Skills for Life: Basic First Aid
Basic first aid is a 20 hour Skills for Life unit, offered from Entry 1 to Level 2, in which learners learn what first aid is, carry out first aid actions safely and hygienically, recognise and respond to emergencies, and get help by giving accurate information. It is one unit that learners combine with others into a Skills for Life or Skills for Life and Work Award, Certificate or Diploma. Literacy is mostly spoken: following instructions, explaining steps, giving clear details in a mock 999 call and reassuring a casualty, with some writing. No criterion involves numeracy, and Appendix A does not map it.
- Awarding body
- WJEC
- Level
- Entry Level 1 to Level 2
- Guided learning hours
- 20
- First taught
- September 2027
- Amount of literacy work
- Medium
- Amount of numeracy work
- Low
How this unit is assessed
- Entry Level (Entry 1, Entry 2, Entry 3): Four learning outcomes (know about everyday first aid, carry out basic first aid actions safely, recognise and respond to an emergency, know how to get help in an emergency), with evidence compiled into a portfolio, internally assessed by the centre and externally quality assured by WJEC, 20 guided learning hours, unit codes S602E1, S602E2 and S602E3
- Level 1 and Level 2: Four learning outcomes (understand the purpose of first aid in everyday situations, carry out first aid skills safely, assess and respond appropriately to different emergencies, get help and communicate accurate information in an emergency), with evidence compiled into a portfolio, internally assessed by the centre and externally quality assured by WJEC, 20 guided learning hours, unit codes S602L1 and S602L2
Skills that use Connectives and syntax
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Explaining the steps of an emergency response
Level 1 learners state the correct sequence of actions when responding to an emergency, and Level 2 learners explain in detail the correct steps and how to prioritise a range of emergencies, following DRABC. At Entry Level learners demonstrate the first actions or correct steps. Sequencing and explaining the steps are assessment criteria.
Literacy: Planning and organising for different purposes, audiences and context, Purpose, Connectives and syntax
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils put five picture cards for responding to a fall in order and say each step aloud.
- Year 8
- Pupils write the DRABC steps as a numbered list, adding one sentence explaining each letter.
- Year 9
- Pupils write a detailed explanation of how they would respond to a casualty who has collapsed, using sequencing words and giving reasons for the order.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Entry Level, learning outcome 3, assessment criterion 3.2, page 6; Level 1 and Level 2, learning outcome 3, assessment criteria 3.2 and 3.3, page 8; Amplification, learning outcome 3, page 12
“State the correct sequence of actions to take when responding to an emergency”
Progression step 3
I can use and adapt different structures within my writing, e.g. reporting an event, investigation or experiment.
I can organise talk so that different audiences in different contexts can follow what is being said, including using formal language.
Progression step 4
I can use summary, discussion of issues, detailed explanations and logic when covering a topic.
I can use a range of connectives specifically when organising my ideas in whole texts for different purposes.
Good to know
- The unit codes are "S602E1", "S602E2", "S602E3", "S602L1" and "S602L2", and the unit is 20 GLH in the Skills for Life suite (Unit overview, page 3).
- Spelling is not assessed and long writing is not needed: "extended written work is not required unless appropriate" and judgements should focus on "the meeting of standards, not on spelling or presentation unless specifically assessed" (Sources of evidence, page 13).
- Spoken evidence counts: sources include "audio/video recordings of mock calls" and "Q&A/discussion notes" (Sources of evidence, page 14).
- There is no numeracy in the learning outcomes or assessment criteria, and Appendix A of the specification maps the unit to literacy, critical thinking and problem solving, and personal effectiveness only (Specification Appendix A, page 28).
- AI tools can be used "When properly referenced", but "Copying or paraphrasing whole responses of AI-generated content" is AI misuse (Specification section 4.6, page 21).
- Suggested assessment tasks are provided in each pack but "These tasks are not mandatory" (Specification section 4.1, page 18).
Links with other qualifications
The pack links first aid to careers in health and social care, education, public services, childcare and sport and leisure, so the explaining and emergency communication sit well beside GCSE Health and Social Care and Childcare, the VCSEs in Public Services and Sport and Leisure, and the Foundations in those subjects. Clear speaking and listening in roleplay build on GCSE English Language and Literature. Within the Skills Suite, the pack suggests delivering it alongside Community participation, Looking after others, Mental health and wellbeing, Personal safety and Understanding self and others.
Source: WJEC Basic first aid unit delivery and assessment pack, read with the WJEC Entry 1 to Level 2 Skills for Life and Skills for Work specification, approved by Qualifications Wales, teaching from September 2027 (© WJEC CBAC Ltd 2026).