Skills for Life: Values for Life
Values for Life is a Pearson Skills for Life unit on personal and societal values, how they are formed, their benefits and costs, and how they act as a moral compass in a changing world. It is one 10 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 by the centre. Literacy carries the unit: learners list, outline, describe and explain values in speech or writing, from prompted sentences at Entry 1 to extended written explanations at Level 2, and Annexe C adds discussion and debate. Numeracy is light: Annexe C suggests only interpreting simple infographics, and no criterion needs calculation.
- Awarding body
- Pearson
- Level
- Entry Level 1 to Level 2
- Guided learning hours
- 10
- 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, rising from listing personal and societal values to identifying how values are formed and the benefits and costs of values in society. There are no mandatory evidence requirements, so the centre chooses the evidence. Internally assessed by the centre through a centre-devised assignment or Pearson's adaptable Authorised Assignment Brief, subject to Pearson standards verification, graded Pass or Fail. 10 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) how personal values and those of society can act as a moral compass in a changing world. There are no mandatory evidence requirements. Internally assessed by the centre through a centre-devised assignment or Pearson's adaptable Authorised Assignment Brief, subject to Pearson standards verification, graded Pass or Fail. 10 guided learning hours.
Skills that use Purpose
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Explaining how values were formed
From Entry 2 learners outline how their values were formed, and at Entry 3 and Level 1 they give examples of influences such as upbringing, community, culture and media, describing how values shape their own behaviour. Level 2 learners explain their own values and their origins. This is required by the assessment criteria.
Literacy: Planning and organising for different purposes, audiences and context, Purpose
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils draw a values tree with roots labelled family, school and friends, and write a sentence for each root about a value it taught them.
- Year 8
- Pupils interview a family member about a value they hold and write a paragraph on where that value came from.
- Year 9
- Pupils write a reflective piece on how media and culture have shaped one of their values, giving a specific example.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Assessment criteria, Entry 2 to Level 2, page 128; Essential information for assessment decisions, pages 129 to 130
“drawing on influences such as upbringing, community, culture, and media”
Progression step 3
I can write about my thoughts, feelings and opinions, showing empathy and respect.
I can share, talk and write about my thoughts, feelings and opinions using a range of techniques to show impact.
Progression step 4
I can write about my thoughts, feelings and opinions, using a range of techniques, e.g. emotive language, hyperbole, choice of pronouns (you, we), to show impact.
I can share, talk and write about my thoughts, feelings and opinions showing empathy and respect.
Good to know
- The unit is "SfL 28" with 10 guided learning hours (Unit summary, page 6), half the 20 hours of the WJEC Values for life unit. "Learners can only achieve each unit once, at a single level" (Rules of Combination, page 6).
- Spoken and visual evidence is accepted: there are "no mandatory evidence requirements", and Entry 1 evidence may be "short, prompted sentences or short audio recordings" (Essential information for assessment decisions, page 129).
- Writing grows with the level: Entry 2 learners use "sentence starters" (page 129), while Level 2 evidence "may include extended written explanations" (page 130).
- Final work must be the learner's own words: "If AI is used, the final submission must be in the learner's own words and reflect their own effort" (Requirements relating to permitted/prohibited resources, page 131).
- The teaching content is in Pearson's separate Teaching and Learning Support document, not the specification (Unit content, page 129), and the Authorised Assignment Brief is optional: "AABs are not mandatory" (page 1).
- Annexe B ticks Numeracy for this unit (page 158), but Annexe C limits it to interpreting infographics "(where used)" (page 165), so do not expect assessed numeracy.
Links with other qualifications
The talk and writing about beliefs, ethics and how society shapes values sit closest to GCSE Religious Studies, which Pearson links through the Religion, Values and Ethics guidance (page 132), and to GCSE Social Studies; explaining and justifying opinions in extended writing supports GCSE English Language and Literature. Within the WJEC Skills Suite, Ethical choices and Faith and belief in the community use similar discussion and explanation. Compared with the WJEC Values for life unit, the Pearson unit is half the size (10 hours, not 20), has one criterion per level instead of four learning outcomes, and asks learners to weigh the benefits and costs of values, which the Level 2 guidance extends to the difficulties of holding particular values.
Source: Pearson Entry Level 1 to Level 2 Skills for Life Award, Certificate and Diploma Qualifications Specification, Issue 1, August 2026, Unit SfL 28: Values for life.