NPA in Rural skills At SCQF level 5 Validated March 2009

Background Landbased sector relatively small but very diverse (17 sub-sectors) Relatively poorly understood career pathways within this This qualification was developed as a progression from Rural Skills: intermediate 1 (SfW, SCQF level 4) Replaced the old SPA in Rural Skills at SCQF 5

Who was all involved? SQA NQ development team Oatridge College Barony College Elmwood College Angus College Langside College Highland School liaison officer Lantra (sector skills council)

Why we got involved Heavily involved in the development of the Rural Skills: intermediate 1 programme Saw a need for a more streamlined progression route than the original SPA at SCQF 5 As a centre, we recognised the value of shorter introductory qualifications at a higher level for school and post school learners

The Development Phase Timelines Began September 08 with an initial meeting of centre staff who indicated interest in the project- arranged by NQGA team Group met on 4 occasions Completion March 2009 by which point we had to have a completed group award validation document prepared for operational validation Launch event at Royal Highland Show in June 2009 by Lantra

Working as the Lead Centre Tasks included – Submission of P1 form (group award proposal) – Submission of P2 form (NQ unit development proposal) – Lead the stakeholder consultation/research – Chair meetings and co- ordinate events – Lead the mapping of National Occupational Standards – Write the validation proposal document (which becomes arrangements document) – Arrange validation panel and invite – Lead presentation to panel

What went well Worked well as a team: complex framework due to the diversity of the sector Team kept well to the tight timeframes Margaret Curran and Pat Hendry were stars!! The resulting qualification is fit for purpose and already being used sucessfully

What we could perhaps have done better The stakeholder consultation was done through online survey- high response rate but left a little late! The mapping to NOS was very difficult because of the 8 routes we created Had enough time?

The benefits for participating colleagues CPD: Learning to work within design principles, unit writing, writing assessment exemplars, validation processes Contributing to a qualification development which creates robust progression into the sector Networking and sharing practice Useful products for use in our centres!

Thank you for listening