New Foundation qualifications: giving every learner a route to success
From September 2027, Foundation qualifications will give teachers an inclusive offer that reflects the different strengths, abilities and interests of every learner. Senior Qualifications Manager, June Jenkins, takes a deep dive into what these new qualifications will look like.
All teachers know that every classroom has learners with different strengths, interests, abilities and ways of learning. Qualifications need to reflect that reality, not fight against it. That's the thinking behind the new Foundation qualifications launching in September 2027.
Why are we introducing Foundation qualifications?
From my time teaching, I saw time and again how much a qualification can mean to a learner, even one that might look modest on paper. What seems small from the outside can be a huge confidence boost on the inside.
Most 14 to 16-year-olds will be ready to take GCSEs and VCSEs at level 1 and level 2. But not everyone, and not in every subject. That's the gap Foundation qualifications are designed to fill.
Spanning entry levels 1, 2 and 3 and level 1, these new qualifications form part of the National Qualifications suite, sitting alongside the new GCSEs and VCSEs so teachers have a inclusive offer that meets the needs of the learners in front of them.
By equipping our young people in Wales with essential skills and knowledge, they are not only prepared for immediate success, but will also be empowered to navigate the complexities of the modern world with confidence and resilience. As educators, parents, and policymakers, it is our collective responsibility to ensure that every child has the opportunity to build a foundation for lifelong learning.
What's in it for learners?
Foundation qualifications give learners a solid grounding in a range of different subjects. Available in Cymraeg and English, they have been designed to promote positive learning experiences, support mental health and wellbeing, and encourage engagement with the assessment process.
Progression won't look the same for every learner, and that's fine. For some, these qualifications will be a launchpad into further study or training. For others, they'll be a meaningful achievement in their own right. Either way, they give learners something solid to build on.
What subjects will be available?
There are nine general subjects linked to the Curriculum for Wales’ areas of learning and experience. There are also 15 work-related subjects which correspond with those available as a VCSE, enabling co-teachability across the different qualification types.
The work-related qualifications are a particularly exciting development. They offer learners a broad introduction to a vocational area, and the kind of hands-on experiences that can help a learner picture a career path they hadn't considered before.
Learners can mix and match general and work-related Foundation qualifications, and combine them with GCSEs, VCSEs and Skills Suite qualifications.
What will these qualifications look like in practice?
As the regulator, our role is to develop the requirements awarding bodies must meet in order to be able to offer their qualifications to schools in Wales. These requirements have been designed in close conjunction with stakeholders across the sector. As a result, there are some core areas where stakeholders helped shape the practicality of these new qualifications:
- The subjects align with what's on offer at GCSE and VCSE.
- Every Foundation qualification is the same size at 120–140 guided learning hours, to make timetabling easier.
- They support the aims and purposes of the Curriculum for Wales, helping schools deliver the 14 to 16 learner entitlement.
As with the new VCSE and Skills Suite qualifications, more than one awarding body may offer a given Foundation qualification.
Awarding bodies may choose different approaches to the assessment of these new qualifications, weighing up the manageability, reliability, and validity of different assessment methods and, importantly, how engaging they will be for learners.
Getting ready for September 2027
Awarding bodies have already started publishing their specifications and supporting materials, allowing schools to get on with planning.
This matters because the majority of existing vocational and skills qualifications for 14 to 16-year-olds will be discontinued next year, with only a handful of these qualifications remaining. You can search the Qualifications in Wales database to see which entry level and level 1 qualifications will be available and when.
You can also find the full list of Foundation subjects and which awarding bodies will be delivering which subject on our Foundation qualifications page.
To find out more about delivery, training and resources for a specific specification, schools should contact the awarding body directly.