Reporting from SQA Quality Assurance meeting at The Optima

I got chatting with a colleague from a residential school in the North East of Scotland today. We explored the problems faced when a pupil is on a short-term placement, or when a placement ends prematurely (both common in facilities for 'Looked After and Accommodated Children'). He regularly experiences (and we do to some extent) the situation where a pupil has completed all but one of the outcome assessments in a National Unit at Access 3 level. Often this situation is replicated across the curriculum. Unlike at Access 1 and 2, such pupils at present cannot be certificated for individual outcomes. Therefore they do not receive credit for achievements, often during times of great flux. Additionally, there is no central record (easily accessed, such as SQA Net) whereby their next education establishment can pick up from the most appropriate point in their studies, avoiding repetition (and more frustration, no doubt!). We appreciated there must be difficulties in adapting current SQA software to handle such data entry, though we both felt that such a situation seems unfair and needless.

I pressed one of the SQA representatives on the need for SQA (amongst other parties) to promote and facilitate the sharing of amended NABs and ideas for producing valid, 'fit-for-purpose' NABs. I was given great encouragement and hope myself and other educators will be part of a conversation to take this forward.