Skills for Life: Science and Technology in Everyday Life
Science and technology in everyday life is a 20 hour Skills for Life unit, from Entry 1 to Level 2, which learners combine with other units into a Skills for Life or Skills for Work Award, Certificate or Diploma. Learners explore how technology is used in daily life, complete personal tasks online, protect personal information and consider the social, legal and ethical effects of technology. Literacy sits in reading and following on-screen instructions and in giving, describing and explaining benefits, risks and effects, orally or in writing. Numeracy is light: comparing prices and checking balances in online shopping and banking appear only as examples in the amplification.
- 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, each with assessment criteria at Entry 1, Entry 2 and Entry 3 (unit codes S623E1, S623E2 and S623E3). Evidence is compiled into 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, each with assessment criteria at Level 1 and Level 2 (unit codes S623L1 and S623L2). Evidence is compiled into a portfolio, internally assessed by the centre and externally quality assured by WJEC. 20 guided learning hours.
Skills that use Vocabulary, spelling, grammar
-
Writing polite and responsible online messages
Learners practise communicating responsibly through emails, messages and social platforms, being polite and not sharing harmful content. This comes from the amplification for learning outcomes 3 and 4 and the suggested activities, not from a separate assessment criterion, although messages written for learning outcome 2 tasks can be used as evidence.
Literacy: Planning and organising for different purposes, audiences and context, Vocabulary, spelling, grammar
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils rewrite a blunt text message as a polite one and talk about how the tone changes.
- Year 8
- Pupils write a short email to a teacher asking for help with homework, with a subject line, greeting and sign off.
- Year 9
- Pupils write a formal email to a local business asking about work experience and a friendly message to a friend about the same plan, and compare the language choices.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Amplification of LO3, page 12; amplification of LO4, page 12; Suggested activities, page 14
“communicating responsibly online, e.g. polite messages, not”
Progression step 3
I can adapt my writing style and structure to suit the audience, purpose and context, e.g. suitable balance between facts and viewpoints, a precise conclusion.
I can present my work appropriately in digital contexts.
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 present my work appropriately in digital contexts using appropriate digital conventions, e.g. thumbnails, language preferences.
Good to know
- Each level has its own unit code: "S623E1", "S623E2", "S623E3", "S623L1" and "S623L2" (Unit overview, page 3).
- Explanations do not have to be long essays: "Whilst evidence may be verbal, written, practical or visual, extended written work is not required unless appropriate", and judgements should not focus "on spelling or presentation unless specifically assessed" (Sources of evidence, page 15).
- Oral evidence counts: sources include "Q&A/discussion notes about benefits, risks, or responsible technology use" and "audio/video recordings of learners demonstrating communication via email, messaging, or video calls" (Sources of evidence, page 15).
- Entry Level activities can be "scaffolded using visual prompts, simplified interfaces, signing, objects, symbolised text" (Suggested activities, page 14), and accessibility tools such as "screen readers, or translation tools" can be used to complete tasks.
- Learn My Way, a free platform for online basics, shopping and forms, "is available in Welsh and English" (Resources available to support delivery, page 17).
- AI tools can be used only if acknowledged; learners "risk committing malpractice if AI is misused", including "Copying or paraphrasing whole responses of AI-generated content" (Skills for Life and Work specification, Section 4.6, page 21).
- Suggested assessment tasks in the pack "are not mandatory"; teachers may use, adapt or replace them (Skills for Life and Work specification, Section 4.1, page 18).
Links with other qualifications
Reading on-screen instructions and explaining the benefits and risks of technology supports the non-fiction reading and explanatory writing in GCSE English Language and Literature and GCSE Cymraeg Language and Literature, and the work on scams, misinformation and data protection is shared with GCSE Digital Technology and GCSE Computer Science, which the pack links to through Digital Technology. The money examples link to the financial literacy content of GCSE Mathematics and Numeracy. In the Skills Suite the pack names Online safety, Financial literacy, Digital film and media, Sustainability in action, Business finance and Using IT in the workplace as units to deliver alongside it, and Financial literacy carries the fuller numeracy.
Source: WJEC Science and technology in everyday life 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).