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 Conceptual understanding
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Interpreting fitness results against standards and normative data
Learners interpret their fitness levels to find strengths and areas for improvement, compare results with minimum public service fitness standards and normative data, establish a baseline and set SMART targets. This is central to the Unit 3 NEA.
Numeracy: Interpreting data, Conceptual understanding
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils read a simple normative table for sit and reach and say which band their own score falls into.
- Year 8
- Pupils compare the class's bleep test levels with a pass level given by the teacher, work out the mean, and say how many pupils met the standard.
- Year 9
- Pupils compare their own results with normative tables and a set entry standard, find the class median and range, and write a SMART target with a number and a date.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 3, Section 3.2.4, page 45; Unit 3, Section 3.2.2, page 44
“compare results against minimum public service fitness standards”
Progression step 3
I can extract and interpret information from an increasing range of diagrams, timetables and graphs (including pie charts).
I can draw conclusions from data and recognise that some conclusions may be misleading or uncertain.
I can use mean to interpret a simple data set.
Progression step 4
I can interpret mathematical information; drawing inferences from graphs, diagrams and data, including discussion on limitations of data.
I can use mean, median, mode and range to compare data (continuous and discrete), and can choose the most appropriate average.
I can explore trends and extreme values (outliers) for data sets.
Progression step 5
I can interpret mathematical information; drawing inferences from graphs, diagrams and data, including discussion on limitations of data.
I can draw conclusions from data and recognise that some conclusions may be misleading or uncertain.
I can interpret answers within the context of the problem and consider whether answers, including calculator, analogue and digital displays, are sensible.
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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).