How Developing Self and Others is scored
Developing Self and Others is scored on the Civil Service's 1–7 scale against the level descriptor for the grade. Most passed statements sit at 4 or 5; 6 and 7 need evidence above the level. Here is what each band looks like for this behaviour.
The 1–7 scale in plain English
Scores 1–3 mean the evidence falls short of the level: 3 shows some positive evidence but with gaps, 2 shows minimal evidence, 1 shows little or none. A 4 is an acceptable demonstration, 5 is good, 6 is strong and 7 is excellent. In practice, 4 is the benchmark pass for the level, and 6 or 7 usually means your evidence exceeded it.
Departments set their own pass marks per campaign, so the score you need varies. Check the job advert and any candidate pack; as of July 2026 there is no single national pass mark for the sift.
What 4, 5, 6 and 7 look like for this behaviour
| Score | What the evidence shows | Typical signs |
|---|---|---|
| 4 — acceptable | Meets the level: a real need, real action, a stated result | Feedback acted on; result named but lightly measured |
| 5 — good | Meets the level fully, with specific personal actions | Structured support for another person; clear 'I'; a number in the result |
| 6 — strong | Exceeds the level in places; wider or longer-lasting impact | Others' development at the centre; impact that outlasted you; several numbers |
| 7 — excellent | Consistently above the level; organisational feel | Learning built into how the team works; impact across teams; compelling measures |
The jump from 4 to 5 is usually about specificity, not scale. The jump from 5 to 6 or 7 is about reach: how many people grew, how long the change lasted, and whether learning became part of the system rather than a one-off effort.
How assessors reach the score
Assessors read the statement once, highlight evidence against the positive and negative indicators for the level, then make a holistic judgement. They do not deduct marks for style, and they cannot credit things you left unsaid. Two assessors may score independently before agreeing, depending on the department's process.
From the official guidance
The 1–7 behaviour scoring scale is described in the Success Profiles guidance on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/success-profiles. Individual departments decide pass marks and moderation arrangements for each campaign.
What moderation means for you
After scoring, departments moderate: they check consistency across assessors and campaigns, review borderline scripts and sometimes adjust. You cannot control moderation, but you can make your statement moderation-proof by being unmistakably specific — a script that clearly meets the descriptor rarely gets argued down.
If you score a 4, treat it as a pass at the level and bank the learning. If you score 3, ask for feedback where the department offers it, then rewrite around the gaps: usually an unnamed development need, missing personal actions or an unmeasured result. Keep the old draft and compare — the difference between versions teaches you exactly what the descriptors reward.
Why this scores well
Statements that score 6 and 7 for this behaviour share a pattern: the writer develops someone else through a structured approach, shows their own learning being applied, and closes with numbers that show the change outlasted them.
Frequently asked questions
It varies by department and campaign — each sets its own pass mark, often 4 or above per behaviour. The job advert or candidate pack states the arrangement. As of July 2026 there is no single national pass mark, so always check the specific advert rather than relying on general rules.
No. A 4 means you acceptably demonstrated the behaviour at the level — it is the benchmark the descriptors are written to. Scores of 5 and above are stronger, but a set of 4s frequently passes sifts. Focus on making every behaviour a clear 4 before chasing 6s.
Almost never at junior grades, because 7 requires evidence consistently above the level. An ordinary story told superbly typically reaches 5 or 6. To reach 7, the substance itself must exceed the descriptor — wider reach, longer impact, learning embedded in the system.
Yes — every Success Profiles behaviour is scored on the same 1–7 scale against its level descriptor. What changes between behaviours is the indicator set. Departments may also weight behaviours differently or set different pass marks per behaviour for a role.
Next step
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