Qualifications highlight: Personal Development

Background

  • The Review of National Qualifications (March 2004) recommended that the existing National Course should be withdrawn and that all Units in Personal and Social Development should be reviewed.

What we did in 2007–08

Prepare to make the Leap - poster.

Created a new suite of Units which link together as new non-graded Courses. The Courses will be available from August, at Access 3 to Higher levels. We have written National Assessment Bank materials for all the Units. The existing Course will be withdrawn in July, and the Units that are part of it will cease to be available.

The new Units and Courses provide centres with far greater flexibility allowing their use in a range of contexts.  This gives centres the opportunity to tailor delivery to meet the local needs and interest and provides scope to recognise many of the wider achievements candidates display in activities beyond the traditional subject-based curriculum. 

In some Units there is also scope to gather evidence of achievement from activities which naturally arise in other curricular areas.  Assessment is now embedded in learning and teaching. These Units and Courses are internally assessed throughout.  This allows the teachers and lecturers who are delivering the Units and Courses to be much more engaged in the assessment process.

Held launch events for the new Courses in November. These were attended by delegates from over 150 centres.