Skills for Life: Everyday Law
Everyday law is a 20 hour Skills for Life unit about how the law touches daily life: legal terms, rights and responsibilities, where to get legal help, and the consequences of keeping or breaking the law. It is one unit that learners combine with others into a Skills for Life or Skills for Work Award, Certificate or Diploma. Literacy carries the unit: learners match, define and explain legal words, apply them to scenarios, compare advice sources and justify choices, mostly through talk, role-play and short written answers. Numeracy is light, limited to weighing cost when choosing advice and consumer examples such as refunds.
- 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 (common legal terms, rights and responsibilities, where to get help, situations where the law applies), each with two assessment criteria at Entry 1, Entry 2 and Entry 3. Evidence goes in a portfolio, internally assessed by the centre and externally quality assured by WJEC. 20 guided learning hours.
- Level 1 and Level 2: Four learning outcomes (legal concepts and terms, rights and responsibilities, accessing legal advice, how the law affects situations and decisions), each with two assessment criteria at Level 1 and Level 2. Evidence goes in a portfolio, internally assessed by the centre and externally quality assured by WJEC. 20 guided learning hours.
Skills that use Purpose
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Explaining rights, responsibilities and the consequences of breaking the law
Learners give examples of rights and responsibilities at Entry Level, describe them and the consequences of following or breaking the law at Level 1, and at Level 2 explain their legal basis, evaluate how they influence decisions and assess the impact on individuals and society. These are required criteria, and evidence can be spoken, written or visual.
Literacy: Planning and organising for different purposes, audiences and context, Purpose
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils make a two column poster of their rights and responsibilities in school, such as being treated fairly and listening to others, with one example for each.
- Year 8
- Pupils write a short explanation of what could happen to a person who rides a bike without lights at night, covering the law, the risk and the consequence.
- Year 9
- Pupils write a balanced paragraph on how shoplifting affects the person caught, the shop and the local community, using connectives such as however and as a result.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Entry Level, learning outcomes 2 and 4, pages 5 and 6; Level 1 and Level 2, learning outcomes 2 and 4, assessment criteria 2.1, 2.2, 4.1 and 4.2, page 7
“Assess the impact on individuals and society of deciding to comply with or break the law”
Progression step 3
I can write a comprehensive account of a topic, theme or viewpoint.
I can share, talk and write about my thoughts, feelings and opinions using a range of techniques to show impact.
Progression step 4
I can adapt my writing style, choosing and using the best structures for different contexts and purposes, e.g. to successfully describe, explain, persuade, discuss.
I can use summary, discussion of issues, detailed explanations and logic when covering a topic.
Progression step 5
I can write with maturity about my thoughts, feelings and opinions in increasingly challenging and contentious contexts.
Good to know
- The unit codes are "S609E1" to "S609L2" (Unit overview, page 3), one code per level from Entry 1 to Level 2, and the unit is 20 guided learning hours.
- Evidence does not have to be written: "evidence may be verbal, written, practical, or visual, extended written work is not required unless appropriate", and assessors judge the standard, "not spelling or presentation unless specifically assessed" (Sources of evidence, page 11).
- Possible evidence includes "Audio or video recordings of discussions, role-plays, or learner explanations" and "Question-and-answer records, quizzes, or simple tests assessing understanding" (Sources of evidence, page 11).
- No special resources are needed: "Assessment of this unit should not require any specific resources." (Resources required for assessment, page 12).
- AI can be used only if acknowledged. When properly referenced it "can be acceptable", but learners "cannot be credited for any work they produce for assessment which is not their own" (section 4.6, page 21).
- Suggested assessment tasks "are not mandatory"; teachers may use them, adapt them or write their own (section 4.1, page 18).
- Plural criteria mean at least two: "a plural reference within assessment criterion refers to a minimum of two" (pages 6 and 7).
Links with other qualifications
The pack names GCSE Social Studies and GCSE Religious Studies as related WJEC qualifications, and both develop reading viewpoints and explaining rights, responsibilities and fairness. Consumer rights also appear in GCSE Business and in the VCSE and Foundation Retail and Customer Service, which cover the Consumer Rights Act 2015, while VCSE and Foundation Public Services cover criminal justice services such as the police and courts. GCSE English Language and Literature supports the reading, explaining and debating this unit asks for. Related Skills Suite units named in the pack include Financial literacy, Democracy in action, Ethical choices, Rights and responsibilities in the workplace, and Fairness and inclusion in the workplace.
Source: WJEC Everyday law 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).