Confirm the route before you plan.
Planned portfolio only. Confirm Avenor scope, registered plan, project/media handling, assessor capability, capacity, fees and dates.
Checked 20 October 2026: version 1.0 remains available through 12 April 2027; its approved replacement begins for new starts on 13 April 2027.
View the official standard and assessment plan ↗What this occupation demonstrates
Digital learning designers scope, design, develop and evaluate learning experiences using appropriate technologies and evidence about how people learn. Their work connects learner need, subject expertise, accessibility, platform constraints and evaluation. Preparation should show why a design choice supports the intended outcome, how feedback changed the product and where evidence about effectiveness remains limited. Providers need a clear route for project approval, portfolio authenticity and accessible presentation of varied media rather than a showcase of polished screens alone.
Providers and employers supporting learning designers, learning technologists, instructional designers and e-learning developers across education and workplace settings.
- Translate a learner and organisational need into measurable learning-design decisions.
- Create accessible digital learning outputs and explain technology choices and constraints.
- Evaluate learning evidence proportionately and use it to improve a design.
Prepare for a fair assessment
Use the applicable plan as your starting point. The following are preparation prompts, rather than additional gateway requirements or a substitute for the assessment specification.
- Trace one design from discovery through prototype, accessibility review, delivery and evaluation. Preserve rejected choices and feedback so the final artefact does not hide the reasoning.
- Use synthetic learner records in rehearsal. If workplace evaluation contains identities, needs or performance data, minimise and sanitise it before transfer and keep accessibility needs confidential.
- Plan around version 1.0 for starts through 12 April 2027. A revised standard and plan are scheduled for starts from 13 April 2027 and require separate method mapping.
Plan a useful handover.
Buy this route around the provider's real learning-design model, not a preferred authoring tool. Sample the cohort's access to learners, subject experts, accessible testing and a project with enough scope to reveal professional decisions. Ask how varied media can be submitted and reviewed without inaccessible formats or unnecessary learner data. The provider should own curriculum and version mapping; the employer should approve project access and data use; the proposed assessment partner should explain project approval, media specifications, reasonable adjustments and continuity before the learner commits to an output.
A realistic evidence conversation
Illustrative, not prescribed: an apprentice redesigns a synthetic safety module after task evidence shows that learners can recall rules but cannot choose the right action. The record contains an anonymised needs analysis, accessible prototype, alternative considered, user feedback, change log and evaluation limits. No learner performance records are uploaded. Use the case to ask how assessment will distinguish attractive production from sound learning design, verify the apprentice's contribution and handle interactive or multimedia evidence accessibly.
Handover checks
- Provider confirms version, project opportunity, portfolio ownership and accessible output formats.
- Employer learning and data owners approve learner research, evaluation and sanitisation boundaries.
- Assessment contact confirms project-scope approval, media transfer and reasonable-adjustment processes.
Questions to ask before buying
- How will learning-design reasoning and evaluation be assessed beyond the quality of the final media?
- Which accessible formats and secure routes support interactive or multimedia evidence?
- How will registrations before and after 13 April 2027 be separated?
Turn preparation into a working plan.
Use these free tools for this occupation’s preparation tasks. Keep confidential employer and apprentice information out of browser worksheets; the applicable plan and written agreement take priority.
Map learning-design evidence
Trace needs, design, accessibility, evaluation and personal contribution.
Practise design reasoning
Rehearse original questions about evidence, inclusion and evaluation limits.
Check project readiness
Review scope, media access, data controls and version ownership.
Think it through.
Explain your decisions.
These are original learning prompts. They are not live assessment questions, an official mock paper or a prediction of your result.
1. Completion is high but learners still make the same workplace error. What would you review?
Explore a response structure
Revisit the intended performance, activity alignment, feedback and transfer to practice. Compare completion with evidence of learning and behaviour; identify what additional observation or data is justified.
2. A stakeholder asks for an animation that creates an accessibility barrier. How would you respond?
Explore a response structure
Clarify the learning purpose, explain the barrier, offer an accessible alternative and test with relevant users. Record the decision and avoid treating a compliance checklist as a substitute for usable learning.
3. How would you distinguish your contribution on a multidisciplinary learning project?
Explore a response structure
Identify the research, design, prototype, decision and evaluation work you owned, while naming subject-expert and developer contributions. Use version history and approved artefacts without claiming team outputs as personal work.
Questions about this standard
Which methods apply to version 1.0?
A professional discussion underpinned by a portfolio, and a project with presentation and questioning. The project title and scope require the plan's agreement process; the revised April 2027 plan must be checked separately.
Is an online course itself sufficient evidence?
A finished product may support the story, but preparation should preserve needs analysis, design reasoning, accessibility, testing, feedback, evaluation and the apprentice's contribution.
Can a planned Avenor page be used to book?
No. Confirm scope, version, assessor capability, media/evidence arrangements, capacity, fees and dates first.
Sources and review
Guide updated 20 October 2026; official source reviewed 20 October 2026. Standard titles, versions and requirements can change. Always check the linked official record for the apprentice’s start date.
Skills England: Digital Learning Designer ↗