SCOTTISH QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY WELCOME TO THE HNC/D SOCIAL SCIENCES ANNUAL STAFF DEVELOPMENT EVENT 4 NOVEMBER 2015

PROGRAMME FOR THE DAY amCoffee & Registration amWelcome & SQA UpdateCarol Hunter, SQA amSchool/College PartnershipsJane Handley, Head of Centre for College Community, Edinburgh College amPoster Presentation (Politics A)Colin Ross, Curriculum Manager, Social Sciences, Ayrshire College 12 noonBreak pmSociology A and BColin Ross, Curriculum Manager, Social Sciences, Ayrshire College pmSocial Sciences Scoping ExerciseCarol Hunter, SQA 1 pmPlenary 1.15 pmLunch

VALIDATION DATES Old HND G87J 16finish date 31/07/2015 New HNC GC3J15start 01/08/2011- valid indefinitely New HND GC3K16start date 01/08/2011- valid indefinitely Five year review due

2015 Operational Plan Update PDA Criminology  Live as of 1 st August 2015  Designed to:- introduce candidates to a selection of topics and areas of debates that inform contemporary justice. Candidates will examine how crime and criminal justice have been theorised and then consider theoretical explanations of crime causation and criminalisation; look at the aims of the criminal justice and penal system  Suitable for a wide range of learners  Develops wide range of generic skills

2015 Operational Plan Update contd. Criminology Award Structure Mandatory Unit FM43 35 CriminologySCQF level 8, 2 credits Optional Unit - One credit to be selected from: FK85 34 Politics A: An Introductions to Political Theories of the State FK8D 34 Psychology A: History and Development of Psychology FK8R 34 Sociology A: Introduction to Sociology F1A7 34 Scottish Legal System F1B4 34 Scottish Criminal Law F0EB 35 Criminal Justice System in Scotland

2015 Operational Plan Update contd.  Published an example of an Academic Poster for Politics A on the SQA secure web site  Developed a promotional brochure for distribution to schools - publish by March 2016  Minor amendments to Sociology A and B - available now - either version can be used this year  Published Guide to Diverse Assessment on secure web site  Working on publication of Co-operative Learning Sessions  Summative questions for Research and Methodology now on SOLAR secure assess

2014 Operational Plan Update contd. Commencement of review of HNC/D Social Sciences Appointed a consultant to undertake initial research Stage 1  Consult with industry/business/employers/professional bodies/universities about current and future needs  Collation, analysis and summary of findings Stage 2  Consult with approved centres on i) feedback from employers/universities, ii) issues identified by FE colleges  Identify changes needed to awards and support materials to meet current and emerging needs of sector

2015 Operational Plan Update contd. Next Steps  Produce executive summary report by December 2015  Present to QDT/QST and SQA’s Business Case Group (BCG)  BCG decide on what actions to be taken

Ushare  A new online community which allows you to share links to relevant resources that support the HNC/D Social Sciences  It allows you to submit links to resources and comment on and rate links submitted by other teaching professionals and learners  Available via the following:

Operational Plan 2016 Proposals  Develop a contextualised Communication Assessment Support Pack  Develop Units in Social Anthropology  HNC/D review Any other suggestions?

Internal Assessment Reports (IARs) Found on Social Sciences subject pages Social Sciences  Make mark allocations clear on scripts in terms of Knowledge & Understanding and Evaluation & Conclusions and match up with the marking scheme  Avoid arithmetical errors  Ensure parity of marking within subjects – address this through internal verification meetings  “Credit any other suitable point” – must not have marks allocated at the expense of information that is required

Internal Assessment Reports (IARs) contd. Sociology  Consider the diverse range of assessments available  Plan assessment at programme level  Provide clear advice to candidates about remediation and reassessment  Remediation and Reassessment – on SQA web site  Encourage staff to take up Assessor and IV qualifications Psychology  Put more emphasis on ethical considerations in Psychology B research reporting

CURRENT QST MEMBERS North East Scotland College New College Lanarkshire Ayrshire College Edinburgh College University of Highlands & Islands City of Glasgow College

Seeking New QST Members To represent:  Glasgow Clyde College: Anniesland; Cardonald; Langside  Glasgow Kelvin College: Stow; John Wheatley, North Glasgow  West College Scotland: Reid Kerr; Clydebank; James Watt Inverclyde  Forth Valley College  West Lothian College  Fife College  Dundee and Angus

Seeking New External Verifiers Currently seeking new External Verifiers for:  Psychology  Philosophy  Geography  Politics  Social Sciences

To Finish Key contact details Presentations from today on Social Sciences web page Please complete evaluation which will be conducted via Survey Monkey; link to be sent out next week