Essential Skills Wales - ICT Level 1 & 2

The aim of the ICT standards is to encourage candidates to develop and demonstrate their skills in using ICT to carry out a task or activity by finding, exploring, exchanging, developing and presenting information (text, images and numbers). The standards are essentially concerned with developing and recognising candidates’ ability to select and apply ICT skills in ways that are appropriate to their particular context. However, they can also be used to help individuals make connections with less familiar contexts and develop their ability to progress to higher levels of competence.

Techniques for using ICT systems and software are essential, but so too are the skills of application, such as making decisions about the relevance of information and the quality of work. Techniques and skills of application contribute to understanding a task or activity, deciding on how best to carry it out, and presenting results taking account of purpose and audience. The standards are designed to recognise candidates’ progression in terms both of underpinning techniques and of the skills of application.


All pupils at key stage 3 will have the opportunity to achieve either a level 1 or 2 in ICT ESW. This will be done through a structured and varied scheme of work.