Personal Progress
About this course
What is it?
ASDAN's Personal Progress (PP) qualifications have been designed to address the needs of learners with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), working at Entry 1. The qualifications ensure that all learners are given the same opportunities to access appropriate and relevant education to develop new skills and improve their life outcomes.
ASDAN has made significant improvements to our Personal Progress qualifications since 2009, when they first became available.
-
Download a list of Personal Progress (PP) units by topic area
-
Read the abridged Personal Progress specification
| Learner age | 14+, 14–16, 14–25, 16+, 16–19, 19+, Adults |
| Level | Entry 1 |
| Key Stage | Key Stage 4, Key Stage 5 |
| Education setting | Special school, Further education, Community Education, Academy / Multi-academy trust, Adult education, Independent school, Secondary |
| Guided learning hours | 60–100 hours, 180–320 hours, 100–180 hours |
| Regulated | Qualification |
| Certification | Externally certificated, hard-copy only |
| Location | International (including Channel Islands and Ireland), Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England |
| UCAS points | No UCAS points available |
| Available on Equitas | No |
| Pathway | Independent Living |
Who is it for?
The qualifications have been developed for learners working towards and at Entry 1 to have their achievements recognised within a qualification framework. They can be undertaken in schools, colleges, residential and day care services, training providers and independent provision.
Personal Progress (PP) is available for delivery in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Key features
-
Nine units specifically for learners with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD)
-
Assessment guidance reflects modern life and current terminology
-
Learners can achieve qualifications at award, certificate, extended certificate and diploma size
-
Achievement of Personal Progress qualifications supports progression to Personal and Social Development and Employability qualifications
-
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
Learners choose units from the topics of Employability, Independent living, Good health, and Community inclusion. There are 58 units available, with credit values of between 2 credits and 5 credits each.
Any combination of units can be completed for a Personal Progress qualification.
Learners achieve a qualification that reflects the credit value of the number of units they have completed:
- Award – 8 credits
- Certificate – 14 credits
- Extended Certificate – 25 credits
- Diploma – 37 credits
- Learners who complete units with a total value less than 8 credits will be awarded unit certification, providing they meet the requirements of the full units
Once the unit has been certificated, it will not be moderated again even if the candidate is now operating at a higher stage on the achievement continuum. The credits available for a unit can only be gained once.
Learners achieving at Entry 1 can progress to other ASDAN qualifications, such as PSD and Employability.
Assessment resources
Evidence transcripts – tutors are required to provide a mandatory evidence transcript for each unit completed by the learner; this will detail the specific skills and knowledge that the learner has demonstrated (download a sample evidence transcript). The tutor will also use an achievement continuum to record learner attainment and progress; this will be recorded on the evidence transcript.
These assessment resources can be downloaded from the course resources section below.
The following documents can be downloaded for free:
- Personal Progress qualification specification
- list of Personal Progress (PP) units
- sample evidence transcript
- achievement continuum
Assessment planning guidance and an Assessment checklist are available from the Course resources section of this page and from ASDAN Qualifications Centre Guidance.
Become a member
Create a cohort
Once you are approved as an ASDAN member and have approval to deliver this course, you can create a cohort of learners in the members’ area. Specify a course coordinator, the expected completion date and the number of learners taking the course. Learners should be registered within 60 days of starting any ASDAN course and before any assessment takes place.
Resources
ASDAN provides a wide range of supporting resources, including course standards with guidance and assessment materials. All resources related to your course can be found on the course webpage.
Assessment
All ASDAN courses are assessed through portfolios or projects, instead of exams. Appropriate internal quality assurance (IQA) and external quality assurance (EQA) will take place according to the course and you will be guided on this by our team.
Qualification assessment planning
This training includes three video-based lessons covering what assessment plans are, how to complete them and how to manage them across your cohorts. This training is free and not mandatory.
Professional development opportunities
Continued professional development (CPD) training opportunities are available for all ASDAN courses to support assessment and internal quality assurance (IQA).
Training is delivered by ASDAN experts, supporting your centre to run our courses successfully and develop and sustain expertise across your team. They provide an introduction to the course, along with guidance on processes, course delivery and moderation.
As an ASDAN member, you can also take part in ASDAN’s special interest groups. These are termly online sessions focusing on specific areas of practice, providing space for discussion, collaboration and networking between ASDAN members.
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 Progress qualifications.
ASDAN Qualification Assessment Planning
Three video based lessons covering what assessment plans are, how to complete them and how to manage them across your cohorts.
This training is free and not mandatory.
Costs
All candidate registration costs shown below are per candidate, unless otherwise stated.
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Personal Progress: | |
| Award | £37 |
| Certificate | £37 |
| Extended certificate | £72 |
| Diploma | £100 |
Products can be purchased below.
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 Progress assessment plans
Personal Progress: completed assessment plan example
Personal Progress: guidance on writing evidence transcripts
Personal Progress example evidence transcript - Developing independent living skills: keeping safe
Personal Progress example evidence transcript - Engaging with the world around you: the natural environment
Personal Progress evidence transcripts
An evidence transcript is a mandatory requirement for each completed Personal Progress unit. These documents show how the learner has met the requirements of the unit and must be included in learners’ portfolios for external moderation. These documents are the most recent versions, updated in 2022.
Qualifications internal quality assurance guidance
Qualifications internal quality assurance cycle
Qualifications internal quality assurance pre-delivery check (with guidance)
Qualifications internal quality assurance sampling plan
Qualifications internal quality assurance feedback report template
Qualifications internal standardisation meeting template
Qualifications EQA/external moderation sample centre checklist
Digital sampling guidance
What do I wear today? Card sort activity
This card sort activity can be used to support learning about what to wear in different weather conditions. It can be used to support teaching and learning for the Personal Progress Entry 1 unit 'Developing independent living skills: personal presentation', where learners are required to present themselves in an appropriate way for different activities or weather conditions.
Weather conditions flashcards
These bright and colourful flashcards can be used to support learning about different weather conditions. They can be used to support teaching and learning for the Personal Progress Entry 1 unit 'Developing independent living skills: personal presentation', where learners are required to present themselves in an appropriate way for different activities or weather conditions.