Unit Award Scheme
Sparking STEM is proud to be an approved AQA accredited Unit Award Scheme centre
AQA Centre number: 84721 - SPARKING STEM
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As an approved, AQA accredited UAS centre, we are delighted to be able to offer our learners the opportunity to gain accredited recognition of the skills and learning they develop in our Outdoor STEM and Practical Science sessions.
(Available from September 2025) Enrolled learners receive formal AQA certificates for every unit they complete, helping to boost confidence and improve engagement and motivation as they build a portfolio of accredited evidence of their learning journey. Units are designed to enable users to gain recognition of a wide range of skills, knowledge and achievements without having to sit exams, or undergo formal assessment. Tell me all about it! |
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The Unit Award Scheme with Sparking STEM
Why join the Unit Award Scheme?
How does it work?
How do I enrol?
What is AQA?
What is the AQA Unit Award Scheme?
Who is it suitable for?
What does my child have to do?
How many units can they do?
What if my child does not complete the unit or misses unit session?
Can we get a refund if we change our mind or can only book on to one half term?
How does it work?
How do I enrol?
What is AQA?
What is the AQA Unit Award Scheme?
Who is it suitable for?
What does my child have to do?
How many units can they do?
What if my child does not complete the unit or misses unit session?
Can we get a refund if we change our mind or can only book on to one half term?
Why join the Unit Award Scheme with Sparking STEM?
Students can demonstrate their knowledge and skills in a range of different ways to suit them, such as completing hands-on activities, joining discussions, building something, labelling their creation, gesturing, role play, and so much more.
Sparking STEM facilitators are trusted by AQA to find evidence methods that suit individual learners so that we can award students for showing us what they can do, however they can do it best.
✅ Gain AQA accredited certification of skills, experiences and knowledge
✅ Learners evidence their abilities however suits them best
✅ No exams, tests or formal assessments
✅ No submission of written work
✅ Your child can gain confidence, motivation and boost to their self esteem
✅ Collect AQA accredited (high quality, printed, with hologram) certificates and build a portfolio of awards.
✅ No additional sessions or external work: Students demonstrate their skills as they take part in existing Outdoor STEM or Practical Science sessions
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Students can demonstrate their knowledge and skills in a range of different ways to suit them, such as completing hands-on activities, joining discussions, building something, labelling their creation, gesturing, role play, and so much more.
Sparking STEM facilitators are trusted by AQA to find evidence methods that suit individual learners so that we can award students for showing us what they can do, however they can do it best.
✅ Gain AQA accredited certification of skills, experiences and knowledge
✅ Learners evidence their abilities however suits them best
✅ No exams, tests or formal assessments
✅ No submission of written work
✅ Your child can gain confidence, motivation and boost to their self esteem
✅ Collect AQA accredited (high quality, printed, with hologram) certificates and build a portfolio of awards.
✅ No additional sessions or external work: Students demonstrate their skills as they take part in existing Outdoor STEM or Practical Science sessions
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How does it work?
Notes for September booking:
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Notes for September booking:
- You will be able to purchase enrolment for your child separately to any outdoor STEM booking so it does not impact your booking for September. I'll send out an email in July when it is available for booking and you can sign up then if you wish to.
- There are no limitations on places and you can enrol any time so there is no competition for places or urgency to book.
- Students must be enrolled to take part (see “How do I enrol?”), for which there is a one-off fee per academic year (September to September). The fee will be visible here shortly. The pricing structure is being finalised and will be available here shortly. It is likely that you will have a choice between paying an annual fee that covers both enrolment and taking part in any UAS sessions available within that year, or paying an enrolment fee and selecting to pay additionally to take part in the scheme during specific blocks of sessions.
- You can enrol your child in the Sparking STEM AQA Unit Award Scheme at any time of the year, but your child will have the most opportunities to gain awards if you enrol them at the beginning of the academic year. For example, if you enrol in the “September 2025 -August 2026 UAS” in March 2026, your child will only have a few months in which they may have unit opportunities, whereas if you were to enrol in Sep 2025, they will have a whole academic year of opportunities to gain unit awards.
- Once enrolled, you will be sent a personalised Sparking STEM log in and a unique learner number. You can log in (see main menu at the top of our website) to your Sparking STEM UAS account at any time on the Sparking STEM website to see your learner number, dates of enrolment and status of any units your child is entered for. You will also be able to see the unit codes and look up the criteria for each unit on the AQA unit library.
- Sparking STEM will offer at least two opportunities per half term of Outdoor STEM or Practical Science to complete units during sessions. Some may be completed within individual sessions on one day and some may be awarded over the course of the half term for demonstrating various skills across multiple sessions. Learners simply take part in the session as they normally would, and Sparking STEM facilitators will encourage them to demonstrate the criteria required for completion of the unit as necessary within that session.
- To complete a unit and gain certification a learner must complete all the criteria specified in the AQA Unit.
- It is really important to realise that taking part in the scheme does not guarantee that your child will gain the certificates. We will do everything we can to support and encourage them to take part without pressure, but we cannot (and will not) make them do it if they are unwilling! Please consider this carefully before you pay to join the scheme. If your child is not keen to do it or may be unwilling to join in with the opportunities offered in UAS sessions you may end up paying but receive no certificate(s). (Please note that there can be no refunds as we will have paid AQA for enrolment and worked to run, assess and do all the admin for the assessment whether they pass or not).
- You will be able to see which units will be offered on the bookings pages for each half term of Outdoor STEM or each Practical Science session. You will be able to look up the full details of the unit and its criteria for completion on the AQA website. You’ll see that there may be up to three 'levels' offered for one topic. There is no need for you or your child to select a level. Levels are not shown on certificates and do not relate to any standard levels of the curriculum or other awards. They are for guiding teachers only. The learners do not need to know which level they are completing and we will not tell them. As a default, we will use "Entry level" for the 6-10s group, "Level 1" for the 8-12s groups and "Level 2" for 11-16s groups, but may adapt this for different learners to submit evidence for the highest level your child has been able to demonstrate.
- During Outdoor STEM / Practical Science sessions, the facilitator will evidence the learner’s completion of the unit criteria, and do everything possible to ensure that your child has evidenced everything they need to, to complete the unit. Please be aware that we will not pressure or push a child to do something they do not want to do however, so enrolling them does not guarantee that they will complete the unit and gain certification.
- We will submit our evidence of learner's completion of a unit to AQA at the end of each half term. You’ll be able to track the progress by logging in to your Sparking STEM account.
- AQA will send us a high quality, AQA accredited, hologrammed, formal paper certificate for your child, which we will deliver to you either at sessions or by post.
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How do I enrol?
You will be able to join the scheme here, from July 2025.
Please note, all enrolments and units are per individual child. Two siblings would need two enrolments etc.
You will be able to select the enrolment option you wish, add it to your cart and check out!
You will be sent an email confirming your enrolment with a quick registration form to complete so that we have the information we need for your member log in page and AQA enrolment, and shortly afterwards you will receive another email with your Sparking STEM log in details and unique AQA learner number.
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You will be able to join the scheme here, from July 2025.
Please note, all enrolments and units are per individual child. Two siblings would need two enrolments etc.
You will be able to select the enrolment option you wish, add it to your cart and check out!
You will be sent an email confirming your enrolment with a quick registration form to complete so that we have the information we need for your member log in page and AQA enrolment, and shortly afterwards you will receive another email with your Sparking STEM log in details and unique AQA learner number.
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What is AQA?
AQA stands for The Assessment and Qualifications Alliance. It is an awarding body in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and the largest provider of academic qualifications in the UK. You can learn more about them here.
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AQA stands for The Assessment and Qualifications Alliance. It is an awarding body in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and the largest provider of academic qualifications in the UK. You can learn more about them here.
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What is the AQA Unit Award Scheme
The AQA Unit Award Scheme (UAS) is designed to offer a flexible way for students to gain accredited certification of their learning and achievements without the need for written exams. AQA’s adaptive approach enables approved AQA UAS centres, like Sparking STEM, to design and award specific unit awards to fit their learning opportunities, and their learners. Sparking STEM can therefore offer a range of skills-based units like “working scientifically” for example, or “designing an experiment” as well as awards for specific learning topics, like “identifying invertebrates” or “carrying out a neutralisation reaction”, and so much more.
Any student can gain confidence and recognition by completing units. For those who may struggle to access formal examinations, the UAS can offer a unique way to engage in accredited, certificated learning by allowing them to demonstrate their knowledge and skills however suits them best, without the need for written exams.
When enrolled students complete a unit successfully, they will receive a formal certificate from AQA. They can complete as many units as they like and build a portfolio of their achievements to evidence their skills and learning. Sparking STEM offers a wide range of units and opportunities for enrolled students to complete them. You can read more about how UAS works at Sparking STEM here.
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The AQA Unit Award Scheme (UAS) is designed to offer a flexible way for students to gain accredited certification of their learning and achievements without the need for written exams. AQA’s adaptive approach enables approved AQA UAS centres, like Sparking STEM, to design and award specific unit awards to fit their learning opportunities, and their learners. Sparking STEM can therefore offer a range of skills-based units like “working scientifically” for example, or “designing an experiment” as well as awards for specific learning topics, like “identifying invertebrates” or “carrying out a neutralisation reaction”, and so much more.
Any student can gain confidence and recognition by completing units. For those who may struggle to access formal examinations, the UAS can offer a unique way to engage in accredited, certificated learning by allowing them to demonstrate their knowledge and skills however suits them best, without the need for written exams.
When enrolled students complete a unit successfully, they will receive a formal certificate from AQA. They can complete as many units as they like and build a portfolio of their achievements to evidence their skills and learning. Sparking STEM offers a wide range of units and opportunities for enrolled students to complete them. You can read more about how UAS works at Sparking STEM here.
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Who is it suitable for?
The Unit Award Scheme is suitable for any student working at any level.
It helps if your child is keen to take part as they will need to join in the offered activities in sessions for us to be able to evidence their accomplishments. Sparking STEM staff will find a way for a child to demonstrate their skills and knowledge in a way that suits them, but we will not pressure, push or coerce a child to do something they do not want to do. It is therefore important that they are aware of their enrolment and keen to take part.
For practical reasons, Sparking STEM can currently offer enrolment in the UAS for children attending the 6-10s, 8-12s and 11-16s Outdoor STEM groups, and 8-12s and 11-16s Practical Science sessions.
If your child is not keen to do it or to try to complete the tasks in UAS sessions you may pay but receive no certificate(s) as we will not be able to run that session again. (Please note that there can be no refunds as we will have paid AQA for enrolment and worked to run the assessment whether they pass or not).
As the 4-8s Outdoor STEM sessions are shorter it is not currently possible to offer UAS to students in the 4-8s groups, though we hope to find a way to do this in the future.
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The Unit Award Scheme is suitable for any student working at any level.
It helps if your child is keen to take part as they will need to join in the offered activities in sessions for us to be able to evidence their accomplishments. Sparking STEM staff will find a way for a child to demonstrate their skills and knowledge in a way that suits them, but we will not pressure, push or coerce a child to do something they do not want to do. It is therefore important that they are aware of their enrolment and keen to take part.
For practical reasons, Sparking STEM can currently offer enrolment in the UAS for children attending the 6-10s, 8-12s and 11-16s Outdoor STEM groups, and 8-12s and 11-16s Practical Science sessions.
If your child is not keen to do it or to try to complete the tasks in UAS sessions you may pay but receive no certificate(s) as we will not be able to run that session again. (Please note that there can be no refunds as we will have paid AQA for enrolment and worked to run the assessment whether they pass or not).
As the 4-8s Outdoor STEM sessions are shorter it is not currently possible to offer UAS to students in the 4-8s groups, though we hope to find a way to do this in the future.
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What does my child have to do?
They just need to be keen and willing to take part and do everything they can in UAS sessions to join in with the opportunities offered!
Enrolled learners simply attend Outdoor STEM and Practical Science sessions as they normally would, and enjoy hands-on, practical engaging STEM learning, demonstrations and activities. They do not need to do any prior preparation. They simply need to take part in the learning opportunities offered in sessions. They may be encouraged by the facilitator to clearly evidence specific criteria for the unit in a way that works for them without pressure or any negative experience, but the units are designed by Sparking STEM to evidence the things they would be doing in that session anyway, and the things all children will be offered in that session. There should be no difference in their experience and they would not be treated differently to other students. They simply have the opportunity to gain accredited, certification of everything they would be doing in our sessions normally!
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They just need to be keen and willing to take part and do everything they can in UAS sessions to join in with the opportunities offered!
Enrolled learners simply attend Outdoor STEM and Practical Science sessions as they normally would, and enjoy hands-on, practical engaging STEM learning, demonstrations and activities. They do not need to do any prior preparation. They simply need to take part in the learning opportunities offered in sessions. They may be encouraged by the facilitator to clearly evidence specific criteria for the unit in a way that works for them without pressure or any negative experience, but the units are designed by Sparking STEM to evidence the things they would be doing in that session anyway, and the things all children will be offered in that session. There should be no difference in their experience and they would not be treated differently to other students. They simply have the opportunity to gain accredited, certification of everything they would be doing in our sessions normally!
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How many units can they do?
A learner who is enrolled for the full academic year (Sep to Sep) and attends all Outdoor STEM and Practical Science sessions may have over twenty opportunities in that academic year to complete units and gain certificates. If you only attend one half term you will have at least two opportunities to complete units and gain certificates.
You can enrol again for the next academic year to complete a new set of Outdoor STEM units.
Practical Science units will be repeated each year as the sessions each year are the same.
Outdoor STEM units are likely to be repeated every two years, though we hope to extend this in time!
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A learner who is enrolled for the full academic year (Sep to Sep) and attends all Outdoor STEM and Practical Science sessions may have over twenty opportunities in that academic year to complete units and gain certificates. If you only attend one half term you will have at least two opportunities to complete units and gain certificates.
You can enrol again for the next academic year to complete a new set of Outdoor STEM units.
Practical Science units will be repeated each year as the sessions each year are the same.
Outdoor STEM units are likely to be repeated every two years, though we hope to extend this in time!
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What if my child does not complete the unit or misses a unit session?
The aim of the scheme is to provide a positive experience and confidence boost for our learners. We will therefore never pressure our learners to do something they do not want to do, though we will do everything we possibly can to engage them and encourage them to complete the unit criteria, often in such a way that they will not even be aware that they’ve done it! If a child does not want to take part, or is unable to complete a unit due to illness or absence, it may occasionally be possible for them to complete it in another session, though this is only possible if it is a unit that spans several sessions. We won't be able to repeat a session if they miss it.
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The aim of the scheme is to provide a positive experience and confidence boost for our learners. We will therefore never pressure our learners to do something they do not want to do, though we will do everything we possibly can to engage them and encourage them to complete the unit criteria, often in such a way that they will not even be aware that they’ve done it! If a child does not want to take part, or is unable to complete a unit due to illness or absence, it may occasionally be possible for them to complete it in another session, though this is only possible if it is a unit that spans several sessions. We won't be able to repeat a session if they miss it.
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Can we get a refund?
Refunds can only be offered if Sparking STEM is unable to deliver a unit or complete an assessment.
We are unable to offer refunds for any other situation, such as enrollments where you no longer wish to attend, sessions your child misses, or units that they have not been able to complete.
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Refunds can only be offered if Sparking STEM is unable to deliver a unit or complete an assessment.
We are unable to offer refunds for any other situation, such as enrollments where you no longer wish to attend, sessions your child misses, or units that they have not been able to complete.
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