moderated summer 2029.
Skills that use Interpreting data
-
Using ages and milestones in child development
In Unit 3 learners learn the expected milestones at set ages, from 0 to 12 months up to 4 to 5 years, and complete a timeline of development across three age groups. Appendix A maps Developing Mathematical Proficiency and the number system to this learning outcome.
Numeracy: Measurement, Conceptual understanding, Interpreting data
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils convert children's ages between months and years, such as 18 months and 2 and a half years, and order them on a number line.
- Year 8
- Pupils draw a timeline from birth to 5 years to scale and place milestone cards, such as first words and walking, at the right ages.
- Year 9
- Pupils read a simple chart of the age range when children usually start walking and decide whether a given child of 14 months is within the expected range.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 3, LO3.2 content, page 40; assessment criteria 3.2.1 and 3.2.2, page 43; example tasks, page 47; Appendix A, page 60
“The key expected developmental milestones for each life”
Progression step 3
I can carry out practical activities involving timed events and explain which unit of time is the most appropriate.
I can represent a concept in different ways, flowing between different representations including verbal, concrete, visual, digital and abstract.
Progression step 4
I can represent a concept in different ways, flowing between different representations including verbal, concrete, visual, digital and abstract.
I can interpret mathematical information; drawing inferences from graphs, diagrams and data, including discussion on limitations of data.
-
Planning a balanced meal with the Eatwell Guide
In Unit 2 learners select or plan a healthy meal for an adult that follows The Eatwell Guide and present their foods in the correct categories. The Eatwell Guide shows the food groups as shares of a plate, so learners read and use proportions. Appendix A does not map numeracy to Unit 2.
Numeracy: Interpreting data, Relationships within the number system, Representing data
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils look at the Eatwell Guide and say which food group takes up the largest and smallest part of the plate.
- Year 8
- Pupils sort a day's food into Eatwell Guide groups and compare the share of each group with the guide, for example about a third fruit and vegetables.
- Year 9
- Pupils draw a pie chart of the food groups in a planned meal and compare it with the Eatwell Guide, changing the meal so the proportions match more closely.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 2, LO2.5 content, page 28; assessment criterion 2.5.2, page 32; example tasks, page 36
“plan a healthy balanced meal for an adult using The Eatwell Guide”
Progression step 3
I can extract and interpret information from an increasing range of diagrams, timetables and graphs (including pie charts).
I can use equivalence of fractions, decimals and percentages to compare proportions.
Progression step 4
I can construct and interpret graphs and diagrams (including pie charts) to represent discrete or continuous data, choosing an appropriate scale.
Good to know
- Appendix A maps all four literacy skills, listening, reading, speaking and writing, to "All sections" of every unit (page 59).
- Numeracy is mapped only in Unit 3: Developing Mathematical Proficiency and the number system to LO3.2, and geometry and measurement to LO3.6, with nothing for Units 1 and 2 or for statistics (Appendix A, page 60).
- Spoken work counts: evidence includes "teacher/assessor questioning" answered in writing or orally and "video/audio recordings" of presentations and discussions (Section 3.3, page 52), and observed performance is recorded on "observation records" (Section 3.6, page 53).
- Communication can be in either language: learners use "Basic communication skills in Welsh or English" and implement "the Active Offer" (Unit 1, LO1.2, page 14).
- Support is graded by level: Entry 1 learners may need "verbal, visual and practical assistance", while Level 1 teachers "can provide advice on planning and structuring their answers" without doing the work for them (Section 3.4, page 53).
- The example tasks "are not mandatory" (Section 2.1, page 9), so the reading and writing load depends on the tasks the centre sets.
Links with other qualifications
The specification names GCSE Health and Social Care, and Childcare as the next step, and the two share the same structure: a sector and wellbeing unit, then Adult Health and Social Care or Childcare. There is no WJEC VCSE in this subject. The GCSE steps the literacy up from short spoken and written tasks to an examination and two 12 hour NEA units that need organised, evaluative writing, close reading of case studies and a researched childcare investigation, and its numeracy adds physiological measurements, wellbeing statistics and surveys. The Foundation communication, case study and report work prepares for that. Communication and role-play link with English or Cymraeg oracy, and meal planning with Food and Nutrition.
Source: WJEC Entry Level/Level 1 Foundation Health and Social Care, and Childcare specification, approved by Qualifications Wales, teaching from September 2027, for award from 2029 (© WJEC CBAC Ltd 2026).