Personal Skills Development

ASDAN offers a range of programmes, qualifications and curriculum tools that focus on skills development at all levels.

The ASDAN Bronze/Silver programmes facilitate the development and accreditation of personal and social skills within a variety of educational contexts.

ASDAN's flagship qualification, the Certificate of Personal Effectiveness (CoPE), offers GCSE-equivalent accreditation for personal skills development. Students must use challenges from the CoPE student book to demonstrate competence at Level 1 or 2 in the following skills: Working with Others; Improving own Learning and Performance; Problem Solving; Research; Discussion; and Oral Presentation.

To achieve ASDAN's half GCSE-equivalent Award of Personal Effectiveness (AoPE) qualification, students must demonstrate competence at Level 1 or 2 in the following skills: Working as Part of a Group; Working Towards Goals; Dealing with Problems in Daily Life; Planning and Carrying out Research; Group Discussion; Preparing for and Giving a Presentation; and Developing Self. These skills can be evidenced using the ASDAN Bronze or Short Courses student books as the curriculum for AoPE.

ASDAN also offers Key Skills (Communication; Information and Communication Technology; Application of Number) and Wider Key Skills (Working with Others; Improving Own Learning and Performance; Problem Solving) as standalone qualifications at Levels 1-4.

ASDAN curriculum tools are available to support the development of Personal, Learning and Thinking Skills (PLTS), which equip young people for future employment and lifelong learning. 

Work-Related Learning

ASDAN offers a wide range of accreditation routes to support students’ achievements in their work-related learning experiences and developments. 

The Employability Qualifications, available at Entry 2 to Level 3, provide a framework for developing and recognising general employability skills, and address the requirements of the QCDA’s Career, Work-related Learning and Enterprise Framework (QCA/08/3655).

ASDAN programmes and Short Courses, particularly the Experience Of Work and Enterprise short courses, enable students to develop transferable work-related skills and gain credits towards the Certificate of Personal Effectiveness (CoPE), a GCSE-equivalent qualification.

More information is available on the Enterprise page.

Foundation Learning

Foundation Learning is the description given to all provision at Entry 1 (inclusive of all learners previously termed pre-Entry), Entry 2, Entry 3 and Level 1.
FL supports a wide group of learners, including:

• Those aged 14-19 unlikely to achieve their potential via the GCSE route
• Adults with Basic Skills gaps
• Young people/adults with learning difficulties

ASDAN’s FL provision covers the curriculum areas of Personal and Social Development (PSD) and vocational/subject-based (Employability/Volunteering). Details are available on the FL page.

Volunteering

ASDAN volunteering qualifications provide a means to recognise and accredit voluntary and community activities in formal and non-formal settings. They are for anyone aged over 14 who chooses to give their time for the benefit of the community without payment. The qualifications can aid the recruitment and retention of volunteers, as well as rewarding their contributions within particular organisations/projects.

The Community Volunteering Qualifications (CVQ) are available at Levels 1, 2 and 3, with UCAS points available for the Level 3 qualification. There is also a single-unit, 2-credit qualification at Entry 3, Level 1 and Level 2: Volunteering at an Event.

Alternatively, the Volunteering Short Course provides a means to record and recognise voluntary activity. It can count as up to six credits into the 12-credit qualification CoPE.

Supporting Diplomas

ASDAN is a Component Awarding Body (CAB) for the Diploma, offering:

• Additional and Specialist Learning through ASDAN qualifications (such as CoPE and PSD)
• Personal, Learning and Thinking Skills (PLTS) curriculum programmes, to support teaching and learning
• PLTS assessment options chosen by Diploma Consortia Partnerships

Personal, Learning and Thinking Skills equip young people for future employment and lifelong learning. They are relevant to students in a wide range of contexts across the entire learning experience from Key Stage 3 onwards, including the new Diplomas. Visit the Personal, Learning and Thinking Skills page for more information.

Special Educational Needs

ASDAN has developed a series of programmes for learners with moderate, severe, complex, profound or multiple learning difficulties, working between P Levels 1-8 (below National Curriculum Level 1/Entry 1). These Preparatory Programmes are activity-based curriculum resources, which provide a real-life context to promote the development of personal, social, independent, ICT and work-related skills, rewarding achievement with certification. For those seeking a qualification outcome for Preparatory Programmes: New Horizons, Transition Challenge, Towards Independence, Workright, Literacy and Numeracy in Everyday Life can be used to support the delivery of the Entry 1 Qualifications in Personal Progress.

In addition to Personal Progress, a range of qualifications are available within Foundation Learning, covering both personal and social development and vocational strands. These include:

• PSD
• Employability
• AoPE
• CVQ
• Diplomas in Life Skills

Key Stage 2

Key Stage 3

Changes in National Curriculum requirements at Key Stage 3 and the removal of SATs have opened up new opportunities for teachers working with Years 7-9. ASDAN’s programmes - especially Bronze and Short Courses - can be used to certificate and accredit PSHE and Citizenship activities, as well as other entitlement experiences such as physical education, creative and expressive arts, enterprise education and financial understanding. Students can start GCSE-equivalent qualifications, such as CoPE, AoPE or the Wider Key Skills, early and develop Personal, Learning and Thinking Skills (PLTS), which are now a requirement within Key Stage 3.

Key Stage 4

ASDAN’s range of qualifications, including CoPE, PSD, AoPE and Wider Key Skills, can ‘add value’ and enhance levels of attainment and achievement across the ability range at Key Stage 4. Many schools have reported a significant increase in GCSE points scores.

Post-16

ASDAN offers a range of Level 3 programmes qualifications, which provide ways to encourage and accredit enrichment and extra-curricular activities. The UCAS How to Apply Guidance recommends that students provide details of such achievements in their Personal Statements. The ASDAN Universities Award is a good example.

The UCAS Tariff Board has also confirmed that the following UCAS points have been agreed for ASDAN Level 3 qualifications:

• CoPE Level 3: 70 UCAS points
• AoPE Level 3: (UCAS tariff TBC)
• Certificate of Community Volunteering (CVQ) Level 3: 50 points
• Award of Community Volunteering (CVQ) Level 3: 30 points
• 20 UCAS tariff points for each of the Key Skills (including Wider Key Skills) at Level 3

ASDAN also offers qualifications as preparation for the world of work, especially:

• Employability

and a full range of Level 1 and 2 qualifications.

Training

Vocational training often benefits from the study of generic employability skills and personal and social development. ASDAN's Employability qualifications have national approval in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and have been endorsed by the Sector Skills Council (ASSET Skills) with responsibility for Employability; they are therefore eligible to be used within apprenticeship frameworks. In addition, Wider Key Skills provides accreditation for PLTS (Personal, Learning and Thinking Skills), and PSD qualifications provide opportunities to recognise personal development.

Non-formal Education

ASDAN emphasises the importance of rewarding personal achievement and celebrating success, of promoting personal development and skills acquisition, and of enabling young people to fully develop their positive attributes. Download the Positive About Youth flyer for details of how to recognise and value non-formal learning. 

PSHE education

ASDAN has developed curriculum programmes and qualifications, which deliver the specified learning outcomes of the PSHE and Citizenship national frameworks, across the whole ability range in Years 3-11.

• Key Stage 2: Stepping Stones
• Key Stage 3: Key Steps
• Key Stage 4: PSD - Personal and Social Development Qualifications - Entry 1 to Level 2
• Plus the ASDAN Short Courses in PSHE and Citizenship, targeted at students aged 13-19

More information is available on the PSHE and ASDAN page.

Literacy and Numeracy

The English Language and Mathematics Short Courses can be used to accelerate progress for 11-13 year olds in English and Maths, to help boost the subsequent 5 A*-C floor targets. Accreditation is available through the half GCSE-equivalent AoPE qualification. These programmes can also be used as a route into the full GCSE-equivalent CoPE qualification.

Adult Literacy and Numeracy, also known as Basic Skills, are qualifications designed to help learners improve their literacy, language and numeracy skills and are available from ASDAN at Levels 1 and 2. Each of the qualifications of Literacy and Numeracy are worth 12.5 points at Level 1, and 23 points at Level 2 (half of a GCSE each).

ASDAN has created some practical resources to support the development of Functional Skills - Function Junction (student resources in English and Mathematics). These are designed to help students build and practise their Functional English and Functional Mathematics skills at Levels 1 and 2.

Personal Finance

The Personal Finance Short Course certificates up to 60 hours of financial capability and economic wellbeing activities, with accreditation available through the half GCSE-equivalent AoPE qualification. The Award book and Teaching and Learning Resource Pack have been awarded the pfeg Quality Mark. There is also a full GCSE-equivalent qualification outcome available using the Certificate of Personal Effectiveness: CoPE Through Personal Finance. Download the CoPE through Personal Finance flyer for details.

The PSD qualifications feature Personal Finance units: Managing Money and Your Money in the Future. Personal Finance is also covered in various ASDAN curriculum programmes, including Stepping Stones (KS2), Key Steps (KS3), PSHE Short Course, Bronze/Silver, Transition Challenge (KS4 special needs) and Towards Independence (Post-16 special needs).

Environment

The ASDAN Environmental Short Course developed in partnership with Eco-Schools, certificates up to 60 hours of activities for environmental projects and programmes, with accreditation available through the half GCSE-equivalent AoPE qualification. There is also a full GCSE-equivalent qualification outcome available using the Certificate of Personal Effectiveness: CoPE Through Environmental Managing and Monitoring. Download the CoPE through Environmental Management and Monitoring flyer for details.

The Environment is also covered in various ASDAN curriculum programmes and qualifications, including the PSD qualifications, Stepping Stones (KS2), Key Steps (KS3), Bronze/Silver, Transition Challenge (KS4 special needs) and Towards Independence (Post-16 special needs).