Skills for Life: Home Management and Maintenance
Home management and maintenance is a 20 hour Skills for Life unit, offered from Entry 1 to Level 2, about household routines, simple home maintenance done safely, hygiene and cleaning, and sustainable habits such as recycling and saving energy. It is one unit that learners combine with others into a Skills for Life or Skills for Work Award, Certificate or Diploma. Literacy sits in following instructions and product labels, reporting hazards, reviewing routines and explaining sustainable choices. Numeracy sits in planning routines over a week or month, which is assessed, and in budgeting, comparing costs and tracking energy and water use, which are suggested.
- 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
- Medium
How this unit is assessed
- Entry Level (Entry 1, Entry 2, Entry 3): Four learning outcomes, with separate 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, with separate 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 Financial literacy
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Budgeting and comparing costs of household items
Entry Level suggested activities include supported budgeting for basic household items or food, and the Level 1 and Level 2 amplification asks learners to compare reuse or repurposing options in terms of sustainability, cost, practicality and environmental impact. The Level 2 criterion asks for a sustainability comparison, so cost calculations are suggested rather than required.
Numeracy: Financial literacy
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils add up the cost of four cleaning items from a printed price list and check whether they can buy them all with 10 pounds.
- Year 8
- Pupils compare the price per 100 ml of two sizes of washing-up liquid to find the better value.
- Year 9
- Pupils compare the cost of repairing a chair, buying a second-hand one and buying a new one, and decide which is the best choice for a set budget and for the environment.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Suggested activities, page 11; learning outcome 4 amplification, page 11; Sources of evidence, page 12
“participate in supported budgeting activities for basic household items or food”
Progression step 3
I can manage money, compare costs from different retailers and determine what can be bought within a given budget.
I can make comparisons between prices and understand which is best value for money.
I can realise that budgeting is important.
Progression step 4
I can make informed decisions relating to discounts and special offers.
I can appreciate the basic principles of budgeting, saving (including understanding compound interest) and borrowing.
Good to know
- The unit has five codes, one for each level, from "S616E1" to "S616L2" (Unit overview, page 3). Only the highest level achieved counts, because "only the highest level of the unit achieved will count towards the GLH" (Skills for Life and Work specification, section 2.2, page 10).
- This is a practical unit and needs equipment: "Centres delivering this unit should have access to a range of household equipment, materials, and environments" (Resources required for delivery, page 13).
- Evidence can be spoken or practical as well as written: "extended written work is not required unless appropriate", and the pack lists "question and answer records (oral or written) to confirm knowledge and understanding" and "records of budgeting or cost-comparison activities" (Sources of evidence, page 12).
- Spelling and presentation are not judged: "Assessor judgements should focus on meeting the standard, not spelling or presentation unless specifically assessed" (Sources of evidence, page 12).
- The suggested activities and tasks are optional. The specification says suggested assessment tasks "are not mandatory" and teachers "may choose to use these suggestions, adapt them, or develop their own alternatives" (section 4.1, page 18).
- AI tools are only acceptable "When properly referenced", and learners "cannot be credited for any work they produce for assessment which is not their own". Misuse includes "Using AI to complete parts of the assessment so that the work does not reflect the learner's own work, analysis, evaluation or calculations" (specification, section 4.6, page 21).
- Where a criterion uses a plural without a number, "a plural reference within assessment criterion refers to a minimum of two" (pages 6 and 8).
Links with other qualifications
The pack names links with "GCSE Design and Technology and VCSE Built Environment": reading safety guidance, using tools safely and planning practical tasks are shared with both. Within the Skills Suite it suggests delivering this unit alongside Basic first aid, Financial literacy, Food planning and preparation, Healthy lifestyle, Healthy relationships, Looking after others, Practical gardening and Teamwork. Financial literacy covers budgeting and comparing costs in more depth, which supports the cost comparison of household items suggested here, and Food planning and preparation shares the reading of product labels and hygiene instructions.
Source: WJEC Home management and maintenance 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).