Skills for Life: Exercise For All
Exercise for all is a Skills for Life unit in which learners take part in a range of exercise activities, learn the physical and mental wellbeing benefits of exercise and, from Entry 3 upwards, follow, plan or design a one week exercise schedule and reflect on it. It is one 20 hour unit that learners combine with others into a Pearson Skills for Life Award, Certificate or Diploma, from Entry 1 to Level 2, and it is assessed internally by the centre. Literacy sits in stating, describing and explaining benefits, following safety instructions, saying how exercise made them feel and giving reasons for a plan. Numeracy is light: planning frequency and duration and recording how long each session lasted.
- Awarding body
- Pearson
- 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
- Specification
- Open the specification
How this unit is assessed
- Entry Level (Entry 1, Entry 2, Entry 3): One assessment criterion at each Entry level: learners state (Entry 1), outline (Entry 2) or identify (Entry 3) the physical and mental wellbeing benefits of exercise through taking part in simple exercise activities, and at Entry 3 also follow a basic exercise schedule. Evidence is assessed internally by the centre through a centre-devised assignment, which can be based on Pearson's Authorised Assignment Brief, and is quality assured by Pearson standards verification. 20 guided learning hours.
- Level 1 and Level 2: One assessment criterion at each level: at Level 1 learners plan and take part in a simple one week exercise schedule and describe its physical and mental wellbeing benefits, and at Level 2 they design and take part in a balanced schedule, explain its benefits and reflect on how to improve it. Evidence is assessed internally by the centre and quality assured by Pearson standards verification. 20 guided learning hours.
Skills that use Measurement
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Planning frequency and duration in a weekly schedule
Entry 3 learners follow an exercise schedule for a week, Level 1 learners plan a one week schedule that considers frequency, time and type of exercise, and Level 2 learners give reasons for the time and frequency of each session. This is required by the assessment guidance, although the calculations involved are simple.
Numeracy: Measurement, Strategic competence
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils fill in a weekly timetable with three 20 minute activity sessions that fit around their school day and work out the weekly total.
- Year 8
- Pupils plan a week of exercise to reach a target of 150 minutes, choosing session lengths and days and checking the total adds up.
- Year 9
- Pupils plan a balanced week of strength, aerobic and flexibility sessions, set the frequency and duration of each, and explain how the plan meets a weekly time target.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit SfL 10, Essential information for assessment decisions, Entry 3, Level 1 and Level 2, pages 52 to 53
“plan a simple one-week exercise schedule that considers frequency, time, and type of exercise”
Progression step 3
I can use and interpret calendars, timetables and schedules to plan events and activities, and make calculations as part of the planning journey.
I can prioritise and organise the relevant steps needed to complete the task or reach a solution.
Progression step 4
I can prioritise and organise the relevant steps needed to complete the task or reach a solution.
I can identify, measure or obtain required information to complete the task.
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Recording exercise time and simple wellbeing data
Entry 3 learners record what exercise they did each day and how long they did it for. Pearson's mapping also suggests simple data collection such as mood ratings, activity logs and heart or breathing rate, but only the daily record of activity and duration appears in the assessment guidance.
Numeracy: Collecting data, Measurement, Interpreting data
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils time three activities with a stopwatch in minutes and seconds and record the results in a tally and time table.
- Year 8
- Pupils record their resting and post exercise breathing rate and a mood score out of 5 for a week, then draw a bar chart of their results.
- Year 9
- Pupils collect both timed activity data and mood ratings over two weeks, compare the two, and write a conclusion on what the data does and does not show.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit SfL 10, Essential information for assessment decisions, Entry 3, page 52; Annexe C, SfL 10 Numeracy Links, page 162
“simple data collection (e.g. mood ratings, activity logs, heart/breathing rate)”
Progression step 3
I can collect relevant data to answer posed questions.
I can time events in minutes and seconds, and order the results.
Progression step 4
I can collect both quantitative and qualitative data.
I can draw conclusions from data and recognise that some conclusions may be misleading or uncertain.
Good to know
- The unit is listed as "SfL 10 Exercise for all 20", so it is 20 guided learning hours (Unit summary, page 5).
- A unit can be passed only once: "Learners can only achieve each unit once, at a single level" (Rules of Combination, page 6).
- Evidence is flexible, so spoken or practical evidence can count: "there are no mandatory evidence requirements and centres can select the type of evidence" (Essential information for assessment decisions, page 52). Assignments "can include both practical and written tasks" (Assessment of units, page 9).
- Evidence must be recorded, not assumed from taking part: "achievement cannot be inferred from performance" (Internal assessment, page 9).
- AI may be used only if the work stays the learner's own: "the final submission must be in the learner's own words and reflect their own effort" (Requirements relating to permitted/prohibited resources, page 54).
- Pearson's Annexe C lists numeracy as "Frequency and duration of exercise; simple data collection" with mood ratings and heart or breathing rate as examples (page 162), but only the frequency, time and duration of exercise appear in the assessment guidance.
Links with other qualifications
The closest WJEC qualifications are GCSE Physical Education and Health, which asks for far more extended writing and data work on training and fitness, and the VCSE and Foundation in Sport and Leisure. Explaining wellbeing benefits and reflecting on feelings links to the WJEC Skills Suite unit Mental health and wellbeing and to GCSE English Language and Literature oracy. Compared with the WJEC Exercise for all unit, both are 20 guided learning hours, but the Pearson unit's literacy is concentrated in describing benefits and justifying a one week exercise schedule, while the WJEC unit also asks learners to communicate with others in group activities and to set and review measurable fitness goals.
Source: Pearson Entry Level 1 to Level 2 Skills for Life Award, Certificate and Diploma Qualifications specification, Issue 1, August 2026, Unit SfL 10: Exercise for all.