LNF Cymru Literacy and numeracy for Wales

← All qualifications

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 Interpreting data

  1. Interpreting fitness results against standards and normative data

    Assessed: In coursework (non-examination assessment, NEA)

    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.

  2. Collecting and analysing survey feedback

    Assessed: In coursework (non-examination assessment, NEA)

    To review their Unit 4 project, learners collect participant feedback, for example through questionnaires or surveys, and analyse the data collected to judge how far the aims and objectives were met.

    Numeracy: Collecting data, Representing data, Interpreting data

    Getting pupils ready

    Year 7
    Pupils tally the answers to a five-question survey about a lunchtime club and draw a bar chart of the most popular activities.
    Year 8
    Pupils survey a year group before and after a recycling campaign and show the change with a pair of bar charts and percentages.
    Year 9
    Pupils design a feedback questionnaire with rating questions for a peer buddy scheme, present the results in a suitable chart, and write conclusions that note the limits of a small sample.
    Show the specification wording and the LNF statements

    Where it is in the specification: Unit 4, Section 4.3.4, page 56

    “analysing data collected to support the review”
    Progression step 3

    • I can collect relevant data to answer posed questions.

    • I can select and construct appropriate charts, diagrams and graphs with suitable scales.

    • I can represent data using:

      • lists, tally charts, tables, diagrams and frequency tables
      • bar charts, grouped data charts, line graphs and conversion graphs
      • pictograms where one symbol represents more than one unit using a key
      • Venn and Carroll diagrams.
    Progression step 4

    • I can collect own data for a survey, e.g. through designing a questionnaire.

    • I can construct and interpret graphs and diagrams (including pie charts) to represent discrete or continuous data, choosing an appropriate scale.

    • I can draw conclusions from data and recognise that some conclusions may be misleading or uncertain.

    Progression step 5

    • I can collect data in a suitable way according to my hypothesis.

    • I can select and construct appropriate charts, diagrams and graphs with suitable scales.

    • I can interpret mathematical information; drawing inferences from graphs, diagrams and data, including discussion on limitations of data.

  3. Interpreting local demographic data

    Assessed: In coursework (non-examination assessment, NEA)

    In Unit 4 learners research the demographic of their local authority area, such as its age profile, employment levels and rural or urban character, and use public data to investigate a community wellbeing issue linked to a Public Service Board objective.

    Numeracy: Interpreting data, Relationships within the number system, The number system, Calculation

    Getting pupils ready

    Year 7
    Pupils read a bar chart of the age groups living in their town and say which group is largest and which is smallest.
    Year 8
    Pupils compare the percentage of people aged over 65 in their local authority with the figure for Wales as a whole, using a table of census data.
    Year 9
    Pupils use StatsWales or census tables for their local authority to describe its age profile and employment, express groups as percentages, and say what local needs the figures suggest.
    Show the specification wording and the LNF statements

    Where it is in the specification: Unit 4, Section 4.2.1, page 54

    “researching the local demographic (for example, age profile, employment levels, rural/urban characteristics)”
    Progression step 3

    • I can extract and interpret information from an increasing range of diagrams, timetables and graphs (including pie charts).

    • I can use equivalence of fractions, decimals and percentages to compare proportions.

    • I can read and write numbers to 1 million and numbers to 3 decimal places.

    Progression step 4

    • I can interpret graphs that describe real-life situations, including those used in the media, recognising that some graphs may be misleading.

    • I can interpret mathematical information; drawing inferences from graphs, diagrams and data, including discussion on limitations of data.

    • I can express one quantity as a percentage of another.

    Progression step 5

    • I can interpret graphs that describe real-life situations, including those used in the media, recognising that some graphs may be misleading.

    • I can interpret mathematical information; drawing inferences from graphs, diagrams and data, including discussion on limitations of data.

Good to know

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).