ASDAN Qualifications

All of ASDAN's Qualifications have been approved by the regulatory authorities for England (QCA), Wales (DCELLS), and Northern Ireland (CCEA), and are approved by the Secretary of State under Section 96 and 97 of the Learning and Skills Act, for pre and post 16 provision.

Qualification Codes and Performance Points

ASDAN Qualifications are now counted alongside GCSEs in League Tables, as the revised School and College Achievement and Attainment Tables now include points for ASDAN's qualifications. Please click here for Qualification codes and performance points, click the following link for information on how data is processed, and click here for information on funding.

UCAS also recognises CoPE Level 3 as worth 70 UCAS points. It confirmed the place of CoPE in preparing students for HE and supporting the Diploma in the UCAS January mailing to Admissions Officers in Higher Education Institutions - read this extract for information.

Foundation Learning Tier

Click here for further information about the Foundation Learning Tier.

ASDAN Qualifications

Please click on the relevant qualification title below for further information, including details of structure, costs, and staff training/development opportunities:

• Key Skills (including the Wider Key Skills) Levels 1-4
• Basic Skills (Skills for Life/Adult Literacy and Numeracy/ALAN)
• Certificate in Life Skills (Entry Level) Entry Levels 1-3
• Certificate in Career Planning Levels 1-3
• Certificate of Personal Effectiveness (CoPE) Levels 1 and 2
• Award of Personal Effectiveness (AoPE) Level 1
• Certificate of Personal Effectiveness (CoPE) Level 3
• Personal and Social Development (PSD) Levels 1 and 2
• Personal and Social Development (PSD) Entry 1, 2 and 3
• Volunteering Qualifications  Levels 1 to 3
• Employability Entry 2 - Level 3
• Functional Skills
• Personal Progress Entry 1

Centre Approval

This is a mandatory requirement. Centres registering for any ASDAN qualifications (Key Skills, Wider Key Skills, Skills For Life (Basic Skills), Certificate In Life Skills, Certificate in Career Planning, Community Volunteering, CoPE, Employability Award, PSD) must complete the Centre Approval Checklist and Staffing Update Record in order to comply with QCA regulatory requirements.

• Approval Checklist (PDF/Word)
• Staffing Update (PDF/Word)
• Completed example of Approval Checklist
• Centre Approval - Questions and Answers

Please note: There is no requirement for centres to complete these forms if they are going to offer ASDAN Award Programmes only (e.g. Bronze Award).

Centres registering for QCF Qualifications - important information

• QCF Guidelines for centres
• QCA Information, News and Reports
• Learner Registration Service
• Learner Achievement (LAR) Record System

Quality Assurance: Safeguarding the Standards

Centres need to be aware of the role QA plays in maintaining the validity and reliability of the qualifications they offer to their learners. Click here for an explanation of what QA means in the context of sampling and moderation, so that next time external moderation comes round you will be fully prepared to meet the requirements.

Diploma and Personal Learning and Thinking Skills (PLTS) Developments

ASDAN is a Component Awarding Body for the Diploma - "an exciting new 14-19 qualification that will bring an innovative approach to learning and enable students to gain knowledge, understanding and hands-on experience of sectors that they are interested in, while putting new skills into practice." (QCA website)

Click here to access information about ASDAN's contributions to the Diploma and the development of Personal, Learning and Thinking Skills (PLTS).