VCSE Public Services
VCSE Public Services asks learners to read and judge sources on a local wellbeing issue, write proposals, evaluations and justified recommendations, and adapt spoken and written communication for different audiences, with analysis and evaluation (AO3) carrying 34% of the qualification and 80% of the marks coming from NEA. Numeracy depends on the optional unit: Unit 3 is built on measuring fitness, comparing results with public service standards and normative data and measuring improvement from a baseline, while Unit 4 asks for interpreting local demographic data and analysing survey feedback. The single biggest thing KS3 should build is the habit of collecting real data, working out what has changed and writing a justified conclusion that quotes the figures.
- Awarding body
- WJEC
- Level
- Level 1 and Level 2
- First taught
- September 2027
- Amount of literacy work
- High
- Amount of numeracy work
- Medium
- Specification
- Open the specification
- Step before
- Foundation Public Services, Entry Level and Level 1
How this qualification is assessed
- Unit 1: Introduction to the Public Services Sector: External sector test 1 hour, 20%, 50 marks, set and marked by WJEC, paper-based or on-screen
- Unit 2: Public Services in Action: External NEA 5 hours, 20%, 62 marks, set and marked by WJEC, set brief with five tasks that changes each year
- Unit 3: Wellbeing and Fitness for Public Services (optional, taken instead of Unit 4): NEA 11 hours (not including the six-week health and fitness training programme), 60%, 98 marks, set by WJEC, marked by the centre and moderated by WJEC
- Unit 4: Citizenship and Community within Public Services (optional, taken instead of Unit 3): NEA 10 hours (not including the small-scale community or school-based wellbeing project), 60%, 98 marks, set by WJEC, marked by the centre and moderated by WJEC
Skills that use Communicating with symbols
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Carrying out fitness tests and measuring accurately
Unit 3 learners perform a range of fitness tests, such as timed runs, sprints, handgrip, vertical jump and sit and reach, follow correct procedures, and understand validity and reliability in testing. Results come in seconds, metres, centimetres, levels and repetitions, and the public service entry tests use set distances such as a 2.4km run.
Numeracy: Measurement, Communicating with symbols, Strategic competence, The number system
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils time each other over a 30m sprint with stopwatches, record the times in seconds to one decimal place, and put the results in order.
- Year 8
- Pupils measure sit and reach in centimetres and vertical jump in centimetres, take three tries each and discuss why the readings differ.
- Year 9
- Pupils run a set of tests including handgrip in kilograms and the ruler drop in centimetres, record every result with its unit, and explain the main sources of measurement error.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 3, Section 3.2.3, page 44; Unit 3, Section 3.2.2, page 44
“perform a range of fitness tests linked to components of fitness”
Progression step 3
I can read and interpret scales or divisions on a range of measuring instruments.
I can convert metric units of length to smaller units, e.g. cm to mm, m to cm, km to m.
I can time events in minutes and seconds, and order the results.
Progression step 4
I can read and interpret scales on a range of measuring instruments.
I can use the common units of measure, convert between related units of the metric system and carry out calculations.
I can interpret fractions of a second appropriately.
Progression step 5
I can use appropriate notation, symbols and units of measurement, including compound measures.
I can identify, measure or obtain required information to complete the task.
I can recognise and define limitations on accuracy of measurements, e.g. upper and lower bounds.
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Using health measures such as BMI and resting heart rate
Unit 3 learners must understand blood pressure, body mass index and resting heart rate as measures of physical health and how they affect performance in fitness tests. BMI is worked out from a formula using mass and height.
Numeracy: Measurement, Fluency, Calculation, Conceptual understanding, Communicating with symbols
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils count their pulse for 15 seconds and multiply by four to find beats per minute, then compare resting and after-exercise figures.
- Year 8
- Pupils use a calculator to work out BMI for made-up examples by dividing mass in kilograms by height in metres squared, and check that the answers are sensible.
- Year 9
- Pupils work out heart rate training zones as percentages of an estimated maximum heart rate and decide whether readings from a training session fall in the right zone.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 3, Section 3.2.1, page 43
“measures of physical health and how these influence performance in fitness tests”
Progression step 3
I can read and interpret scales or divisions on a range of measuring instruments.
I can use a calculator effectively and efficiently to carry out calculations.
Progression step 4
I can demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between a formula representing a measurement and the units used.
I can use the order of operations including brackets and powers.
I can use a scientific calculator effectively and efficiently to carry out calculations using the available range of function keys.
Progression step 5
I can interpret answers within the context of the problem and consider whether answers, including calculator, analogue and digital displays, are sensible.
I can use appropriate notation, symbols and units of measurement, including compound measures.
I can use a scientific calculator effectively and efficiently to carry out calculations using the available range of function keys.
Good to know
- Literacy and numeracy are named as essential skills for the sector: 'Learners should know the entry requirements and essential skills needed to progress into public service roles' (Unit 1, Section 1.5.2, page 24).
- Analysis and evaluation carry the most weight of any objective: 'Analyse and/or evaluate information, evidence or ideas, to make connections and/or form reasoned judgements within public services contexts' is AO3, 34% overall (page 58).
- The only examination is short and mostly objective: 'Section A covers AO1 and will include a range of objective question types' (page 59), so extended writing sits in the NEA units.
- Spoken work can count but must be recorded: 'performance evidence (for example, presentations) must be documented using observation records' (page 61).
- Numeracy depends on the route: 'Centres/Learners may then choose either Unit 3 or Unit 4.' (page 6). Unit 3 is far more numerate than Unit 4, and the specification names no calculator or spreadsheet requirement.
Links with other qualifications
The Unit 3 fitness testing, normative data and percentage improvement work matches GCSE Physical Education and Health, and the Unit 4 source reading, local demographic data and justified recommendations overlap with GCSE Social Studies and Geography, so these departments can share one KS3 approach to data and evaluative writing.
Source: WJEC Level 1/Level 2 VCSE Public Services specification, approved by Qualifications Wales, teaching from September 2027, for award from 2029 (© WJEC CBAC Ltd 2026).