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 Logical reasoning
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Measuring improvement from a baseline
At the end of the six-week programme Unit 3 learners retest to measure improvement from their baseline, judge how far SMART targets were met, and compare results with normative data. Working out the change, and the percentage change, is the natural way to show this.
Numeracy: Calculation, Logical reasoning
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils find the difference between their first and second 30m sprint times and say whether they got faster or slower.
- Year 8
- Pupils work out the percentage improvement in their one-minute press-up score after two weeks of practice.
- Year 9
- Pupils calculate the percentage change for four fitness tests over six weeks, rank the improvements and use the figures to argue which part of their training worked best.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 3, Section 3.3.3, page 47
“using fitness tests to measure improvements from baseline tests”
Progression step 3
I can calculate a percentage, fraction and decimal of any quantity with a calculator where appropriate.
I can add and subtract numbers using whole numbers and decimals.
Progression step 4
I can calculate a percentage increase or decrease.
I can express one quantity as a percentage of another.
Progression step 5
I can use multipliers as an efficient method when working with percentages, e.g. multiply by 1.2 to increase an amount by 20%.
I can construct and develop a mathematical argument.
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).