Award of Personal Effectiveness

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About this course

What is it?

The Award of Personal Effectiveness (AoPE) is a nationally recognised qualification, available at Levels 1, 2 and 3 (in Wales, only Levels 2 and 3 are available). It can accredit many of the imaginative and diverse activities undertaken by learners, both inside and outside of school. Assessment is based on a portfolio of evidence. The AoPE assessment units encourage the development of the skills required for progression to further education, training or employment.

The Award of Personal Effectiveness qualification is a smaller qualification than, and offers progression to, the Certificate of Personal Effectiveness (CoPE).

Read the full specifications for AoPE L1, AoPE L2 and AoPE L3.

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To teach this course you must have one of these membership types:

  • Qualifications

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Who is it for?

AoPE Levels 1, 2 and 3 are available in England, Northern Ireland and internationally. AoPE Levels 2 and 3 only are available in Wales.

AoPE is suitable for a wide range of learners, within and beyond the 14-19 age group of students. The opportunity to choose the context in which the learner studies makes AoPE particularly attractive to those in secondary schools and non-formal education.

AoPE offers the opportunity for progression to other ASDAN qualifications, such as CoPE.

Facts and figures

  • AoPE Level 3 is worth 8 UCAS points for students entering higher education from 2017.
  • Following amendments to the school and college performance tables in England, qualifications that do not rely on a written examination for assessment purposes, such as ASDAN qualifications, do not, themselves, contribute to the tables.  There is however strong evidence that ASDAN qualifications improve performance in English and mathematics, which have a double weighting in school performance measures such as Progress 8.
  • In Wales and Northern Ireland, ASDAN qualifications can contribute towards school/college performance measures. Download this information sheet for details.

Requirements

Students must complete eight credits (80 hours) at Levels 1 & 2 and nine credits (90 hours) at Level 3. They also need to develop and demonstrate personal effectiveness skills through the curriculum in the chosen student book. Students will use the AoPE recording documents to show that they have met the criteria for sufficient assessment units to achieve the required number of credits:

  • Introduction to working with others (L1)/Team working (L2, L3)
  • Planning and reviewing learning (L1, L2, L3)
  • Dealing with problems in daily life (L1, L2)/Tackling problems (L3)
  • Planning and carrying out research (L1, L2)/Research skills (L3)
  • Group discussion (L1, L2)
  • Preparing for and giving a presentation (L1, L2)/Improving skills in preparing and presenting information (L3)
  • Developing self (L1, L2)
  • Learning through work experience (L3)
  • Career exploration (L3)

Units and Standards

Download the AoPE Levels 1-3 standards only.

Please note that centres registered to deliver AoPE will be able to access a full copy of the standards with guidance, which provides key information on how to interpret and implement the unit standards. Download sample units from the AoPE Levels 1-3 standards with guidance.

Supporting resources

The following flowcharts demonstrate the requirements for completing AoPE at Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3.

1. Staff training

• The members of staff with overall responsibility for delivery must attend an ASDAN introductory workshop, webinar or INSET. Book at: asdan.org.uk/training

2. Register with ASDAN

• You will need ASDAN Qualifications membership to deliver AoPE qualifications. Membership allows centres to purchase materials and access support, including regular mailings and updates.
• Become a member at: asdan.org.uk/membership or manage your existing membership at: asdan.org.uk/membership-details

3. Centre approval

• Centres will need to provide specific policies and procedures and provide additional information in order to be given centre approval to deliver qualifications. Centres are risk rated and all new centres will require a centre approval visit.
• Centres should create assessment plans for all units being assessed. Centres may be asked to supply them to ASDAN for validation.
• Centres will be required to review and renew a number of centre policies each year at: asdan.org.uk/member/centre-details/centre-approval

4. Create a new cohort

• Create a new cohort using the ASDAN website: asdan.org.uk/member/cohorts
• Specify a course co-ordinator, the expected completion date and the number of learners taking the course. Select student books for your learners.

5. Delivery and assessment

• Deliver the course to candidates, making use of the standards and general guidance and assessment resources. Resources can be downloaded from the course resources section on this page.

6. Support

• Autumn term themed support meetings offer CPD opportunities.
• Spring term qualification support meetings offer ongoing support, feedback and opportunities for networking.

7. Internal moderation

• Internally moderate all portfolios to ensure that learners have met the full requirements of the course. Ensure learners are given time to make any necessary amendments.

8. External moderation

• Book your moderation at: asdan.org.uk/member/moderations
• Deadline of 31 October for booking moderation within the academic year. Fees apply for moderations booked after this date. Members are entitled to two free moderations per qualification, per year.
• Confirm your learner names and details for moderation: asdan.org.uk/member/cohorts
• Provide the sample portfolios to the external quality assurer (EQA), as requested.
Moderation may take place as part of a centre visit or be carried out by post.
• Certificates will be sent to your centre within 20 working days of your EQA notifying ASDAN that a successful final moderation has taken place.

ASDAN training events are delivered by experts to enable your centre to successfully run our courses. They provide an introduction to the course, along with guidance on the processes involved, course delivery and moderation. 

Training is mandatory for the delivery of the Award of Personal Effectiveness.

Book training

Costs

All candidate registration costs shown below are per candidate, unless otherwise stated.

Item Price
Award of Personal and Social Effectiveness:   
Level 1 and 2 £34
Level 3 £38

Products can be purchased below.

Public funding for ASDAN qualifications delivered in the UK

Many ASDAN qualifications are fully funded by the UK Government.

Whether you are an employer, a learner or a training provider, the following websites will provide you with more information on the different types of public funding in the UK for ASDAN qualifications.  

Products

Course resources

CoPE Level 2: Suggested problems

CoPE Level 1: Approved problems

Learning log

Scheme of work template

This template can be used to plan and create a scheme of work for any ASDAN programme or qualification. Also included is a completed example showing a scheme of work for Module 3 of the Personal Development Programmes.

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