Cambridge National in Health and Social Care (2022): Frequently asked questions

• General FAQs
• R032: Principles of care in health and social care settings
• R033: Supporting individuals through life events
• R034: Creative and therapeutic activities
• R035: Health promotion campaigns

General Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

When can Students be given the live set assignment?

The live assignments will be released 1 June each year on our secure website for teachers, 'Teach Cambridge' for teaching the following September. They can be given to students on or after 1 June.

Can the live assignments for R033-R035 be changed in any way? 

The assignments cannot be altered in any way.  

Can the assignments be completed in one year and entered in another  eg completed in year 10 but not entered until year 11? 

The assignments are live for a year. They must be entered for a series in which they are live. If the assignment is completed in year 10, it must be submitted in year 10, either in the January or June series.

Students can resubmit on the same assignment in the year that it is live e.g. January or June of Year 10.  If re-entering the following year, e.g. January of Year 11 this would be on a new assignment.

I cannot find the dates for submitting student’s marks, only making entries.  Can you tell me the dates please?

There are two series in January and June of each year.  Marks for non-examined assessed work (NEA) are submitted on 10 January for the January series and 15 May for June series.  You can find key dates and timetables here.

Section 6.4.1 of the specification states ‘if a student does not meet Mark Band 1 criteria for any task, you must award zero marks for that task’. Can we still apply a best fit approach to this?

Students should always be working to complete the criteria fully. You always mark positively any evidence that you see and always follow the best fit approach. You only award zero if work does not meet mark band 1 (MB1) criteria. After following the best fit approach if you see no evidence towards MB1 criteria you should therefore award zero.

For example, the mark scheme for unit R033 states that the student should explain how the growth and development of the individual has been affected by two of each of the specified three factors in the assignment (for a total of six). However a student may only do four. Depending on the quality, as they haven’t covered all six, you would follow the best fit approach and make the decision about which mark band it sits in. You would then explain your decision on the URS in the teacher comments. The best fit approach is used for all criteria in each task.

 

Frequently asked questions for R032: Principles of care in health and social care settings

When would past exam papers be available (for mocks)? 

A  practice question paper and mark scheme is available on Teach Cambridge. You can find the paper under Assessment>Exams>Practice materials. 

The first exam will be available to be sat in January of 2024. The paper will be available on the Teach Cambridge website within a few days of the exam being sat.  The exam paper will be added to Exam Builder at a later date. 

 

Frequently asked questions for R033: Supporting individuals through life events

Does the individual in Task 1 have to be interviewed?

Students don’t have to interview the individual in Task 1 only the individual in Task 2.

For Task 1 does the individual have to be alive?

The individual for Task 1 doesn’t have to be alive.  What is important is that the student has access to enough information for the life stage given in the assignment to complete the task. 

Does the person in Task 1 have to be in the life stage given in the assignment or could they be beyond?

It is beneficial if the individual is in the life stage for Task 1, but if they are a bit older, we would accept that as long as the students evidence focused on the life stage in the assignment.  What is important is that students are able to obtain enough information about the individual in the life stage included in the set assignment to access all the marks available.

Can students all interview the same person (eg a guest speaker)? 

We wouldn’t expect students to all interview the same person. This could result in work being too similar and difficulty individualising the Teacher Observation Records.  Suggestions of people that could be interviewed are given in the specification in ‘Guidance on the tasks’.   

Can students be given a case study for task 2 of R033? 

For R033 Task 2a students must interview an individual.  This can be a family member, it could be you as the teacher or another staff member, alternatively a friend.  

Can the students do role play for R033? 

For R033 no role play will be required for any task as the students must complete an interview with an individual. 

Would there be possible safeguarding issues with interviewing individuals? 

Before students complete any interview, you must make sure that the correct permission is obtained with the individual involved. We recommend that you provide a consent form to be signed and dated by the person being interviewed and ensure that any interaction adheres to your centre’s safeguarding policy, health and safety policy and risk assessment procedures.

Does the person who is written about in Task 1 have to be the person that is interviewed for Task 2 (the life event) have to be in the same life stage as in Task 1?

The person whose growth and development is written about in Task 1 does not have to be the same person who is interviewed for Task 2.  For Task 1 the individual must in the life stage as given in the live assessment material.  The person interviewed for Task 2 should be someone the student knows. They can be in any age and the life events can have happened in any life stage. 

Must the person be interviewed, or could they send them some questions to answer?

The person must be able to be interviewed, ideally this will be face-to-face, although this could take place via a video link e.g. Zoom or FaceTime. Refer to specific guidance on the tasks for RO33 in the specification.

How do teachers evidence that interview has taken place?

The student will need to complete the Interview Authentication Form that we have provided, and this should be checked and countersigned by the teacher. 

You do not need to witness the interview but should have additional evidence of the interview taking place; this could be an audio recording, photos, and redacted notes of the interview. Refer to specific guidance on the tasks for RO33 in the specification.  The authentication form can be found with the live assignment.

Should the Person-centred values Task 2b be about how the practitioners in the settings will apply them?

Addressing person-centred values (that are listed in RO32) should be about how the student has applied these when they are recommending support to meet the individuals needs.  Students use their knowledge of the individual and understanding of person-centred values and apply these when recommending appropriate support. 

Do students have to include PIES when writing about each of the factors in Task 1?

It isn’t necessary for students to include PIES when they are writing about the impact of factors on the individual.  What is required is a general impact that the factor has on the person.  Students can refer to PIESF if it helps them to generate ideas about the impact of a factor but doesn’t have to be included in their work. 

  

Frequently asked questions for R034: Creative and therapeutic activities

Can the students work in groups to plan and deliver their creative activity?

Students cannot work in groups to plan and deliver their creative activities.  Although students might think of similar creative activities for the group in the scenario, their work should be their own.  Guidance on the assessments can be found in the specification after the marking criteria for the unit.

Do I need to include the Teacher Observation Record with the students work?

The Teacher Observation Record (TOR) for each student should be included with their work along with feedback from the activity.

The TOR and feedback justify the marks you give for Task 2 on the Unit Recording Sheet. They should be suitably detailed and individualised for each student to help assessors to determine if the grading criteria have been met.

If you would like to include additional evidence e.g., photos you can but it isn’t a requirement, as it doesn’t carry any marks.

How many benefits should be explained for Task 1 and do students have to cover all the PIES?

Where there is a plural, such as with ‘benefits’, then student should cover at least two.  For PIES, it should be those that are relevant to the activity and how they benefit the individual/group. 

How long should the activity last?

Recommendations on timings are given in RO34 specific guidance on the tasks for Task 1. 

We suggest the activity should take between 15 and 30 minutes but should be of a length that is appropriate for the target audience and sufficient to allow students to access all the marking criteria.

Do we have to use the OCR template for planning the activity?

You can design your own template for planning of the activity or the one provided by OCR.  If you do design your own it must cover all the requirements for planning the activity as given in the assignment and marking criteria.

Is there a feedback form for participants and does it need to be submitted with the work?

Students will need to design their own feedback form suitable for the participants of the creative activity they have designed. 

We have made suggestions of methods of getting feedback in the unit content of the specification.  The feedback should be detailed enough to enable them to write their evaluation. This should be submitted along with the TOR and additional evidence.  See the specification section 6.3.6.

 

Frequently asked questions for R035: Health promotion campaigns

Do I need to include the Teacher Observation Record with the students work?

The Teacher Observation Record (TOR) for each student should be included with their work along with feedback from the campaign.

The TOR and feedback justify the marks you give for Task 3 on the Unit Recording Sheet. They should be suitably detailed and individualised for each student to help assessors to determine if the grading criteria have been met.

If you would like to include additional evidence e.g., photos you can but it isn’t a requirement, as it doesn’t carry any marks.

Is there a feedback form for audience members and does it need to be submitted with the work?

Students will need to design their own feedback form suitable for the target audience. 

We have made suggestions of methods of obtaining feedback in the unit content of the specification.  The feedback should be detailed enough to enable them to write their evaluation. This should be submitted along with the TOR and additional evidence.  See the specification section 6.3.6.

Do we have to use the OCR template for planning the activity?

You can design your own template for the planning of the campaign or use the one provided by OCR.  If you do design your own, it must cover all the requirements for planning as given in the assignment and marking criteria. You can find the OCR template with the set assignment and on TEACH Cambridge.

How long should the Health Promotion campaign last?

It is recommended that the campaign lasts between 10 and 20 minutes to allow for the content to effectively be communicated. However, the timing should be appropriate for the target audience and the method of presentation. There is guidance on the delivery of the campaign in the assessment guidance of the specification.

Can students work as part of a group?

Although students may be working on the same public health challenge they must be assessed individually as we do not assess the skills associated with group work in this qualification.

If it is necessary to use group work to make the delivery of the health promotion campaign more manageable, you must observe each student’s delivery of their health promotion campaign and make sure that all the practical tasks and evidence produced by the student are entirely the individual’s own work. See specification specific guidance on the tasks for RO35, and section 6.3.4 on group working.

Does the campaign have to be presented to the target audience?

No, the campaign should be aimed at a specific target audience but can be presented to a suitable audience decided by the teacher.

Do students have to include PIES when writing about each of the benefits in Task 1b?

Students should write about PIES when explaining the benefits of the health promotion campaign.