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Personal and Social Development

Q

What is it?

The Personal and Social Development (PSD) qualifications offer imaginative ways of supporting young people in:

  • becoming confident individuals who are physically, emotionally and socially healthy
  • being responsible citizens who make a positive contribution to society and embrace change
  • managing risk together with their own wellbeing

as well as introducing them to new activities and personal challenges.

Read the full PSD specifications:

Awards: Entry 1; Entry 2; Entry 3; Level 1; Level 2

Certificates: Entry 1; Entry 2; Entry 3; Level 1; Level 2

Who is it for?

PSD at Entry 1, 2 and 3 is used by students aged 14+ and adults in the Foundation Learning stage of their development. PSD Levels 1 & 2 is used by mainstream establishments for students aged 14-19, and also for adults. These qualifications also play a major role in rewarding achievement within the non-formal sector.

Facts and figures

  • Nationally recognised certification
  • Accreditation for existing PSHE and PSD activities
  • Opportunities to include activities both inside and outside of school and in non-formal situations
  • 100% coursework and postal moderation
  • In Wales and Northern Ireland, ASDAN qualifications can contribute towards school/college performance measures. Download this information sheet for details.
  • 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.

Structure

Learners have to complete enough units to reach the required number of credits for a particular size of qualification.

  • At Entry 1-3: 6 credits are required for an Award, and 13 credits for a Certificate.
  • At Levels 1-2: 8 credits are required for an Award, and 13 for a Certificate.

Each credit is equivalent to around 10 hours of learning time.

Download a table of PSD units at all levels.

Units and standards

Download the PSD Entry 1-3 standards only and PSD Levels 1-2 standards only.

Please note that centres registered to deliver PSD will be able to access a full copy of the standards with guidance, which provides key information on how to interpret and implement the unit standards. Download sample units from the PSD Entry 1-3 standards with guidance and sample units from the PSD Levels 1-2 standards with guidance.

Exemplar portfolios

These exemplar unit portfolios have been created to provide guidance for centres on the type and amount of evidence required for PSD units.

Getting started

For centres new to ASDAN, your first step is to complete the Centre Registration Form.

Once your registration has been processed, you must upload specified policies and procedures as part of the ASDAN centre approval process. Once these have been accepted you will be able to access candidate registration for ASDAN qualifications.

Current ASDAN centres need to ensure that PSD is added to their centre's registration.

Following registration, you will be able to purchase candidate registrations and access additional resources and guidance via the members area.

Training and support

All centres running PSD must have an ASDAN-trained co-ordinator; ASDAN provides introductory training workshops and can arrange in-house training.

Free regional support meetings are held throughout the year and are open to any staff involved in delivering PSD. 

Assessment

After students' work has been internally moderated, centres must register candidates for external moderation, which is carried out by post. ASDAN will issue certificates following successful external moderation.

Costs

All prices shown below are per learner, unless otherwise stated.


Item Price
PSD Award or Certificate candidate registration (one per learner, includes certification) £29.95
PSD Entry level 1, 2 and 3 standards with guidance £8.40
PSD Levels 1 and 2 standards with guidance £8.40

 

All prices valid from 1 September 2020 until 31 August 2021. Prices are shown exclusive of VAT. 

What next?


Case Studies

PSD provides ‘refreshing GCSE alternative’ and improves learners’ focus only PSD provides ‘refreshing GCSE alternative’ and improves learners’ focus

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