The Entry Level Certificate (ELC) is a

qualification Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

offered in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. It lies at

Entry Level Entry Level is the lowest level in the National Qualifications Framework in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Qualifications at this level recognise basic knowledge and skills and the ability to apply learning in everyday situations under di ...

of the

National Qualifications Framework A national qualifications framework is a formal system describing qualifications. 47 countries participating in the Bologna Process are committed to producing a national qualifications framework. Other countries not part of this process also hav ...

, pitching it just below

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...

level.

The qualification

ELCs are available in a variety of subjects, such as

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Maths Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Life Skills Life skills are abilities for adaptive and positive behavior that enable humans to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of life. This concept is also termed as psychosocial competency. The subject varies greatly depending on social norm ...

and

Childcare Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(r ...

. The qualifications are targeted at those who struggle to access the mainstream curriculum, such as students with

special educational needs Special educational needs (SEN), also known as special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in the United Kingdom refers to the education of children who require different education provision to the mainstream system. Definition The definiti ...

. Most students take the qualifications in school at ages 14–16, as an alternative to GCSEs, but many adults also take them. Students are assessed through a combination of

coursework Coursework (also course work, especially British English) is work performed by students or trainees for the purpose of learning. Coursework may be specified and assigned by teachers, or by learning guides in self-taught courses. Coursework can e ...

controlled assessment Control may refer to: Basic meanings Economics and business * Control (management), an element of management * Control, an element of management accounting * Comptroller (or controller), a senior financial officer in an organization * Controlling ...

and

examinations An examination (exam or evaluation) or test is an educational assessment intended to measure a test-taker's knowledge, skill, aptitude, physical fitness, or classification in many other topics (e.g., beliefs). A test may be administered verba ...

, depending on the qualification. ELCs are offered by a number of

examination board An examination board (or exam board) is small board organization that sets examinations, is responsible for marking them, and distributes results. Some are run by governmental entities; some are run as not-for-profit organizations. List of nati ...

s, including

AQA AQA, formerly the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance, is an awarding body in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It compiles specifications and holds examinations in various subjects at GCSE, AS and A Level and offers vocational qu ...

CCEA The Council for the Curriculum, Examinations & Assessment (CCEA) is a Non-departmental public body (NDPB) of the Department of Education (Northern Ireland). Its function and purpose is described in Part VIII of the Education (NI) Order 1998. CCE ...

Edexcel Edexcel (also known since 2013 as Pearson Edexcel) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational education and examination body formed in 1996 and wholly owned by Pearson plc since 2005. It is the only privately owned examination board ...

, OCR and WJEC.

Grading

A student successfully completing an ELC is awarded one of the following grades, which are common to all Entry Level qualifications: * Entry 3 (highest) * Entry 2 * Entry 1 (lowest) Those who do not reach the level for Entry 1 are recorded as uncertified (U) and do not have the subject appear on their results certificates. Entry 1, Entry 2 and Entry 3 are broadly equivalent to

National Curriculum A national curriculum is a common programme of study in schools that is designed to ensure nationwide uniformity of content and standards in education. It is usually legislated by the national government, possibly in consultation with Federated stat ...

Levels 1, 2 and 3 respectively. When converting qualifications to school attainment points, Entry 1 is worth 10 points, Entry 2 is worth 12 and Entry 3 is worth 14. This compares to 16 points for GCSE Grade G (the lowest GCSE pass) and 22 points for GCSE Grade F.

History

The Entry Level Certificate was launched as the Certificate of Achievement (Certificate of Educational Achievement if offered by WJEC) in September 1996, with the first awards being made in 1998. The grades were originally known as Distinction (now Entry 3), Merit (Entry 2) and Pass (Entry 1).http://store.aqa.org.uk/over/stat_pdf/AQA-COA-JUN00.PDF The name Entry Level Certificate was adopted from the 2001 award onwards.

References

{{reflist Educational qualifications in the United Kingdom School examinations School qualifications