Essential Skills Wales FAQs

We will use two methods to award Essential Skills qualifications during this period: partial completion and calculated results.

Learners registered from 1 September 2019 for ECommS and EAoNS, who have successfully completed either the controlled task or confirmatory test, may be awarded the qualification without completing the other assessment component.

Learners registered from 1 September 2019 for EDLS and EES, who have successfully completed the controlled task, may be awarded the qualification without completing the structured discussion.

Completed controlled tasks will need to have undergone a successful EQA centre sampling activity, in line with the awarding body’s procedures.

Centres will need to follow the calculated result guidance outlined below.

Learners that have not successfully completed either controlled task or confirmatory test assessments prior to 20 March 2020, who are due to complete their Essential Skills Wales qualifications between March and the end of July 2020, will be eligible for a calculated result.

Calculated results should be based on each learner’s performance over the course of study and a realistic judgement of the likely outcome for each learner, if they had taken their assessment this summer.

Further details of evidence required can be found on the ESW AoN, Comms, EDLS and EES pages of our website.

Learners that do not pass the qualification based on a calculated result will be given the opportunity to develop their skills further and take the confirmatory test for Communication or Application of Number, or the controlled task for Employability and Digital Literacy in order to pass when centres re-open.

This opportunity will be available until 30 November.

Learners due to complete their qualifications between 1 August and 30 November are only required to complete the confirmatory test for Communication and Application of Number, or controlled task for Employability and Digital Literacy in order to be awarded the qualification.

For learners taking the confirmatory test between 1 August and 30 November, in the absence of the requirement to complete the controlled tasks, centres should ensure that learners are provided with appropriate learning, support and formative assessment in order to prepare them for the confirmatory test.

Provide detailed guidance on the process for calculating grades, including how to submit calculated grades to Pearson.

Review the information provided by the centre against historical data to validate that the estimated grades submitted for the qualification are acceptable.

All four awarding bodies are working together to ensure all centres are treated fairly and consistently.

Centres should identify all learners who they would expect to have completed the qualification between 20 March and 31 July 2020, including resits.

Centres will be able to calculate results for qualifications at all levels - Entry level – Level 3.

Submit estimated outcomes to Pearson.

The Head of Centre will be required to sign off all calculated results.

Retain all evidence on which the centre has made its judgements. Pearson may request that evidence or carry out retrospective quality assurance activities.

For each qualification at a centre, where possible all teachers that have taught the learner should be involved in estimating whether they would have passed / failed using available evidence.

There are different sources of evidence centres might use and these can be found on the ESW AoN, Comms, EDLS and EES pages of our website.