Award Scheme Development and Accreditation Network

ASDAN

Purpose	Educational
Location	Bristol, United Kingdom
Managing Director	Jenny Williams

ASDAN (Award Scheme Development and Accreditation Network) is a British charity organisation with awarding body status, headquartered in Bristol. It provides educational opportunities for young people, helping learners to develop their personal and social attributes through its award programmes and qualifications. It began as a research project of the University of the West of England in the 1980s, and was formally established as an educational charity in 1991.

Its courses are managed by teachers, lecturers and training providers, and are taught in thousands of schools, colleges, training providers and youth centres. ASDAN supervises the moderation and verification of its courses. It publishes a range of books to accompany its courses, and develops new qualifications based on the needs of the profession.

The stated purpose of the charity is this: "The advancement of education, by providing opportunities for all learners to develop their personal and social attributes and levels of achievement through ASDAN awards and resources, and the relief of poverty, where poverty inhibits such opportunities for learners."

The charity has a relief of poverty fund which provides grants to registered centres to do things differently, especially where this helps to increase educational opportunity and alleviate the effects of deprivation and poverty, both in this country and overseas.s.

ASDAN award programmes and qualifications are usually vocational in nature, and are mainly aimed at students between 11 and 25. They aim to develop the skills of young people who have struggled in academic subjects, but they are also taken by other students. They accredit skills for learning, employment and life, focusing on personal skills development, PSHE, work related learning, foundation learning, volunteering and special educational needs.

Its flagship course is Certificate of Personal Effectiveness (CoPE), which is a nationally recognised qualification. It can be studied in Years 10 and 11 (Scottish S4 and S5), or in post 16 education, either within the whole school PSHE programme or within the option system. It aims to develop skills and knowledge in areas such as communication, citizenship and community, beliefs and values, the environment, health and fitness, and independent living, among other things. CoPE Level 3 offers a tariff of 16 UCAS points towards university admission in 2017 (comparable to an B grade at AS Level).