Personal and Social Education (PSE)

Agored Cymru is a Welsh awarding body specialising in meeting the distinct needs of learners, employers and communities.

We exist to create flexible learning opportunities and reward achievement to help people of every age and level achieve their full potential.

All our units and qualifications are flexible enough to meet the needs of learners in any setting – from schools to FE and from offender learning to training in the workplace.

With over 20 years experience in designing inclusive learning, our team of specialists provides support in developing an accessible and quality assured curriculum.

We are a charity and social enterprise: we work collaboratively with partners to maximise the impact of learning in meeting the diverse needs of communities and employers in Wales.

Because we work exclusively in Wales, we are ideally placed to respond to the demands of our learners and centres. Our qualifications are uniquely tailored to the needs and priorities of individuals, communities, employers and the aims of a modern Wales.

We work for the benefit of Wales: our dedicated team of specialists is committed to promoting the Welsh language by encouraging assessment through the medium of Welsh.

We offer our recognised centres the opportunity to deliver effective lifelong learning, widen opportunity and enable progression within current education and training frameworks.

At all times, we are committed to providing a high quality, responsive service to all our centres and learners.

Agored Cymru Qualifications:

• are available through the medium of Welsh, including certification;
• enable accreditation of component units to recognise continuing professional development (CPD), where full qualifications are not required;
• meet the needs of learners in Wales by developing qualifications that respond directly to the Welsh agenda;
• provide a range of flexible and responsive provision, designed to help learners achieve their potential;
• are designed to suit the needs and priorities of individuals, communities, employers and the national aims of a modern Wales.

The Agored Cymru Personal and Social Education (PSE) qualifications meet the requirements of key policies and strategies for preparing learners to be personally and socially effective through the exploration of attitudes and values and the acquisition of skills and knowledge.

Learners undertaking these qualifications will benefit from developing a broad base of personal and social skills to empower them to take an active role in society and build their self-esteem and personal development skills.

The flexibility and breadth of the Agored Cymru PSE qualifications support a number of Welsh Government educational strategies and frameworks and meet the expectations within the Welsh Government’s Curriculum for Wales. This includes the Health and Wellbeing Area of Learning Experience (AoLE) and the cross-cutting themes of Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE), Human Rights, Diversity and Careers and Work-related experiences (CWRE).

The qualifications are designed to be used across a range of delivery organisations, as well as schools and further education colleges, including youth services, special schools, pupil referral units, education other than at school (EOTAS) provisions and other organisations working with learners who are disengaged or at risk of becoming disengaged.

These qualifications are classified as suitable for pre-16 learners. Centres planning to offer qualifications to learners under 14 must review the fitness for purpose and appropriateness of the qualification for the younger learner. Potential risks such as health and safety, legal or moral issues should be considered in relation to the learner and the suitability of the qualification to meet their needs, experience, development and progression.

These qualifications are only available through Agored Cymru recognised centres. If you would like to find out more about either becoming a recognised centre or working in partnership with a recognised centre, please access the ‘Centre’ area of the website or contact a Centre Manager for more information.

It is the responsibility of the centre to have systems in place to ensure that the person registered on a qualification or unit and taking an assessment is indeed the person they are claiming to be. All centres are therefore required to ensure that each learner’s identification is checked before they undertake the qualification, unit and assessment. Agored Cymru recommends the following as proof of a learner’s identity:

• a valid passport (any nationality)
• a signed UK photocard driving licence
• a valid warrant card issued by HM forces or the police
• another photographic ID card, e.g. employee ID card, student ID card, travel card etc.

If a learner is unable to produce any of the forms of photographic identification listed above, a centre may accept another form of identification containing a signature, for example, a credit card. Identification by a third-party representative, such as a line manager, human resources manager or invigilator, could also be accepted.

Progression from Level 1 to the Level 2 Agored Cymru PSE qualifications. Progression from the Level 2 PSE qualifications to level 3 qualifications in PSE or personal development.

Curriculum for Wales (2022).

Current funding information is available on Qualifications in Wales (QiW).

For further information regarding discounted charges and incentives please contact a Centre Manager.