Learning pathways awarded with digital badges

Help learners articulate the skills, knowledge and experience they develop through your activities.

Digital badges explained

A digital badge is a smart, simple, and visual way of recognising non-accredited learning.

It helps the learner to understand what skills they have developed and lets them share their achievement on their CV, with an employer or prospective employer, or via social media. Digital badges provide motivation and reward for learning and are a digital marker of achievement commonly used to recognise skills and competencies.

Badging standard

The RSA has created a badging standard describing four competency levels gained with each digital badge. These descriptors help badge creators and earners explain a badge’s level or pathway through a learning journey.

The RSA badging standard has four layers, each with a specific purpose:

Eligibility

Joining is open to anyone, including individuals, organisations and local authorities.

To get the most from our network, you’ll:

contribute as often as you can, with no formal commitment needed.

have an entrepreneurial, open and collaborative mindset

champion innovative place-based practice

Engage

This shows that a learner has learned about a new topic. For example, they attended a talk, exhibition or open day and gained a basic level of understanding in a new subject area.

Participate

This shows that a learner has interacted with learning by participating in a learning experience. For example, they attended a workshop, training or club requiring some hands-on interaction, or the learning they undertook required some degree of self-direction.

Demonstrate

This shows that a learner has applied knowledge in a real-world environment to gain experience and get feedback. For example, they took part in a competition, work experience or project, or participated in an assessed learning experience.

Lead

This shows that a learner has embedded knowledge in different contexts and influenced others. For example, they join an ambassador or leadership programme and can take their subject knowledge to others.

Learning pathways explained

A pathway helps a learner to progress through the steps needed to reach a goal. The motivation through a pathway of learning is provided by breaking it down into steps, which could each be awarded with a digital badge, or the pathway as a whole be awarded with a digital badge.

The goal of the Cities of Learning programme is to:

work with place-based leaders to identify existing learning pathways
work with place-based leaders and employers to identify gaps in learning that support local employment goals, and to help design and fill these gaps
work in partnership with place-based leaders and learning providers to design new pathways that connect learners to employment opportunities and beyond.