2. Curriculum for Excellence: the structure and design of new National Qualifications in Scotland
Donna Vivers
CfE Liaison Manager

3. National Qualifications

4. Developing the new Courses
Dedicated development teams:
Curriculum Area Review Groups
Externally nominated, include representatives from Education Scotland, Scottish Executive, Scotland’s Colleges, Universities Scotland, Parents, Prison Service, Sector Skills Council etc.
Qualification Design Teams
42 teams for individual subjects, nominated subject experts from schools, Local Authorities, colleges, universities and employers.
Subject Working Groups
Practitioners-Just completed Course and Unit Support Notes now working on Assessment Support.

5. New National Courses: design
Courses are Unit based. Units in all Courses will be:
more skills-based and less prescriptive
more open, flexible evidence requirements
flexibility for practitioners to make decisions about unit assessment methods

6. Assessment Units assessed pass/fail within centres
7 methods of assessment specified appropriate to subject and level:
Assignment
Case-Study
Project
Portfolio
Practical Activity
Performance
Test/Question paper

7. Adding Value
Courses from National 4 to Advanced Higher will have an Added Value element. Added value is what makes the Course more than the sum of its parts. It builds on the current Course assessment for Intermediate, Higher and Advanced Higher.
The Added Value element will require the learner to demonstrate breadth, challenge and/or application of skills from across the Course.
National 4 Courses will not be graded. Pass/Fail
National 5 Courses will be graded A – D

8. Timelines 2010 – new curriculum introduced
April 2012 –publication of new qualifications levels 1-6
2013 – final Standard Grades certificated
2014 – first new qualifications taken (Access and National 4 and 5); dual run’ with existing National Courses

9. What’s next? Higher draft Unit Specifications Nov 11
N5 draft Course Assessment Specs Nov 11
Access draft Unit Specifications Dec 11
Nat 4/5 draft Unit Support Packs Jan 12
Higher Support Packs Feb 12
Publication of final Specifications level 1-6 Apr 12
Nat 4/5 Assessment Support Apr 12-Apr 13
Subject specific support events May 12-May 13 9

10. What’s next?
Nat 4/5 Assessment Support Apr 12-Apr 13 Draft Specimen question papers and assessment support materials will be made available in session 2012/13. Final mark allocations and Course assessment details will be confirmed when the final Specimen question papers are published in April Subject specific support events May 12-May 13 Implementation events for every subject area across Scotland. 10

11. How to get involved SQA. More information can be found on our website:
Engage For Education :
Engage for Education is a platform for Scotland’s education community to engage directly with the Scottish Government about the issues important to them
Parentzone is organised into distinct and user-friendly areas covering issues that affect parents during the different stages of their children's education. For more information, visit: -