Skills for Life: Mental Health and Wellbeing
Mental health and wellbeing is a Pearson Skills for Life unit in which learners recognise emotions in themselves and others, identify warning signs and triggers, suggest steps to stay mentally strong and find out where to get support; at Level 1 and Level 2 they create a personal mental health and wellbeing plan. 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. Literacy carries the assessment: describing and explaining emotions and triggers, reading about sources of support, writing the plan and taking part in group discussion. There is no numeracy: Annexe C records no direct numeracy link.
- 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 of Entry 1, Entry 2 and Entry 3: state, outline or identify the characteristics of good mental health and emotional wellbeing, steps or measures to protect them, and where to get support. The essential information for assessment decisions sets the number of warning signs and steps at each level (two, three and four). Centres choose the type of evidence and set and mark the assessment, adapting Pearson's Authorised Assignment Brief or devising their own, internally verified and quality assured by Pearson standards verification. 20 guided learning hours.
- Level 1 and Level 2: One assessment criterion at each of Level 1 and Level 2: describe (Level 1) or explain (Level 2) the characteristics of good mental health and emotional wellbeing and create a simple (Level 1) or detailed (Level 2) personal mental health and wellbeing plan, with Level 2 including a practical safety plan. Centres choose the type of evidence and set and mark the assessment, internally verified and quality assured by Pearson standards verification. Graded Pass or Fail. 20 guided learning hours.
Skills that use Questioning
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Contributing to and leading group discussion
The support guidance expects Entry 1 learners to make basic contributions to group discussions about mental health, Level 1 learners to lead parts of a discussion, and most Level 2 learners to lead and facilitate group discussions and activities. Annexe C lists discussion as a literacy link. This describes how learners work during the unit rather than an assessment criterion, so it is not assessed in its own right.
Literacy: Collaborative talk, Listening as part of collaborative talk, Questioning
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils take turns in a small group to share one thing that helps them relax, using a talking object so everyone gets a turn.
- Year 8
- Pupils discuss in groups whether schools should have phone free days for wellbeing, with one pupil recording points of agreement and disagreement.
- Year 9
- Pupils take turns to chair a group discussion on reducing exam stress, inviting quieter members in and summarising the group's ideas at the end.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit SfL 18, Levels of supervision and support before and during assessment, page 89; Annexe C, Literacy Links column, page 163
“Most learners can lead and facilitate group discussions and activities”
Progression step 3
I can contribute to group discussion in different roles, taking responsibility for completing the task well.
I can listen in order to show agreement and disagreement in collaborative discussion and situations.
Progression step 4
I can undertake a range of responsibilities to structure and develop group talk, including in more formal situations.
I can respond to others' points of view with confidence and sensitivity, summarising and evaluating what I have heard, read or seen.
Good to know
- The unit is listed as "SfL 18 Mental health and wellbeing" with a Unit GLH of 20 (Unit summary, page 5). It counts towards the Pearson Skills for Life qualifications, for example C00/5444/7 "Pearson Level 2 Skills for Life Award" (Qualification titles, page 4).
- A unit counts only once: "Learners can only achieve each unit once, at a single level" (Rules of Combination, page 6, and Assessment of units, page 9), so schools should decide which level each learner is working towards.
- The command verbs rise by level: Entry 1 "State", Entry 2 "Outline", Entry 3 "Identify", Level 1 "Describe" and Level 2 "Explain" (assessment criteria, page 87), and the number of warning signs rises from two at Entry 1 to "at least five" at Level 1 and Level 2 (pages 88 to 89).
- Evidence is flexible: "there are no mandatory evidence requirements and centres can select the type of evidence" (Essential information for assessment decisions, page 88), so spoken and recorded evidence is acceptable.
- Annexe B ticks only literacy and digital for this unit (page 158), and Annexe C gives "No direct link" for numeracy (page 163).
- The required teaching content is in a separate document: it "can be found in the Teaching and Learning Support document for this unit" (Unit content, page 88).
- AI must be acknowledged: "If AI is used, the final submission must be in the learner's own words" (Requirements relating to permitted/prohibited resources, page 90).
- Learners "can be assessed in Welsh or English", and in British Sign Language as a reasonable adjustment (Language of assessment, page 8).
Links with other qualifications
Talking and writing about emotions, triggers and support carries over to WJEC GCSE Physical Education and Health and GCSE Health and Social Care, and Childcare, and the reflective writing supports GCSE English Language and Literature. Within the WJEC Skills Suite, Healthy Relationships, Understanding Self and Others, Looking After Others and Wellbeing and Work use the same vocabulary and discussion skills. Compared with the WJEC Mental health and wellbeing unit, where literacy sits in asking for and offering support and comparing wellbeing strategies, the Pearson unit puts more weight on written planning: Level 1 and Level 2 learners write a personal mental health and wellbeing plan, and Level 2 adds a safety plan. Neither version assesses numeracy.
Source: Pearson Entry Level 1 to Level 2 Skills for Life Award, Certificate and Diploma Qualifications specification, Issue 1, August 2026, Unit SfL 18: Mental health and wellbeing.