Skills for Life: Skills in the Natural Environment
Skills in the Natural Environment is a Pearson Skills for Life unit in which learners learn outdoor survival skills or sustainable living practices, such as building a shelter, filtering water, foraging safely, planting and composting, and take part in, then plan and lead, an activity outdoors. 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, assessed internally through a centre set assignment. Literacy sits in naming, describing and explaining survival skills and natural features, following instructions outdoors, and planning and leading an activity. Numeracy is light and optional: map scales and planning time and resources where used.
- 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, moving from listing simple survival skills and features of the natural environment and taking part in a simple outdoor activity, to identifying survival skills and their purposes and taking part in a basic survival or sustainable-living activity. Evidence is chosen by the centre, which sets and marks the assessment; Pearson quality assures it through standards verification. 20 guided learning hours.
- Level 1 and Level 2: One assessment criterion at Level 1 (describe the importance of survival skills and sustainability, then plan and take part in a basic survival or sustainable-living activity) and one at Level 2 (explain survival skills and sustainability principles, then independently plan and carry out such an activity). Evidence is chosen by the centre, which sets and marks the assessment; Pearson quality assures it through standards verification. 20 guided learning hours.
Skills that use Clarity and vocabulary
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Naming and describing survival skills and natural features
Entry 1 learners list at least two simple survival skills and two features of the natural environment, Entry 2 learners outline at least three survival skills, and Entry 3 learners identify at least three survival skills and three features and their purposes, such as trees giving oxygen. This is required by the Entry Level assessment criteria.
Literacy: Clarity and vocabulary, Vocabulary, spelling, grammar
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils label a photo of a woodland with the names of five natural features and one use of each.
- Year 8
- Pupils build a word bank of survival terms, such as shelter, tinder and filtration, and use each in a sentence about a camping trip.
- Year 9
- Pupils write a field guide entry for three local habitats, describing their features and purposes with accurate vocabulary.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit SfL 24, Assessment criteria Entry 1 to Entry 3, page 112; Essential information for assessment decisions, Entry 1 to Entry 3, page 113
“identify at least three survival skills and three features of the natural environment”
Progression step 3
I can express issues and ideas clearly using area of learning and experience/discipline-specific vocabulary and examples.
I can use varied, appropriate and precise vocabulary including area of learning and experience/discipline-specific words for different purposes.
Progression step 4
I have experienced a range of area of learning and experience/discipline-specific and general academic vocabulary, and can use them in my own communication.
I have experienced a range of area of learning and experience/discipline-specific and general academic vocabulary, and can use them in my own communication.
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Following and giving instructions outdoors
Entry 1 learners follow simple, structured instructions to take part in an outdoor task, and Entry 2 to Level 1 learners carry out structured tasks with less support. Level 2 learners lead or manage a task, for example running a sustainability workshop, which means giving instructions and adjusting them to suit the group. This is required by the assessment criteria, which ask learners to participate in or carry out an activity.
Literacy: Listening to understand, Collaborative talk, Clarity and vocabulary
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils listen to a spoken safety briefing before a litter pick and repeat the three main rules to a partner.
- Year 8
- Pupils take turns in a group to explain one step of planting seeds while the others carry it out.
- Year 9
- Pupils lead a small group of younger pupils through building a bug hotel, giving clear instructions and changing their explanation when the group is unsure.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit SfL 24, Essential information for assessment decisions, Entry 1 and Level 2, pages 113 to 114
“follow simple, structured instructions to engage in an outdoor task with guidance”
Progression step 3
I can listen to and understand information about a variety of topics, summarising the main points.
I can contribute to group discussion in different roles, taking responsibility for completing the task well.
Progression step 4
I can listen to and consider the relevance and significance of information and ideas presented to me.
I can undertake a range of responsibilities to structure and develop group talk, including in more formal situations.
Progression step 5
I can present ideas and issues to meet the demands of different audiences.
Good to know
- The unit is Unit SfL 24 and carries 20 guided learning hours: "SfL 24 Skills in the natural environment 20" (Unit summary, page 5), the same size as the WJEC unit of the same name.
- A unit counts once only: "Learners can only achieve each unit once, at a single level" (Rules of Combination, page 6).
- Pearson's mapping lists the literacy links as "Plans/notes/logbooks; describing features and purposes; reflection on environmental impact", and qualifies the numeracy links, map scales and planning resources and time, with "(where used)" (Annexe C, page 164).
- Entry learners can show understanding without writing: Entry 1 learners can "recognise and list at least two simple survival skills" with "prompts and physical support" (Essential information for assessment decisions, page 113).
- Evidence is the centre's choice: "there are no mandatory evidence requirements and centres can select the type of evidence" (page 113), and "observation records, witness testimony" are accepted forms of evidence (Internal assessment, page 9).
- AI may be used, but "the final submission must be in the learner's own words and reflect their own effort" (Requirements relating to permitted/prohibited resources, page 114).
Links with other qualifications
Describing and explaining natural features, environmental issues and sustainability supports the explanatory writing in GCSE Geography and GCSE English Language and Literature, and the ecology links to the biology in GCSE The Sciences and GCSE Integrated Science. Map scales are shared with GCSE Geography and GCSE Mathematics and Numeracy. Leading an activity and giving instructions outdoors links with the WJEC Foundation and VCSE in Sport and Leisure, and within the Skills Suite the unit pairs with Sustainability in Action and Practical Gardening. Compared with the WJEC Skills in the Natural Environment unit, also 20 guided learning hours, the Pearson unit asks for less analysis of human impact on ecosystems but more planning, as Level 2 learners plan and lead or manage their own activity; neither unit assesses numeracy directly.
Source: Pearson Entry Level 1 to Level 2 Skills for Life Award, Certificate and Diploma Qualifications specification, Issue 1, August 2026, Unit SfL 24: Skills in the natural environment.