Personal and Social Effectiveness Level 1 and 2
About this course
What is it?
ASDAN's Personal and Social Effectiveness (PSE) qualifications are designed to develop competencies in communication, collaboration and emotional intelligence for learners working at Level 1 and Level 2.
Available to deliver in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the qualifications contain a wide variety of flexible and engaging challenges, empowering young people to take control of their learning, discover themselves, and build respectful and inclusive relationships.
Read the Personal and Social Effectiveness (PSE) qualifications specification
ASDAN’s Personal and Social Effectiveness qualifications are available until their current final learner registration dates (30 September 2026 in Wales / 31 August 2026 in all other locations) and final certification dates.
Centres with existing endorsements for Personal and Social Effectiveness qualifications will receive direct communication detailing the support that ASDAN has put in place for them.
To support our members with the ending of these qualifications we have created some answers to FAQs.
Please contact qualifications@asdan.org.uk or your ASDAN relationship manager if you would like more information or guidance regarding the expiry of the Personal and Social Effectiveness qualifications.
Join ASDAN
To teach this course you must have one of these membership types:
- Qualifications
- Customised accreditation
Already a member? Sign in
Who is it for?
- Learners in Years 10 and 11 (Key Stage 4)
- Learners in post-16 education, embarking on programmes at Levels 1 and 2
Facts and figures
Personal and Social Effectiveness qualifications (PSE):
- Develop targeted skills, attributes and values as well as cumulatively developing learners’ vocabulary stores, understanding and fluency
- Give learners regular opportunities to explore all elements of the curriculum and situate their learning in topics, activities and experiences that have meaning for them
- Provide a pedagogical focus on regular feedback to support the learning process
- Comprise streamlined course content that is intuitive to deliver and assess
- Contain competencies developed in a global context that represent the culture and heritage of young people in greatest need in the UK
- Following amendments to the school and college performance tables in England, qualifications that do not rely on a written examination for assessment purposes, such as ASDAN qualifications, do not themselves, contribute to the tables. There is however, strong evidence that ASDAN qualifications improve performance in English and mathematics, which have a double weighting in school performance measures such as Progress 8
- In Wales and Northern Ireland, ASDAN qualifications can contribute towards school/college performance measures. Download this information sheet for details
Structure
Award and certificate-sized qualifications will be available at both Level 1 and 2. The estimated time taken to complete the award is 100 hours and the certificate will take approximately 160 hours.
Students will produce a portfolio of evidence to demonstrate their achievements.
Learners develop their skills through the completion of formative challenges prior to being assessed through a summative challenge.
Units and standards
Learners must complete units one to three in order to achieve the award, and units one to four to achieve the certificate. In the award, learners are assessed on how they have developed the ability to:
- understand and develop themselves and their own performance
- work with others in teams
- develop and use problem solving skills
In the certificate, learners will additionally be assessed on how they have developed the ability to deliver a project. This includes planning, research, presentation and discussion.
Units and topics
Unit one: Developing myself and my performance
- Health and wellbeing
- International links
- Digital communications
- Beliefs and values
Unit two: Working with others
- Citizenship and community
- Sport and leisure
- Environment
- Enterprise
- Beliefs and values
Unit three: Problem solving
- Science and technology
- Expressive arts
- Independent living
- Vocational preparation
Unit four: Delivering a project (certificate only)
- Building on the knowledge, skills and attributes of the first three units, the learner chooses their project linked to one or more topics from units 1-3
The below sample materials are available to download for free:
- Personal and Social Effectiveness qualifications specification
- Personal and Social Effectiveness centre handbook
- Personal and Social Effectiveness challenge directory
- Personal and Social Effectiveness scheme of learning resources
- Personal and Social Effectiveness Level 1 learning journal
- Personal and Social Effectiveness Level 1 project journal
- Personal and Social Effectiveness Level 2 learning journal
- Personal and Social Effectiveness Level 2 project journal
Assessment resources
- Personal and Social Effectiveness Level 1 assessment plans
- Personal and Social Effectiveness Level 1 completed example assessment plans
- Personal and Social Effectiveness Level 2 assessment plans
- Personal and Social Effectiveness Level 2 completed example assessment plans
- Assessment planning guidance
- Assessment planning checklist
1. Staff training
• The members of staff with overall responsibility for delivery must attend an ASDAN introductory workshop, webinar or INSET. Book at: asdan.org.uk/training
2. Register with ASDAN
• You will need ASDAN Qualifications membership to deliver Personal and Social Effectiveness qualifications. Membership allows centres to purchase materials and access support, including regular mailings and updates.
• Become a member at: asdan.org.uk/membership or manage your existing membership at: asdan.org.uk/membership-details
3. Centre approval
• Centres will need to provide specific policies and procedures and provide additional information in order to be given centre approval to deliver qualifications. Centres are risk rated and all new centres will require a centre approval visit.
• Centres should create assessment plans for all units being assessed. Centres may be asked to supply them to ASDAN for validation.
• Centres will be required to review and renew a number of centre policies each year at: asdan.org.uk/member/centre-details/centre-approval
4. Create a new cohort
• Create a new cohort using the ASDAN website: asdan.org.uk/member/cohorts
• Specify a course co-ordinator, the expected completion date and the number of learners taking the course.
5. Delivery and assessment
• Deliver the course to candidates, making use of the standards and general guidance and assessment resources. Resources can be downloaded from the course resources section on this page.
6. Internal moderation
• Internally moderate all portfolios to ensure that learners have met the full requirements of the course. Ensure learners are given time to make any necessary amendments.
8. External moderation
• Book your moderation at: asdan.org.uk/member/moderations
• Deadline of 31 October for booking moderation within the academic year. Fees apply for moderations booked after this date. Members are entitled to two free moderations per qualification, per year.
• Confirm your learner names and details for moderation: asdan.org.uk/member/cohorts
• Provide the sample portfolios to the external quality assurer (EQA), as requested.
Moderation may take place as part of a centre visit or be carried out by post.
• Certificates will be sent to your centre within 20 working days of your EQA notifying ASDAN that a successful final moderation has taken place.
ASDAN training events are delivered by experts to enable your centre to successfully run our courses. They provide an introduction to the course, along with guidance on the processes involved, course delivery and moderation.
Training is mandatory for Personal and Social Effectiveness qualifications.
Costs
All prices shown below are per learner, unless otherwise stated.
Item | Price |
---|---|
Award (Level 1 and 2) | £35.95 |
Certificate (Level 1 and 2) | £43.95 |
All prices valid from September 2022. Prices are shown exclusive of VAT.
Public funding for ASDAN qualifications delivered in the UK
Many ASDAN qualifications are fully funded by the UK Government.
Whether you are an employer, a learner or a training provider, the following websites will provide you with more information on the different types of public funding in the UK for ASDAN qualifications.
- England - Education and Skills Funding Agency, ESFA
- Wales - Qualifications in Wales, QiW
- Northern Ireland - Department for the Economy
Products
Course resources
Personal and Social Effectiveness Level 1 and 2 project briefs
Personal and Social Effectiveness Level 1 Summative C challenge briefs
Personal and Social Effectiveness Level 2 Summative C challenge briefs
Personal and Social Effectiveness Level 1 award assessment pack
Personal and Social Effectiveness Level 2 award assessment pack
Personal and Social Effectiveness Level 1 project assessment pack
Personal and Social Effectiveness Level 2 project assessment pack
Personal and Social Effectiveness Level 1 assessment plans - blank templates
Personal and Social Effectiveness Level 2 assessment plans - blank templates
Personal and Social Effectiveness Level 2 completed example assessment plans
Personal and Social Effectiveness Level 1 completed example assessment plans
Challenge adaptation request form
Qualifications internal quality assurance (moderation) checklist
Qualifications internal standardisation meeting template
Qualifications internal quality assurance sampling plan
Qualifications internal quality assurance feedback report template
Qualifications internal quality assurance guidance
Qualifications EQA/external moderation sample centre checklist
Personal and Social Effectiveness project journal: Level 1 (certificate only)
Personal and Social Effectiveness project journal: Level 1 (certificate only) plain text version
Personal and Social Effectiveness Project journal: Level 2 (certificate only)
Personal and Social Effectiveness Project journal: Level 2 (certificate only) plain text version
Personal and Social Effectiveness Learning journal: Level 1 (award and certificate)
Personal and Social Effectiveness Learning journal: Level 1 (award and certificate) plain text version
Personal and Social Effectiveness Learning journal: Level 2 (award and certificate)
Personal and Social Effectiveness Learning journal: Level 2 (award and certificate) plain text version
Personal and Social Effectiveness challenge directory
Personal and Social Effectiveness scheme of learning
Scheme of work template
This template can be used to plan and create a scheme of work for any ASDAN programme or qualification. Also included is a completed example showing a scheme of work for Module 3 of the Personal Development Programmes.
Personal and Social Effectiveness qualifications FAQs
Personal and Social Effectiveness L1 example portfolio
This has been produced by ASDAN using simulated evidence. It includes example student portfolios for the L1 Award and Project, as well as example assessment plans and IM documentation to support the submission.
Personal and Social Effectiveness L2 example portfolio
This has been produced by ASDAN using simulated evidence. It includes example student portfolios for the L2 Award and Project, as well as example assessment plans and IM documentation to support the submission.