Skills for Work: Building a Growth Mindset
Building a Growth Mindset is a Pearson Skills for Work unit in which learners find out which skills and strategies build a growth mindset and the benefits and opportunities it brings in learning, work and situations such as receiving critical feedback. It is one 10 hour unit that learners combine with others into a Pearson Skills for Life or Skills for Work Award, Certificate or Diploma, assessed internally by the centre. Literacy sits in listing, outlining, describing and explaining ideas with examples, applying them to personal situations, and selecting information from sources. There is no numeracy in the assessment criteria, and Pearson's own mapping records no direct numeracy link.
- 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, moving from listing the skills needed to build a growth mindset and its benefits, to outlining skills, strategies, benefits and opportunities, to identifying ways to build a growth mindset and its benefits in different contexts. Evidence is internally assessed by the centre, which sets and marks the assessment, and quality assured by Pearson through standards verification. 10 guided learning hours. Graded Pass or Fail.
- Level 1 and Level 2: One assessment criterion at each of Level 1 and Level 2: describing, then explaining, how a growth mindset can be built and the benefits and opportunities it can have for an individual in different contexts and situations. Evidence is internally assessed by the centre, which sets and marks the assessment, and quality assured by Pearson through standards verification. 10 guided learning hours. Graded Pass or Fail.
Skills that use Planning and organising for different purposes, audiences and context
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Describing and explaining how a growth mindset is built
Level 1 learners describe at least four ways individuals can develop a growth mindset to overcome barriers, and Level 2 learners explain and give examples of at least four ways and explain the benefits in at least three contexts and three situations. This needs organised, connected explanation and is required by the assessment criteria.
Literacy: Planning and organising for different purposes, audiences and context, Connectives and syntax
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils write a paragraph describing one way to build a growth mindset, such as practising a skill, using because and so to link ideas.
- Year 8
- Pupils write four short paragraphs, each explaining one strategy for building a growth mindset with an example from school or sport.
- Year 9
- Pupils plan and write an organised explanation of how a growth mindset is built and why it helps in learning, work and friendships, with examples in each paragraph.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit SfW 7, assessment criteria Level 1 and Level 2, page 40; Essential information for assessment decisions, Level 1 and Level 2, page 41
“Learners can explain and provide examples of at least four ways that a growth mindset can be built”
Progression step 3
I can write a comprehensive account of a topic, theme or viewpoint.
I can use an increasing range of connectives to organise my ideas in sentences, paragraphs and whole texts.
Progression step 4
I can use summary, discussion of issues, detailed explanations and logic when covering a topic.
I can organise and construct my writing effectively, connecting and developing my ideas for a range of different contexts.
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Applying growth mindset to personal situations
Level 1 learners describe benefits and opportunities in at least two situations, such as responding to critical feedback or disappointing outcomes, and Level 2 learners explain them across at least three situations. Learners write or talk about how they would think, feel and respond, which is required by the assessment criteria.
Literacy: Purpose, Planning and organising for different purposes, audiences and context
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils read a short story about a pupil who failed a test and talk with a partner about how a fixed and a growth mindset would respond.
- Year 8
- Pupils write a diary entry about a time they received critical feedback, describing how they felt and what they could do next.
- Year 9
- Pupils write a reflective piece comparing their response to two setbacks, explaining how a growth mindset could change the outcome, using a range of techniques to show their feelings.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit SfW 7, Essential information for assessment decisions, Level 1 and Level 2, page 41
“responding to critical feedback from others or response to receiving disappointing outcomes”
Progression step 3
I can share, talk and write about my thoughts, feelings and opinions using a range of techniques to show impact.
I can write about my thoughts, feelings and opinions, showing empathy and respect.
Progression step 4
I can share, talk and write about my thoughts, feelings and opinions showing empathy and respect.
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.
Good to know
- The unit is Unit SfW 7 and is worth "10" guided learning hours (Unit summary, page 5), half the 20 hours of the WJEC unit of the same name.
- The criteria set minimum numbers of examples, for example Level 1 learners "describe at least four ways that individuals can develop a growth mindset to overcome barriers and improve outcomes" (Essential information for assessment decisions, page 41).
- Pearson records "No direct link" to numeracy for this unit (Annexe C, page 119), and the Annexe B table ticks only literacy and digital (page 116).
- Evidence is flexible: "there are no mandatory evidence requirements and centres can select the type of evidence" (Essential information for assessment decisions, page 41), so explanations can be written or spoken.
- AI tools must be acknowledged: "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 42).
- The Entry 2 guidance contains wording errors, "can have on for an individual" and "identify least two" (Essential information for assessment decisions, page 41).
Links with other qualifications
The WJEC Skills for Work unit Building a Growth Mindset covers similar ground but is 20 hours, has four learning outcomes and includes tracking a habit over a week, which gives it a small numeracy element that the 10 hour Pearson unit does not have. Writing and talking about thoughts, feelings and responses to setbacks builds on WJEC GCSE English Language and Literature, the wellbeing focus links to GCSE Physical Education and Health and the Skills for Life unit Mental health and wellbeing, and the reflective writing supports the WJEC Skills for Work units Overcoming barriers and Personal development planning, and the Personal Project.
Source: Pearson Entry Level 1 to Level 2 Skills for Work Award, Certificate and Diploma Qualifications specification, Issue 1, August 2026, Unit SfW 7: Building a growth mindset.