Digital Competence Framework Wales 2022: What Home Educators Need to Document

Wales was the first nation in the UK to make digital competence a statutory cross-curricular skill, embedding it within the Curriculum for Wales alongside literacy and numeracy. The Digital Competence Framework (DCF) sits within the Science and Technology Area of Learning and Experience, but under the Curriculum for Wales it is expected to run through all six areas — not confined to computing lessons alone.

For home educators, this creates both an opportunity and a potential source of confusion. The opportunity: your child almost certainly develops digital competence naturally through everyday activities, and you can document this without a structured computing curriculum. The confusion: what exactly does the DCF cover, what does a local authority expect to see, and does documenting it matter for your EHE provision?

What the Digital Competence Framework Covers

The DCF was originally introduced in 2016 and has been updated to align with the 2022 implementation of the Curriculum for Wales. It organises digital competencies across four strands:

Citizenship: This strand covers online safety, privacy, digital rights, and responsible online behaviour. It includes understanding how personal data is collected and used, recognising online threats including phishing, inappropriate content, and cyberbullying, and developing critical awareness of digital media and information sources.

Interacting and Collaborating: How learners use digital tools to communicate, share work, and collaborate with others. At primary level this includes using basic communication tools, understanding email etiquette, and sharing work appropriately. At secondary level it extends to cloud-based collaboration, constructive peer feedback in digital environments, and professional digital communication.

Producing: Creating digital content across a range of formats — text, images, audio, video, data, and code. The DCF expects learners to develop skills in digital creation progressively, moving from basic word processing and simple image editing at primary stage to more complex data manipulation, video production, and programming at secondary stage.

Data and Computational Thinking: This strand encompasses understanding how computers work, using logic and algorithms to solve problems, and developing introductory programming skills. It connects to the GCSE Computer Science content for older learners but begins with simple sorting, sequencing, and pattern-recognition activities for younger children.

Within the Curriculum for Wales, these four strands are expected to be developed through Progression Steps 1 to 5 (ages 5, 8, 11, 14, and 16), with schools integrating them into broader curriculum activities rather than delivering them as isolated computing lessons.

Do Home Educators Have to Follow the DCF?

No. Home-educated children in Wales are not required to follow the Curriculum for Wales, which means they are not required to follow the Digital Competence Framework as structured by Welsh Government guidance.

The Welsh Government's statutory EHE Guidance is explicit on this point: local authorities must evaluate provision against the parents' chosen educational approach, not against the Curriculum for Wales. The legal test is whether education is "efficient and suitable" — preparing the child for life in modern society and enabling them to reach their potential.

Digital skills clearly fall within any reasonable interpretation of preparation for modern life. A child who cannot use digital devices, assess online information critically, or create basic digital content is not being adequately prepared for adult independence or further study. So while you do not need to map your provision to the DCF's specific strands and progression steps, you do need to be able to show that your child is developing digital literacy in some form.

What Local Authorities Actually Look for

Welsh EHE officers are not digital literacy specialists. They are not checking whether your child can name the four strands of the DCF or demonstrate competence at a particular progression step. What they are looking for in relation to technology is evidence that:

• Your child uses digital tools as part of their broader education
• There is some awareness of online safety and responsible technology use
• The child has the basic digital literacy skills needed for adult life

How you demonstrate this is flexible. Common evidence approaches include:

A technology log within your portfolio: A simple record noting when your child uses technology as part of learning — researching a topic online, writing up a project using a word processor, using a coding platform like Scratch or Code.org, watching educational videos and completing related work. A log entry does not need to be extensive: a date, a brief description, and what was produced is sufficient.

Screenshots or printed outputs: A screenshot of a Scratch project your child built, a printed copy of a document they word-processed, or a photograph of the screen showing a data visualisation they created provides concrete evidence without requiring a formal assessment.

Online safety awareness: A short note — or better, a paragraph written by the child — demonstrating awareness of privacy settings, the reliability of online information, or why personal information should not be shared online satisfies the citizenship strand without formal instruction.

Project integration: If your child used research from the internet to complete a history or science project, note this in your portfolio alongside the project itself. It demonstrates that digital skills are embedded in real learning rather than taught in isolation.

Documenting Digital Competence for Older Learners

For Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 learners (roughly ages 11 to 16), the DCF expectations become more substantive. If your child is heading toward GCSEs, particularly in technology-related subjects, or toward further education and employment, demonstrating progressive digital competence becomes more significant.

WJEC offers GCSE Computer Science and GCSE Digital Technology, both of which draw on DCF competencies. As a private candidate, accessing these qualifications requires finding an approved examination centre. GCSE Computer Science is 100% terminal examination for most specifications, making it one of the more accessible GCSE options for home-educated students since there is no Non-Examination Assessment requiring centre authentication.

For the GCSE Design and Technology specifications that include a significant design portfolio component, digital design tools (CAD, presentation software, image editing) are expected as part of the portfolio evidence. Your home education portfolio at KS3 should show progression in these skills if you anticipate pursuing design-based qualifications.

Essential Skills Wales at Digital Literacy level is also worth considering for learners who want accredited digital competence without sitting a full GCSE. Agored Cymru awards this qualification through portfolio-based assessment, which integrates naturally with a home education documentation approach.

Hwb and Free Resources for DCF-Aligned Learning

The Welsh Government's Hwb platform (hwb.gov.wales) was built specifically to support DCF delivery in schools but is openly accessible to home educators. Relevant resources include:

• Digital safety modules covering online privacy, cyberbullying, and responsible social media use — suitable for KS2 and KS3
• Coding and computational thinking resources including Scratch activities and introductory Python exercises
• Digital skills progression frameworks that you can use as informal guides even if you are not formally following the Curriculum for Wales

Scratch (scratch.mit.edu) and Code.org are free, browser-based platforms that develop computational thinking progressively from age 8 upward. Both produce visible outputs — projects, programmes, completion certificates — that make straightforward portfolio evidence.

Google Digital Garage and BBC Own It offer online safety resources that older primary and secondary-age learners can work through independently.

Integrating DCF Evidence Into Your Portfolio

The simplest approach is to create a short "Digital Learning" section within your annual portfolio or education report, separate from the main subject areas. Three to five entries per term — each noting a date, a description of the digital activity, and any output produced — demonstrates consistent, embedded digital learning without creating significant administrative work.

In your annual education report to the local authority, include one paragraph on digital skills within the Science and Technology or broad curriculum section. Note the platforms and tools your child uses, reference any online safety discussions you have had, and mention any digital outputs they have created. This is sufficient to satisfy an EHE officer that digital literacy is part of your provision.

For a complete portfolio framework that includes a dedicated digital learning log alongside all other documentation required for Welsh home education — including the annual report template, LA cover letter citing current Welsh Government guidance, and IDP tracking for ALN families — the Wales Portfolio & Assessment Templates gives you a ready-to-use structure built specifically for Welsh law.

The Digital Competence Framework is a meaningful framework that reflects genuine skills your child needs. Documenting digital learning in Wales does not require replicating school computing lessons — it requires showing that technology use is embedded in your child's broader education and that they are developing the awareness and skills to use it responsibly and effectively.

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