Personal Project
The RSL Personal Project is three separate 60 guided learning hour qualifications, at Entry Level, Level 1 and Level 2, in which learners choose a project, plan and research it, produce an outcome and reflect on it, all marked by the centre out of 80 and moderated by RSL. Literacy runs through every criterion: writing the proposal, reading and checking sources, building arguments, asking questions, sharing ideas for a purpose and writing or recording a reflection, within strict word or time limits. Numeracy is light: scheduling activities and timescales, setting measurable goals, keeping evidence within the limits and, at Level 2 only, considering a budget.
- Awarding body
- RSL Awards
- Level
- Entry Level 1 to Level 2
- Guided learning hours
- 60
- First taught
- September 2027
- Amount of literacy work
- High
- Amount of numeracy work
- Low
- Specification
- Open the specification
How this qualification is assessed
- RSL Entry Level Personal Project (unit code EL-PP), 60 GLH: Non-examination assessment, 100% of the qualification, 80 marks. Section A is a digital portfolio of no more than 1000 words or 10 minutes of audio or video, marked against three criteria of 20 marks each (planning and organising, critical thinking and problem solving, creativity and innovation), 60 marks. Section B is a reflection on personal effectiveness of no more than 600 words or 6 minutes, in one format only, 20 marks. The project proposal (up to 1200 words or 12 minutes) and evidence of the outcome (up to 1500 words or 15 minutes) are submitted separately. Learners choose the project with tutor approval and spend 30 to 40 hours on assessment; the centre marks the work and RSL moderates it. Graded Entry 1, Entry 2 or Entry 3 Pass.
- RSL Level One Personal Project (unit code L1-PP), 60 GLH: Non-examination assessment, 100% of the qualification, 80 marks, with the same structure as Entry Level: Section A, a digital portfolio of no more than 1200 words or 12 minutes of audio or video marked against three criteria of 20 marks each, 60 marks, and Section B, a reflection of no more than 800 words or 8 minutes in one format only, 20 marks. SMART goals, timescales and purposeful communication are required at this level. Learners choose the project with tutor approval; the centre marks the work and RSL moderates it. Graded Pass, Merit or Distinction.
- RSL Level Two Personal Project (unit code L2-PP), 60 GLH: Non-examination assessment, 100% of the qualification, 80 marks, with the same structure: Section A, a digital portfolio of no more than 1500 words or 15 minutes of audio or video marked against three criteria of 20 marks each, 60 marks, and Section B, a reflection of no more than 1000 words or 10 minutes in one format only, 20 marks. Level 2 adds a definition of success, a schedule that includes availability of resources, a budget where there is one, research from a variety of sources for specific purposes and challenging established ideas. Learners choose the project with minimal tutor guidance; the centre marks the work and RSL moderates it. Graded Pass, Merit or Distinction.
Skills that use Conceptual understanding
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Setting measurable goals and checking progress
Learners set SMART goals, which must be measurable and time bound, at every level, and Level 2 learners define how they will know whether the project is successful and monitor progress against the plan. Criteria One marks the goals and the monitoring. How much data is involved depends on the project; no survey or calculation is required.
Numeracy: Strategic competence, Conceptual understanding
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils set a reading goal with a number of pages and a deadline, then record pages read each day and say whether they are on track.
- Year 8
- Pupils set a measurable goal for a fitness or practice routine, record results weekly in a table and decide at the end whether the goal was met.
- Year 9
- Pupils define success for a charity event as a target sum and number of visitors, track progress against both each week and explain any changes to the plan.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Entry Level Assessment Method, Section A, page 9; Level Two Content, Planning and Organising, pages 29 and 30; Level Two Assessment Method, page 32; Section A Criteria One mark schemes, pages 13, 24 and 37
“Understanding how to define whether their project is successful or not”
Progression step 3
I can identify, measure or obtain required information to complete the task.
I can interpret answers within the context of the problem and consider whether answers, including calculator, analogue and digital displays, are sensible.
Progression step 4
I can identify, measure or obtain required information to complete the task.
I can interpret answers within the context of the problem and consider whether answers, including calculator, analogue and digital displays, are sensible.
Good to know
- There are three separate qualifications, each 60 GLH (page 5), with unit codes "Qualification unit code: EL-PP", L1-PP and L2-PP (pages 7, 17 and 29). Learners are registered at one level after diagnostic assessment (page 46), so a school must decide the level before the project, unlike the WJEC Level 1/Level 2 Personal Project.
- There is no examination: "The personal project qualifications are internally assessed (Non-Examination Assessment) and externally moderated" (page 5). The mark schemes contain no marks for spelling, punctuation and grammar.
- Spoken and recorded evidence counts: the portfolio "may include written research and commentary, annotated images, vlogs, voice recordings or filmed presentations/discussions" (page 10), and "The reflection must be evidenced using one method only (for example, a written essay OR a vlog)" (page 11).
- Word and time limits are strict and rise by level: the portfolio is 1000, 1200 or 1500 words, the reflection 600, 800 or 1000 words, and "if their evidence exceeds the maximum evidence limits by more than 20%, tutors will stop marking at the point at which this is exceeded" (page 10).
- Tutors may only give general feedback: "Tutors must not accept multiple submissions and offer detailed feedback to learners for improvement" (page 47), and they must not "Give specific feedback on how to improve the project outline" (page 43).
- Sources, including AI, must be referenced, but no formal style is set: "Learners must be taught how to adequately reference work that is not their own" (page 47). Unreferenced sources are "classed as plagiarism and treated as malpractice" (page 45).
- A budget appears only at Level 2 and only if there is one: "what is your budget (if any)?" (page 32).
- Assessment is "available in English and Welsh, or a combination of the two languages" (page 51), once a year in the summer series with a January resubmission window.
- The document has errors: the "Entry codes" heading on page 58 has no content, the mark schemes refer to the Assessment Information section "on page 39" when it starts on page 42, the purpose list on page 4 ends with a cut off word ("relevant to the qualification ter"), and no mark to grade boundaries are printed (page 54). Mark scheme bands are labelled "Level 1" to "Level 4", which is easy to confuse with the qualification levels.
Links with other qualifications
The RSL Personal Project covers the same ground as the WJEC Personal Project Entry Level and the WJEC Personal Project Level 1 and Level 2: both are 60 guided learning hour projects on a topic the learner chooses, built on the four integral skills, marked by the centre and moderated externally. For literacy, WJEC suggests up to 2,000 words in any format and rewards Harvard style referencing at the top band, while RSL sets fixed word or minute limits for each part, allows the whole portfolio and reflection to be recorded, and requires no formal referencing style. For numeracy, both are light, but RSL's evidence limits need some proportion work and only RSL Level 2 mentions a budget. Reading and judging sources, building arguments and reflective writing build on GCSE English Language and Literature and GCSE Cymraeg Language and Literature, and the source evaluation links with GCSE History. The SMART goals and planning overlap with the WJEC Skills for Work unit Personal Development Planning, and any budget or survey work links with GCSE Mathematics and Numeracy.
Source: RSL Personal Project Qualifications, Entry Level to Level 2 syllabus specification, last updated 01/09/26, for qualifications from September 2027.