Personal and Social Effectiveness Level 1 and 2

Who is Personal and Social Effectiveness 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 and an Assessment checklist are available from the Course resources section of this page and from ASDAN Qualifications Centre Guidance.

ASDAN training supports educators to deliver this course successfully. Sessions provide an introduction, alongside guidance on planning, delivery, assessment and internal quality assurance. Training is not mandatory but is strongly recommended. 

Book training in the members area

ASDAN members can also take part in our special interest groups. These online sessions focus on specific areas of practice and provide opportunities for discussion, collaboration and networking with other members.

All registration costs are per learner.

Public funding for ASDAN qualifications delivered in the UK

• Check funding in England
• Check funding in Northern Ireland