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Answers on new qualifications Fast Facts NEW NATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS have replaced Standard Grades. Named National 1 through to National 5, the new qualifications replace Access and Standard Grade qualifications and, in two years’ time, Intermediate qualifications NATIONAL 3 replaces Standard Grade at Foundation level, National 4 replaces Standard Grade at General level and National 5 replaces Standard Grade at Credit level THE NEW QUALIFICATIONS have been designed to complement the Curriculum for Excellence, which has been taught in Scottish secondary schools since 2010 PUPILS STARTING S4 this year have been following Curriculum for Excellence since they
started secondary school NATIONAL 4 QUALIFICATIONS will consist of coursework and other assessments marked in schools by teachers. National 4 will be graded as pass or fail NATIONAL 5 QUALIFICATIONS will consist of coursework and other assessments marked in schools by teachers but also include an assessment marked by the SQA – this will usually be a test or question paper done under exam conditions. National 5 will be graded A-D PUPILS WILL STUDY FOR THEIR NATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS in S4 over one year. Schools and local authorities will determine how many subject pupils can take in their fourth year.
DR GILL STEWART understands parents’ concerns about the subjects their children are studying at school and whether they will stand them in good stead for future success. As director of qualifications development at the Scottish Qualifications Authority, she has been responsible for helping to develop the new National Qualifications that all youngsters from S4 to S6 will now study. But she is also mum to 15-yearold Callum, who has just moved into S4 at a secondary school in Falkirk, so her own son will be one of the first pupils to experience the new qualifications. The Nationals, as they are called, have replaced Access and Standard Grades and will also replace Intermediates over the next two years. Here, Gill describes what the changes will mean.
Q: How clear are parents on the changes? And how will pupils be affected? Gill: As with any change, it takes time for messages to get through to everyone. For instance, we know some people still talk about doing O-Grades at school. S4 pupils who are now studying for the new National Qualifications have been following Curriculum for Excellence since they started in secondary school and all the new qualifications are doing is complementing the style of learning they are already familiar with. We’re working with schools and local authorities to help parents, families and employers understand what the changes mean.
Q: Can you explain a little bit about the changes that are coming into effect this year? Gill: Standard Grades, which had been around for more than 25 years, have now been replaced by new qualifications called Nationals. National 3 replaces Standard Grade at foundation level, National 4 replaces Standard Grade at general level and National 5 replaces Standard Grade at credit level.
Q: What will be different about the new qualifications compared with Standard Grades? Gill: The first three years at secondary school are now described as a broad general education. That means pupils will study a broader range of subjects for a longer period. Pupils will start studying for the new Nationals at the beginning of S4. This is a big change from the
SQA expert and mum Dr Gill Stewart explains the benefits of major changes to education previous system, when pupils started their standard grades in S3 and did them over two years. Pupils should be at a more advanced point when they start the new Nationals than a pupil starting Standard Grades in S3. At National 5 level, final exams remain an important part of the system. But in the majority of subjects, there is more emphasis on coursework and on-going assessment throughout the year. Those studying courses at National 1 through to National 4 won’t have formal exams next spring but they will be assessed on an ongoing basis by their teachers using SQA assessments. The assessment judgments made by teachers will be checked by the SQA to ensure they are to national standard. The SQA uses this type of approach in other qualifications – such as HNCs and HNDs.
Q: Did your experience as a parent help shape the new qualifications at all? Gill: The fact that I am a parent with a son who will do the new Nationals has
Dr Gill Stewart given me a different perspective. When we were developing them, I could always envisage my son or his friends and it makes you want to do the very best for all of them. It just gave me another driver to make sure that the qualifications are as good as they can be for the young people of Scotland.
Q: What are the aims of the new qualifications? Gill: The new National Qualifications place greater emphasis on what is known as deeper learning – in other words, what we are trying to do is help pupils to think for themselves. There is more emphasis on skills along with the key knowledge and understanding required in those subjects. We want our young people to be able to apply their skills and knowledge to solve problems that they have not come across before. That may mean being asked to examine a particular problem and develop a method of solving that problem using the skills and knowledge they may have developed in that class or in another, then presenting their findings and explaining how they went about the task. That’s something most people would be familiar with in the workplace, using their experience to
tackle a problem they may not have encountered before and it is essential for life after school.
achieve. Schools have also been working hard to explain the new qualifications to parents.
Q: Do you feel that parents and carers have a good understanding of the changes and how the new qualifications will support the Curriculum for Excellence?
Q: What kinds of resources are available for parents and carers who want to learn more about the Curriculum for Excellence and the new qualifications?
Gill: Being a parent means that I also have an understanding of how parents feel, which has been very useful. If you have a child who’s just started on the new Nationals, you’re probably ahead of the game in your understanding of how your school is delivering the new qualifications. For everyone else, there may be a bit of a learning curve, as we tend to think about the qualifications we did at school such as Standard Grades, Intermediates or O-Grades. But we’ve been working closely with parent groups such as Scottish Parent Teacher Council and National Parent Forum of Scotland both of whom were involved in developing the new qualifications. Our Liaison Team regularly present at parents’ evenings and events to explain the changes and help them understand what we’re planning to
Gill: We produce a leaflet for parents that covers everything you need to know about the new qualifications. We hand these out at parents’ events and post it on the parents’ section of our website, www.sqa.org.uk/ cfeforparents. We also have Specimen Question papers that may help parents to support their children who are studying National 5 subjects.
Q: How do you foresee the new qualifications benefiting Scotland’s young people in the long run? Gill: The world is a very competitive place and good qualifications and a rounded education can make the difference and help you stand out from the crowd – be that helping you get a job, a place on a training scheme, an apprenticeship or on to a
college or university course. The new National qualifications are better-suited to developing the skills young people will need to succeed in the 21st century. They enhance the skills young people develop in one subject by bringing them into use in another, building a more rounded approach to learning and linking that learning across different subjects. This will help skills development and enhance literacy and numeracy skills. For example, pupils may use their knowledge of English to structure an argument in a history assignment or write up a scientific investigation.
Support for families and employers THE SQA has a dedicated team that works with teachers, lecturers, employers and parents groups to ensure they understand the changes to the National Qualifications. During the past three years, the team have attended in-service days and department meetings in schools and colleges, conferences with employers and parents’ information sessions and parents’ evenings.
Q: Where can parents go for more information? Gill: We have loads of information on our website, so take a look on www.sqa.org.uk/cfe. We’re also on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Useful web & social media links www.sqa.org.uk/curriculumforexcellence www.facebook.com/Scottish QualificationsAuthority www.facebook.com/MySQA.SAM @sqanews @mysqa_sam www.youtube.com/user/SQAonline