National 4 Added Value Unit assessment

Second release of National 4 Added Value Unit assessments now available

SQA has published its second release of National 4 Added Value Unit assessments. The assessments are held securely and teachers and lecturers can arrange access to them through their SQA Co-ordinator.

These assessments are valid from August 2013 and candidates will undertake them as part of their National 4 Courses in Session 2013/14. The documents describe the requirements of the National 4 Added Value Unit assessment. They must be treated as confidential and held securely.

To find out more about National 4 Added Value Unit assessment, please visit the subject pages of SQA’s website at www.sqa.org.uk/browsecfesubjects

A third release of National 4 Added Value Unit assessments will be available by the end of April 2013.

National 5 coursework information

Second release of National 5 coursework information now available

SQA has published its second release of coursework information for non-question-paper components of the National 5 Course assessment. This has been published in two parts: general assessment information and coursework assessment tasks.
These documents have been developed to support teachers and lecturers and to help prepare candidates for the National 5 Course assessment.
General assessment information for National 5 Courses is now available on the subject pages of SQA’s website at www.sqa.org.uk/browsecfesubjects
The candidate coursework assessment tasks are held securely and teachers and lecturers can arrange access to these by contacting their SQA Co-ordinator. These documents are valid from August 2013, for use in Session 2013/14, and should be held securely and treated as confidential.
A third release will be available by the end of April 2013.

Draft Advanced Higher Course/Unit Support Notes

SQA publishes draft Course/Unit Support Notes for Advanced Higher

SQA has published draft Course/Unit Support Notes for the new Advanced Higher Courses. The documents provide advice and guidance to teachers and lecturers on delivering Courses, and their Units, at Advanced Higher. They are not mandatory documents.

To view the draft Course/Unit Support Notes, please visit the subject pages of SQA’s website at www.sqa.org.uk/browsecfesubjects

Final documents for Advanced Higher will be available by the end of April 2013.

The new Advanced Highers will be introduced in 2015/16.

Unit Assessment Support for new Awards

The second release of Unit Assessment Support packages for new Awards is now available. This includes the following Awards:

·        Religion, Belief and Values Award at SCQF levels 5 and 6

·        Wellbeing Award at SCQF level 5

·        Personal Achievement Award at SCQF level 1

Teachers and lecturers can use these materials to assess learners, to adapt the content for use in their own assessment programmes or to use as a basis for developing their own assessments.

These documents are held securely and teachers and lecturers can arrange access to them through their SQA Co-ordinator.

Further Assessment Support for new Awards will be published at the end of June 2013.

Find out more about new Awards at www.sqa.org.uk/newawards

New National 1 Units – draft list published

New National 1 Units will be available for centres to deliver from August 2013. These Units will cover skills associated with health and wellbeing and personal development. Working titles for these Units and the broad aims of each Unit are available at www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/58107.htmlunder further information.

For session 2014/15, further Units covering communication (including expressive arts), finding out (including social subjects, religious and moral education, and science), number, practical skills, and working with technology will be provided.

Existing National 1 Units will continue to be available. Further information about lapsing periods for all existing National 1 Units will be provided to centres during session 2013/14.

National 5 Specimen Question Papers

National 5 Specimen Question Papers published

Specimen Question Papers and marking instructions are available on SQA’s website for subjects that will include a Question Paper examination as part of the National 5 Course assessment.
You can access these documents via the subject pages of SQA’s website at www.sqa.org.uk/browsecfesubjects

Unit Assessment Support for National 2 to National 5

Second package of Unit Assessment Support published

The first and second Unit Assessment Support packs for Units in the new National Courses from National 2 to National 5 are available. These are held securely and teachers/lecturers can arrange access through their SQA Co-ordinator.

The third Unit Assessment Support package for National 2 to National 5 will be published by the end of April 2013.

Further information on Unit Assessment Support can be found on each of the subject pages at www.sqa.org.uk/browsecfesubjects

Assessment support materials for the new Higher will be available by the end of April 2014.

Scottish texts

Following last month’s publication of the final Scottish texts list for National 5 English, the final list of Scottish texts for Higher English has been added to this document.

To find out more, visit the National 5 English page of SQA’s website and click on Specimen Question Paper and Marking Instructions.

Cycling Awards

SQA has published Unit Specifications and Award Specifications for the newly created Cycling Awards.

Our Cycling Awards are offered at National 1 and National 2 and will equip learners with the skills to check, maintain and ride their cycles safely, as well as encouraging learners to include cycling activities as part of a healthy lifestyle.

To find out more about the Cycling Awards and to view the documents, visit www.sqa.org.uk/awards

2014 exam timetable

Please note the following dates relating to the 2014 exam timetable:  

·        The first day of exams will be 29 April 2014

·        The last day of exams will be 6 June 2014

·        Results day will be 5 August 2014                

We will publish the full 2014 timetable in June 2013.

The 2013 exam timetable is available on our Exams page.

Scottish Studies Award launch events

SQA will host events in April to help prepare teachers for the new Scottish Studies Award. The events will provide an overview of the Award and give teachers a valuable opportunity to discuss delivery and assessment of the Scottish Studies Award with colleagues from other centres.

The Scottish Studies Award will be available in schools across Scotland from August 2013.

Find out more about the Scottish Studies Award at www.sqa.org.uk/newawards

SQA Co-ordinator Conferences

We will hold six events across Scotland in June 2013 for school SQA Co-ordinators and other relevant representatives. These events will offer SQA Co-ordinators the opportunity to attend information sessions and training workshops to help support them in any changes to delivery processes that are associated with the new qualifications and the 2014 exams.

Find out more at www.sqa.org.uk/cfedelivery

CfE Subject Implementation Events

From October 2012 to March 2013, SQA hosted 146 Subject Implementation events for National 2 to National 5. Around 7,500 delegates attended from the teaching profession; with more than 90% saying they found the events helpful in their planning.

Subject Implementation events for the new Higher will take place later this year and will run from November 2013 to March 2014.

Engaging with our audiences

It is important for us to engage with our audience groups and ensure they are prepared for the new National Qualifications being implemented in August 2013.

This month, SQA attended three Local Authority events, where we delivered an update on Quality Assurance, delivery processes for session 2013-14, and e-marking.

SQA also attended three National Parent Forum Scotland (NPFS) Qualifications Plus events, along with representatives from Education Scotland and Scottish Government, where we discussed the new National Qualifications and answered questions on curriculum structures and maintaining national standards.