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Using ASDAN qualifications


		11-16 schools

		6th form schools

		Colleges

The ASDAN qualifications and awards are used by schools and colleges to provide opportunities for students 14-19 to develop personal, social and active citizenship skills, work-related skills, key skills and wider key skills.

Providing a diverse and differentiated curriculum may mean including wider activities, experiences and awards as well as qualifications. The ASDAN framework includes qualifications and awards. The difference is that qualifications are accredited by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority as part of the National Qualifications Framework, whereas awards (such as ASDAN awards, the Duke of Edinburgh’s award and wider key skills) allow students to gain formal recognition of achievement but are not accredited to the National Qualifications Framework.

However wider key skills awards and the ASDAN silver, gold and universities awards are to be piloted as qualifications during 2004-5 with a view to being part of the National Qualifications Framework in the future.

ASDAN qualifications and awards are used by schools and colleges to help structure a post-16 enrichment curriculum at level 3. A number of schools offer ASDAN awards within a key stage 4 option system as an alternative to one or more GCSEs. They are often used to motivate and encourage students and to broaden their curriculum experience.

ASDAN qualifications are:

Level 4	Key skills
Level 3
Level 2		Certificate in community volunteering	Certificate in career planning
Level 1
Entry level				Certificate in life skills

ASDAN awards are:

Level 3

Universities award

FE award (3)

Level 2

Gold award

FE award (2)

Active citizenship award programme

Adventure and residential challenge award

Community involvement and volunteering award

Expressive arts award

Key decisions: citizenship

Key decisions: PSHE

Key steps

Sports and fitness award

Level 1

Silver award

FE award (1)

Entry level

Bronze award

FE award (up)

Foundation for work award

Foundation training award

Towards independence

Transition challenge

Workright

ASDAN awards are structured around modules, which are based on topics or areas of interest. Each module comprises a challenge or series of challenges. Challenges are activity-based and involve a task or number of tasks. Students are required to produce evidence of completion. The work is moderated and verified internally at a centre (a school or college) and externally by an ASDAN regional coordinator.

The awards use a credit-based system. Credits relate to the amount of time associated with completing the tasks within any particular challenge. In each award some credits are available for action planning, recording, and review activities.

Students are able to choose challenges from a range of different modules and in the higher level awards are involved in devising their own challenges (see case studies below).