This guide outlines how Programmes and Learning Aims (also known as Learning Activities) are structured and managed within Welsh schools, detailing the various fields involved and how to update them. For Welsh post-16 data collections, data is required at both programme of study and learning aim level.
Definitions and examples
Learning Activities/Aims
A learning activity (or learning aim in Arbor) is defined as a course a pupil engages in aimed at achieving a particular qualification. A learning activity includes the following attributes:
- The course leads to an externally validated qualification or unit of a qualification
- Each course that leads to a qualification is considered a separate learning activity.
- Each learning activity must have a Qualification Wales Approval/Designation number (QWAD) and Discount code, which identifies the subject, qualification type and qualification level
- All activities undertaken need to be recorded, including changes to programmes and activities
- Learning activities can span more than one year
Programmes of Study
A programme is defined as a combination of learning activities that make up a programme with a defined purpose and outcome for progression to employment or further or higher education.
Each pupil entered on the post-16 collection should be engaged in only one programme at once (they may not overlap)during the reporting period, with at least one learning aim. Pupils may, however, have more than one closed programme. Programmes of study include the following attributes:
- A combination of one or more Learning Activities
- Each programme has a specific aim, designed to help the learner progress in their chosen path, whether it be further or higher education, or into employment
- Programmes are listed in the Programme Directory, which contains around 250 different programmes: Programmes Directory 2024-25
- Pupils can only be enrolled on one programme at any given time. A new programme can only be recorded once the previous programme has been completed, either successfully or otherwise
- A pupil can change programmes during the academic year and any activities still relevant to the new programme should be recorded as continuing.
Example Programme of Study and Learning Aims
This is a visualisation of the basic data returned in the census showing a single student, their Programmes of study (e.g. A2) and their Learning Aims (e.g. Biology, Chemistry).
The illustration shows a student who has moved from a 3 A2 (Biology, Chemistry and Maths) Programme to a 2 A-Level Programme (Biology and Chemistry).
In this case, the Biology and Chemistry Learning aims have a single instance each but have date ranges in both Programmes of study.
Retaking the year and resitting exams
Students who undertake any learning activity again, whereby they take the same teaching and learning activity two years in a row, need to have this activity recorded again in the second year. This can include one or more timetabled activities (which may include revision classes).
However, if the only thing that the pupil does is sit the same exam again (twice or more) for any reason, that should not be recorded as a learning activity as part of a programme.
Setting up Learning Aims
Step 1 - Add the Learning Aim
To add a new Learning Aim:
- Go to School > School Structure > Learning Aims or Students > Enrolment > Academic > Learning Aims
- Click the green +Add button
- On the slide-over, choose the Name of the Learning Aim (e.g. English Literature)
- Add an optional Short Name (e.g. Lit)
- Click Add Learning Aim to finalise
Once you click finalise, you are taken to the overview for the Learning Aim you have just added. You can get to this overview by clicking on the Learning Aim in the table on the Students > Enrolment > Academic > Learning Aims page, too.
On the Learning Aim's Overview page, you're able to manage Learning Aim instances. An instance is a time period within which a Learning Aim is delivered. To add an Instance:
- Click +Add
- In the slide over, add the details of the Learning Aim instance:
- Name (optional) - Adding an optional name will allow you to identify the Learning Aim Instance quickly. You may want to use the learning aim name and an indication of how long the learning aim will run for. If left blank, it will default to the learning aim name (or short name if specified) followed by the planned start and end dates, e.g. Eng Lit (AS) 24/25 (planned start date - planned end date).
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Learning activity provider - The establishment that delivers a learning activity, often at the school where the pupil is registered. If the learning activity is delivered through a partnership, franchise, or subcontracted arrangement with another school or college, then that school or college is the learning activity provider.
Use this field to specify where learning is being delivered. If provided by another school or college, they should be entered in this field. Set this to Activity takes place within school if the activity is delivered in-house.
- Planned dates - Make sure the planned start and end dates span two years if the Learning Aim is two years long.
- Planned Learning Hours - Add in the planned learning hours for the first year the Learning Aim is running (you'll be able to add in additional years' hours once the instance has been created)
- Learner activity through Welsh Medium - lets you specify if the learning activity was delivered in Welsh. Options available are: English only, Welsh only, Formal bilingual model, Separate language groups in the same class
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Learning Activity Category - lets you indicate whether a learning activity is considered either:
- Main - typically a substantial qualification forming the core of a learning programme (e.g. AS-level, A-level, BTEC, Welsh Baccalaureate, vocational qualifications)
-
Other - typically a supplement to the main qualification or address specific needs of the learner (e.g., a GCSE resit or a Health and Safety Certificate)
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To link an exam to a learning activity, choose the relevant Linked Qualification Award using the dropdown. This will populate the QWAD number and discount code for your Post 16 Census.
If the code you are looking for is not in the drop-down, it means you have not offered this qualification before. If this is the case, then you can add exam information to the placeholder fields until this qualification has been added in exams or set up the qualification in the Examinations section to make them appear - see how to do this here.If you opt to use the placeholder, you should record the QWAD and Discount Code, separated by a slash (/), in the Placeholder qualification Award reference field. For example: C0000778/WG1234567.
- Once you have added all the relevant details, click Add Learning Aim Instance to create your learning aim instance and be taken to the instance's overview page.
You must set up an instance for each cohort of your students. For example, if your Year 12s study maths for two years, your Learning Aim instance must span a two-year period. When that year group become year 13s, you would set up another Learning Aim instance for your new year 12s.
Clicking into a Learning Aim instance, you'll see that if the Learning Aim runs for two years, you'll need to fill in the learning hours for the second year.
If you don't see the second year here, it means you haven't yet created the next academic year. You can either wait to fill the hours in when the year is created, or create the year by following step 1 in this article.
Add in the hours for the second year, then click Save Changes. The hours are usually the same each year, but can be different.
Step 2 - Link the Learning Aim to a course
You can add courses to a Learning Aim Instance by clicking on the Instance from the Learning Aim's overview page.
In the Learning Aim instance:
- Click +Add in the Courses section
- Choose a course/courses from your timetable to link the Learning Aim to using the Course dropdown on the slide-over
- Click Add Course to confirm
Step 3 - Enrol the students
In the Learning Aim instance, you'll see a table for enrolled students. Enrol students with these steps:
- Click +Add above the table
- Choose whether to select the students to enrol manually (Enrol Students), or automatically add students from particular classes (Enrol Students from Courses) on the pop-up.
- If you're selecting particular students (Enrol Students), select the students to enrol in the Learning Aim in the Students dropdown. Top Tip: Search for a form group name and hit Ctrl + A on your keyboard to select and add the whole form at once.
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If you're choosing to enrol students from a course (Enrol Students from Courses), use the Student Groups dropdown to filter down the list of courses by year. You can then select the courses in the Courses box. All students in the courses selected will be added to the Learning Aim.
Note: Selecting a historical date (in the previous academic year) in the 'Active as of' will allow you to select groups of students that were off-rolled (leavers) at the end of the previous school year
- If you're selecting particular students (Enrol Students), select the students to enrol in the Learning Aim in the Students dropdown. Top Tip: Search for a form group name and hit Ctrl + A on your keyboard to select and add the whole form at once.
- Add further details in the slide over:
- For planned learning hours, if the number of hours for the students you're enrolling is the same as what you've already set for the Learning Aim instance, you can leave this box blank. If the number of hours is different for these students, then you can add a new number of hours here. If you have a two-year Learning Aim and have set up the next year, you'll see a box for each year.
- For Learner activity through Welsh Medium, if you leave this box blank, Arbor will derive the designation to the Learning Aim Enrolment Default Values you set when creating the instance.
- For Learning Activity Category, the value populates with the Learning Aim Enrolment Default Values you set when creating the instance. If you leave this field blank, no value is automatically set.
- Click the green Enrol Students button to confirm your choices
- If your instance is linked to a course, you have the option to enrol the student in the linked course on a pop-up.
You then see a table of the students you just enrolled.
Setting students as LLDD Learners (Learners with Learning Difficulties and/or Disabilities
By default, the LLDD Learner designation for students enrolled in a Learning Aim Instance is not set. If you need to add a specific designation, you need to add this manually, per learning aim instance enrolment.
You can do this from the Learning Aims section on the Enrolments page of a student's profile , from the Enrolled students section within the Learning Aim Instance's Overview, or the Students tab on Students > All Students > Bulk Update > Bulk Update Learning Aims page.
- Click on the student (if using the instance overview or bulk update page) or learning aim (if using the Enrolment page of a student profile.
- On the slide over, click Edit
- Use the LLDD Learner dropdown to set the required designation. Your options are:
- Not LLDD/Not Required
- LLDD enrolled on discrete learning activity and LLDD (This is where a learner is on an activity where the pupils on the same learning activity also have learning difficulties and/or disabilities
- LLDD enrolled on mainstream learning activity and LLDD (This is where a learner is on an activity where the majority of pupils on the same learning activity do not have learning difficulties and/or disabilities)
- Click Save Changes
Editing whether a Learning Aim is a Main or Other Learning Activity
From the Learning Aims area
Go to Students > Enrolments > Learning Aims and select the Learning Aim and then the Learning Aim Instance.
In bulk
- Tick all the boxes next to the students you would like to set or change the Learning Activity Category for
- Click the Bulk action button
- Select Set Learning Activity Category: Main or Set Learning Activity Category: Other
- On the pop-up, click Set category to finalise
Per student
Within a Learning Aim Instance:
- Click the student you would like to change Learning Activity Category for
- Click the orange Edit button on the slide-over
- Use the Learning Activity Category dropdown to set your choice
- Click Save Changes.
From the student profile
Go to the Enrolment page on the left-hand side of a student's profile and scroll down to see their enrolment into Learning Aims. You can add any enrolments if needed by clicking +Add. You can click into a Learning Aim enrolment and click Edit to mark the Learning Activity Category.
From the Bulk Update Learning Aims page
You can also manage Learning Aims from the Students > All Students > Bulk Update > Bulk Update Learning Aims page.
- Students tab - Individual students' enrolment into each Learning Aim.
- Courses tab - Individual students' enrolment into each course linked to a Learning Aim. This will default to the current academic year, and the lowest year group set up on your site that is Year 12 or higher. If there is no year 12 or higher, it will default to the lowest year group at your school.
- Learning Aim Instances tab - Shows the Learning Aims running in the academic year selected. Click one to go to the instance, where you can edit as shown in the From the Learning Aims area above.
Note: Each tab has an Academic Year and/or Students filter that acts independently. Changing a filter on one tab will not change the filter on the other. So, if you are not seeing the correct data, please check you have the correct academic year and student group(s) set. If you need to make changes to the filter, use the dropdowns and click the green Apply button.
In Bulk
The Students tab has tick boxes to enable you to manage data in bulk.
This will default to the current academic year, and the lowest year group set up on your site that is Year 12 or higher. If there is no year 12 or higher, it will default to the lowest year group at your school.
Click into the filters to select a different year, student group, and whether to include students with no or multiple main aims set.
You can use the bulk actions to set a Learning Aim as a student's main learning activity.
Per student
Click on a student, and click Edit.
Use the Learning Activity Category dropdown to set your choice, then click Save Changes.
Ending a Learning Aim for a student by completion, withdrawal or transferring
When students leave a course, or your school, you must also end their enrolment into the Learning Aim. Go to either:
- Students > Enrolments > Learning Aims and select the Learning Aim and then the Learning Aim Instance.
-
Students > All Students > Bulk Update > Bulk Update Learning Aims > Students Tab.
Completing a Learning Aim
If your students have finished their Learning Aim, you need to indicate that they have completed the Learning Aim. In the Enrolled Students table:
- Tick the students
- Click Bulk action button
- Select Bulk Complete
- On the slide-over:
- Add in the Completion date (if this is different from the planned end date of the Learning Aim instance)
- Check the Enrol once completed? box if you want to immediately enrol these students into another learning aim after the completion
- Add any Notes
- Click Bulk Complete
- Click Complete on the pop-up to confirm
If you ticked the Enrol once completed? box, complete the details of the students' next learning aim enrolments and save these (if you do not do this, the learning aim will not save as Completed).
Once a student is marked as having completed the aim, the student will show as completed with their actual end date in the Enrolled Students table within the Learning Aim Instance.
Change Learning Aim status from Completed to Continuing
If a student will be continuing a Learning Aim, you can change their Learning Aim completion status back by removing the end date. You can do this in two ways.
Per student:
- Click on the student
- Click Edit on the slide over
- Remove the Actual End Date
- Click Save Changes.
In bulk:
- In the Enrolled Students table, click the boxes next to the students you want to edit
- Use the Bulk Actions
- Select Bulk Update Actual End Date
- On the slide-over, make sure the Actual End Date field is blank
- Click Bulk Update.
Withdrawing a student from a Learning Aim (and course)
- Tick the boxes next to the students you want to withdraw
- Click the Bulk action button
- Select Bulk Withdraw.
- In the slide over, add the withdrawal date
- Select a Withdrawal reason
- Leave a Note (optional)
- Click Bulk Withdraw.
If any students are enrolled in the course the Learning Aim is linked to, you can choose what to do with the student's enrolment into the course:
- Withdraw from Learning Aim only - students will be withdrawn from the Learning Aim but will remain enrolled in the course and class registers.
-
Withdraw from both - students will be removed from both, with the end date for the Learning Aim withdrawal applied to the course as the last day the student will appear in class registers.
You can also do this for a single student by clicking on their name and clicking Withdraw on the slide-over.
Transferring a student
To transfer a student to a different Learning Aim:
- Click the student's name
- Click Transfer on the slide-over
- Select the Transfer reason
- Add a Note (optional)
- In the Transfer to Learning Aim section, choose the new Learning Aim and instance to transfer them to.
- In the Transfer Courses section:
- Select the Current course to transfer the student from
- Select the New course to transfer them to
To select a new course to transfer them to, you need to have made sure to select a Learning Aim in the section further up in the slide over. This box will then show any course the student is not already enrolled into.
- Set a New start date for new course enrolment. This is the first day they will be in the new course, the day before that will be the last day they are in the old course.
- Click Transfer.
Their enrolment into the Learning Aim and course will end the day before they begin the enrolment into their new Learning Aim and course.
Top Tip: There are a few reasons why you might not be able to transfer them to a new course alongside the Learning Aim.
- The student is not enrolled in the course linked to the Learning Aim you are transferring from
- They are already enrolled in the new course. You can check a student's enrolment from their profile.
- One or both of the Learning Aims don't have a course linked.
Updating or removing the start and end dates
You can click into an individual student to amend their Learning Aim enrolment start and end dates by clicking Edit on the slide-over.
You can update these in bulk with these steps:
- Select the students with the tickboxes
- Use the Bulk action button
- Select Bulk Update Planned Start Date, Planned End Date or Actual End Date, depending on what you want to change
- On the slide over, select the new date to apply
- Click Bulk update.
Top Tip: Delete the values in the date field to remove the date.
Adding and managing Programmes of Study
Programmes of study can be found under Students > Enrolment > Academic > Programmes of Study and the Enrolment page of student profiles.
Adding a Programme of Study and Instances
To add a new programme of study:
- Go to Students > Enrolment > Academic > Programmes of Study
- Click the green +Add button
- On the slide-over, use the Programme dropdown to select the appropriate programme. Search for either the programme reference or the name, or scroll through the list. Available programmes are listed in the Programme Directory, which contains around 250 different programmes: Programmes Directory 2024-25
- (Optional) Use the Short name field to give your programme a custom name to make it easier to identify
- Click the green Add Programme of study
Once added, you get redirected to the new Programme of Study's Overview page. You can also get here by going to Students > Enrolment > Academic > Programmes of Study and clicking on the relevant programme. From here, you can add Programme of Study Instances (the timeframes within which the programme of study takes place) with these steps:
- Click the green +Add button
- On the slide-over, add the details of the Programme of Study Instance:
- Name (optional) - Adding an optional name will allow you to identify the Programme of Study Instance quickly. You may want to use the programme of study's name and an indication of how long the learning aim will run for. If left blank, it will default to the Programme of Study name (or short name if specified) followed by the planned start and end dates, e.g. 2 A2 - 2 A1 (planned start date - planned end date).
- Planned dates - add in the planned start and end dates of the Programme of Study Instance
- Year of programme - set the year of the programme of study that the instance covers
- Guided contact hours - lets you set the default number of estimated planned teaching, instructional or assessment contact hours that will be set for students who get enrolled in the instance
Enrolling students on a Programme of Study
To enrol students on a Programme of Study, head to the relevant Instance (Students > Enrolment > Academic > Programmes of Study, click on the relevant Programmes of Study and then the Instance), and follow these steps:
- Click the +Add button in the Enrolled Students section
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On the pop-up, select Enrol students from student list or Enrol students from Learning Aims. The first option allows you to enrol specific students in a dropdown list, the second allows you to add all of the students enrolled in a specific Learning Aim Instance in one go.
- On the slide over, use the dropdown to specify which students or learning aims to enrol. IF enrolling based on a learning aim, use the Active as of date to add students enrolled in the selected learning aim(s) as of the active date.
- Set the planned start and end dates for the students' Programmes of Study Instance enrolment
- Click Enrol students
Updating Programme of Study Completion statuses
Students enrolled in a Welsh Programme of Study can have one of 5 completion statuses:
- Continuing
- Completed
- Withdrawn
- Transferred to a new programme at the same provider
- Transferred programme to another provider
Students who are enrolled in the Programme of Study Instance but do not have an Actual end date set have the status Continuing. To change one of the other statuses back to continuing, either:
- Click on the student
- Click Edit on the slide over
- Delete the Actual End Date
- Click Save
OR
- Tick the boxes next to the students you want to change
- Use the green Bulk Action button and select Bulk Update Actual End Date
- Remove the date from the Actual end date field
- Click Bulk Update
To mark students as Withdrawn, either:
- Click the student
- Click Withdraw
- Add an End date
- Click Withdraw Student
OR
- Tick the boxes next to the students you want to update
- Use the green Bulk action button and select Bulk Withdraw
- Set the Withdrawal date on the slide-over
- Click Bulk Withdraw
To mark a student as Completed:
- Tick the boxes next to the students you want to update
- Use the green Bulk action button and select Bulk Complete
- Set the Completion date on the slide-over or leave blank to use the planned end date
- Click Bulk Complete
To mark a student as one of the Transferred Statuses:
- Click on the student with a continuing status
- Click Transfer on the slide-over
- Select whether to transfer them to a programme with the same provider or a different provider
- If they are staying with the same provider, set an End date for the current programme and use the Transfer to Programme of Study section to enter the details of the new programme to transfer them to
- If the student is going to a different provider, simply set an End date
- Click Transfer student
Updating guided contact hours, year of programme or planned dates
There are two ways to update Guided Contact Hours, and three ways to update years of programme and planned dates
The first option is to change the default Guided Contact Hours, year or dates. Updating the default values will change the corresponding values for any students who have the current default value set. For example, if you have two students, one with 400 hours and the other with 500 hours, and your default value is set to 400, changing the default value to 450 will only update the hours for the first student. To do this:
- Click Guided Contact Hours, Year of programme or one of the planned dates in the Programme of Study Enrolment Default Values section
- On the slide-over, edit the relevant default value
- Click Save Changes
The second option is to update the hours on a per-student basis
- Click on the student in the Enrolled Students section of the Programme of Study Instance
- Click Edit on the slide-over
- Update the Guided Contact Hours, Year of programme or dates
- Click Save Changes
The third option is to use the Bulk action. This option is not available for Guided Contact Hours:
- Tick the boxes next to the student you want to update
- Click Bulk action and select what you want to update
- Enter the new values on the slide over
- Click the green button to confirm
Deleting a Programme of Study Instance Enrolment
If you added a Programme of Study enrolment for a student by mistake, you can delete the enrolment with these steps:
- Head the relevant Programme of Study Instance via Students > Enrolment > Academic > Programmes of Study, or head to the Enrolment page of the student's profile
- Click on the enrolment
- On the slide over, click Delete
- Click Delete again to confirm
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