Skills for Life: Faith and Belief in the Community
Faith and Belief in the Community is an Agored Cymru Skills for Life unit in which learners study a religious or non-religious organised worldview in their own community, the personal worldview of someone they know, and how both kinds of worldview can help or harm community life; at Entry Level 2 and Entry Level 1 the third outcome is about naming local cultures and showing respect for them instead. It is one 20 hour unit at Entry Level 1 to Level 2, assessed by one supervised centre-devised task of no more than 60 minutes and graded Pass or Fail. Literacy demand is medium: every criterion is answered in words, from naming and stating at Entry Level to describing factors, influences and positive and negative impacts at Level 2, in one sitting with no drafting, although audio and video evidence are allowed. Numeracy demand is low: the only link is historical dates, named in the mapping table, and no criterion needs a calculation.
- Awarding body
- Agored Cymru
- 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
- Level 2 (Unit ID CDR914, Unit Code DD12CY046) and Level 1 (Unit ID CDR915, Unit Code DD11CY025): Three learning outcomes and 8 assessment criteria at each level, on organised worldviews, personal worldviews and their impact on the learner's own community. Level 2 learners describe an organised worldview, at least three factors that shaped it and how it influences people's behaviour, then a personal worldview of someone they know, at least three factors that shaped it and how it affects that person's behaviour, and finally how each kind of worldview could have a positive and/or negative impact on the community. Level 1 learners outline and identify the same things. There are no prescribed assessment methods: one centre-devised summative task under the mandatory Summative Assessment Package in Appendix A, completed under direct supervision in no more than 60 minutes, with no AI, no drafting and no feedback once it starts. Internally assessed by the centre and moderated by Agored Cymru. Pass or Fail. 20 guided learning hours, 2 credits.
- Entry Level 3 (Unit ID CDR916, Unit Code DD1E3CY001): Three learning outcomes and 8 assessment criteria. Learners identify a group with a religious or non-religious worldview in the community, outline one thing that has influenced it and give one example of how it behaves because of its beliefs; identify a person's beliefs, something that influenced them and something they do because of them; then state a way a group helps the community and a way it can cause problems, and a good and a bad thing a person's belief can do. No prescribed assessment methods; same Appendix A conditions as the other levels. Internally assessed, Pass or Fail. 20 guided learning hours, 2 credits.
- Entry Level 2 (Unit ID CDR917, Unit Code DD1E2CY001) and Entry Level 1 (Unit ID CDR918, Unit Code DD1E1CY001): Learning outcomes 1 and 2 match Entry Level 3 (name a group, identify three things (Entry 2) or name one thing (Entry 1) that influenced it, give an example of its behaviour, identify a person's beliefs and an influence on them). Entry 2 also asks what the person does because of their beliefs; Entry 1 drops that criterion. Learning outcome 3 is different from the higher levels: learners know different cultures in the community, naming at least three (Entry 2) or at least two (Entry 1), identifying or indicating their features such as beliefs and celebrations, and identifying ways to show respect for other cultures. No prescribed assessment methods; same Appendix A conditions. Internally assessed, Pass or Fail. 20 guided learning hours, 2 credits.
Skills that use Measurement
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Using historical dates and the festival calendar
The Numeracy row of the mapping table says the unit uses numerical information in historical dates. Learners may use dates when describing the history and events that shaped a worldview, or when looking at when festivals fall in the year. No criterion asks for dates or calculations, so this is taught, not assessed.
Numeracy: Measurement, Calculation, Interpreting data
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils mark the dates of Christmas, Diwali, Eid al Fitr and Vaisakhi on this year's calendar and work out how many weeks lie between each.
- Year 8
- Pupils make a timeline of 5 key events in the history of one faith and calculate how many years ago each happened.
- Year 9
- Pupils explain why some festivals move date each year, using lunar and solar calendars, and compare dates across 3 years in a table.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Faith and Belief in the Community, mapping table, Numeracy, page 56; AC 1.2 amplification, page 43
“Uses numerical information in historical dates”
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 add and subtract numbers using whole numbers and decimals.
Progression step 4
I can use efficient written methods to add and subtract numbers and decimals of any size, including a mixture of large and small numbers with differing numbers of decimal places.
I can interpret mathematical information; drawing inferences from graphs, diagrams and data, including discussion on limitations of data.
Good to know
- Learners can count the unit at one level only: "multiple levels of the same unit title are not permitted" (Section Two, Unit aggregation, page 9). The exception is British Sign Language, not this unit.
- Every level is 20 guided learning hours and 2 credits, with a lower age restriction of 14 (unit tables, pages 43, 46, 48, 50 and 53).
- The centre chooses the evidence: "There are no prescribed assessment methods for this unit." (pages 44, 47, 49, 51 and 54).
- No special resources are needed: "There are no minimum resource requirements for this unit." (pages 44, 47, 49, 51 and 54).
- The summative assessment is short: "20 GLH incorporates assessment time of no more than 60 minutes." (Appendix A, page 106).
- The assessment is supervised: "All assessment production must be completed under direct supervision" (Appendix A, page 106).
- AI is banned outright, which is stricter than Pearson's acknowledge-it rule: "AI tools must not be used at all." (Appendix A, page 106).
- Learners bring their own notes: "Learners must produce their own reference materials, in preparation for completing their summative assessment." (Appendix A, page 106).
- One attempt at the work: "Drafting and redrafting are not permitted in this summative task." (Appendix A, page 106), and "There are no resubmission opportunities available for these qualifications." (Section Five, page 99).
- Evidence can be "Digital (or written) documents", audio, video or an "E-portfolio, through online submission." (Appendix A, page 106).
- Agored has written exemplar assessments for this unit, but they sit outside the specification: "These exemplars are constructed using Microsoft Word" (Section Five, page 98).
- The command words set the depth: "Describe" means detailed, factual information in a logical way, while "Outline" means "Give the main characteristics or key points/features" (Command Word Definitions, page 93).
- Entry Level 2 and Entry Level 1 do not assess the impact of worldviews. Their learning outcome 3 is "Know different cultures in the community." (pages 51 and 54), while Entry Level 3, Level 1 and Level 2 ask about positive and negative impact.
- The Literacy row of the mapping table names "reading and interpreting texts from a range of faith traditions" and "respectful written and spoken expression on sensitive topics" (page 56); no criterion asks learners to read a sacred text.
- The only numeracy link is one line in the mapping table: "Uses numerical information in historical dates" (page 56). No criterion asks for a date or a number beyond counting factors.
- Several criteria set a minimum count, for example "At least three factors." (Level 2, page 43) and "At least two ways." (Entry Level 2, page 51).
Links with other qualifications
Describing worldviews and their impact links most closely with WJEC GCSE Religious Studies, which asks for the same describing and explaining at greater length, and with WJEC GCSE English Language, where learners also write and speak about other people's views with sensitivity. Agored maps the unit to the Humanities Area of Learning and Experience (page 45). Related Skills for Life units in the same suite are Equality, Diversity and Inclusion; Ethical Choices; Understanding Self and Others; Values for Life; and Community Participation (page 13). Compared with the WJEC Faith and belief in the community unit, also 20 hours, Agored asks learners to describe rather than discuss and evaluate, and centres the writing on one organised and one personal worldview. Pearson's version puts its literacy into personal belief statements, a festival account and an interfaith menu task. Agored is the only one of the three to make the whole piece of writing a single supervised task with no drafting.
Source: Agored Cymru The Skills Suite: Skills for Life and Work Specification, version 1.0, October 2026, Faith and Belief in the Community.