No, not automatically.  Although the work to meet the requirements of the lower level will possibly have been covered, it will be necessary to check that the evidence to meet the specific requirements of that level has been produced.

One copy of the core assignment tasks and assessment guidance will be sent to the centre upon registration or indication of intention to offer the course. The pack will be sent to the Centre Examinations Officer and all sheets may be photocopied for individual learners’ use.

Centres will need to ensure that all assessors are assessing to the same national standards.  This will mean having a procedure in place to record that assessments and assessment decision have been checked.

For colleges this can be part of the normal quality assurance procedures of the centre. Schools may have to devise a quality assurance procedure.

No. Each certificate is a 6-unit qualification. A learner must do Health & Safety for each certificate in the context of the specialist units, e.g. Land Based, or Independent Living Skills. Two further core units must be taken for each certificate.

Full details about registration can be found in the Edexcel Information Manual, which is set to all Edexcel centres and posted in the Services for Centres section of this website.

Learners are registered for Entry level Certificates using form SA1.

Registration should take place by January of the year of certification – refer to the Information Manual for relevant dates.

The units were written for a notional 30 guided learning hours but some learners will be able to complete the work in that time, while others will take longer.

It means a suggested amount of time if a learner is at the level of the unit, and does not have additional needs. Assessment is when the learner is ready and therefore it is the task of the tutor to plan assessment opportunities at suitable intervals, following adequate teaching, learning and practice activities.

Training and Staff Development days (open forum or centre-specialist days), Regional Networks, web-based updates, assistance from the regional offices, assistance from designated Regional Development Managers, Edexcel Customer Services.

The role of the External Verifier is to confirm final assessment decisions. The EV will visit your Centre (or require a postal sample from your Centre), following your assessment of completed portfolios. The EV will request to see a sample of the work that your tutors have assessed at the stated levels.

Your Verifier will not be allocated until you register your learners (January of the year in which certification will take place).

No. Any number of individual units may be completed, but cost-effectively it is wise to follow a designated pathway. Using the option to complete an additional three units may provide a learner with the opportunity to complete units for a second choice and then have the registration changed (using a form SA1) prior to verification.

The Specialist and Option units are left open for you to devise your own assessment materials and activities to meet local or specialist requirements. Some sample assessments are available on the website and you may change these as you wish – they will also, hopefully, give you ideas for writing your own materials! Networking opportunities are provided in most areas and these are also useful for sharing materials with others in your area.

From September 2004, Tutor Support Materials will be available on the website. These include examples of Course Programmes, Assignments, Case Studies and evidence collection and practice activities. 

Units could be taught in isolation but an integrated course of study would be more interesting and appropriate.  A number of the core and option units lend themselves to be integrated into the specialist units (especially Health & Safety).  IT, Improving Your Learning and Working Together, for example, could be integrated into almost any programme. However, tutors must be aware that evidence for each unit must be recorded separately and, in most cases, independently, by each learner. 

All unit activities could be written to integrate literacy, numeracy and ICT development.

It is important to remember that the 30 hours is only given as a guideline. Many learners will take longer to practice activities and become competent to successfully achieve the evidence requirements. Learners should also be encouraged to develop key and basic skills as part of their programme.  Examples of curriculum models are available on the website.

Full time learners could do two Entry level Certificates – one in Skills for Working Life and one in Life Skills.

Initial attempts must not be returned to the learner for supplementary and/or corrective work to be done. The learner must go back into a teaching and learning situation for at least two weeks and then be allowed to attempt the same activity again.