Tag: assessments

Education overhaul: Reform of qualifications and assessment

Less reliance on “high stakes” final exams

The balance of assessment used for senior phase pupils in Scotland will change, with greater use of internal and continuous assessment to award final grades.

Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth announced the shift as part of the Scottish Government’s response to an independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment (IRQA), which was led by Professor Louise Hayward and published in June 2023.

In a statement to Parliament, Ms Gilruth confirmed that exams will remain part of the overall approach to assessment, including at National 5, while some more practical courses may not have written exams in future.

The Education Secretary committed to ensuring that qualifications reform is done in full partnership with teachers, pupils and other professional bodies, with a secondary Headteacher to be seconded to the Scottish Qualification Authority (SQA), and its replacement Qualifications Scotland (QS), to oversee that.

Ms Gilruth also confirmed that she will set out a renewed national approach to improvement later this year, setting out short, medium and longer term improvements for Scottish education.

Ms Gilruth said: “While exams will remain part of our approach, I have accepted the independent review’s recommendation that the balance of assessment methods in the senior phase should change so there is less reliance on high stakes final exams and internal and continuous assessment contributing to a greater percentage of a final grade.

“The actions on qualifications reform I am setting out seek to achieve a balance between ambition and pragmatic action. Any change needs to be focussed and deliverable given the resources available to national and local government and to schools themselves. This will build directly on the hard work, success and creativity already evident in Scotland’s schools.

“This pragmatic approach to evolving qualifications and assessment will deliver a fair and credible system to enhance learning and teaching and support better outcomes for young people.”

Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association (SSTA) General Secretary, Seamus Searson, said: “The SSTA welcomes the Cabinet Secretary’s statement on the Government’s response to the Hayward Review. The statement maps a way forward in making the cultural changes required in secondary schools in regard national qualifications and a teacher led continuous assessment.

“Many SSTA members will be pleased to hear there will be an element of external assessment at Nat 5 in the short-term and that any future developments will be trialled and piloted before implementation.

“The SSTA equally welcomes the importance placed by the Cabinet Secretary on schoolteachers at the centre and leading the changes necessary for creating an education system for the future.”

The Education Secretary’s Parliamentary statement was delivered in response to the Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment (IRQA) by Professor Louise Hayward.

Scottish Government Response To The Final Report Of The Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment – ‘It’s Our Future’ – gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The SQA is consulting on whether written external examinations should remain part of course assessment in more practical subjects, such as National 5 Practical Woodworking and Fashion and Textile Technology, with a view to any changes being brought in for 2025/26.

The Edinburgh Practice unveils major expansion plans

 LAUNCH OF STATE-OF-THE-ART HEALTH CLINIC AT WAVERLEY SQUARE

The Edinburgh Practice, which specialises in providing expert mental healthcare, has unveiled major expansion plans to triple the size of their current premises into a purpose-built, 6,500 sq ft practice in Waverley Square, set to open in the summer, allowing them to expand their range of services, increase their client base and double the team from 50 to 100.

The New Town-based, award-winning company, which offers psychiatric assessment and treatment and a range of therapies including psychological, speech and language, educational and family therapy, began with one member of staff, Clinical Psychologist and founder, Dr Fiona Wilson, in 2017. Within three years the team increased to 32, resulting in the opening of two additional premises in the area.

Plans to combine all three sites into a single, purpose-built clinic to allow the company to expand its services and grow the team further have been in the pipeline for the last 18 months and now that building work has begun, the timeline to launch the new premises is on track for early summer. 

The state-of-the-art practice will feature 26 therapy rooms, a large meeting space for in-house and community events, and a dedicated staff area. It has been carefully designed to be a healing space which matches both clients’ therapeutic needs and staff wellbeing. 

Dr Wilson said: “We’re delighted to be taking this next step in our journey and finally be able to match up service demand and service provision in our own custom-built practice set to open in the summer.  As opposed to continuing to open more and more practices in the city, it made sense to us to bring everything together under one roof.

“Searching for help when struggling with your own or a loved one’s mental health difficulties is extremely hard, which is why our goal has always been to provide easy and fast access to high-quality, evidence-based treatment and therapy, in a safe, compassionate way.

“Our new custom-built practice, which is tripling the size of our current square footage, will allow us to be able to help even more people by expanding our existing wide range of services and launching new ones across all age groups, including an Early Years Service, Occupational Therapy Service and an Older Adults Service, where dementia assessments will be accessible through the practice’s new Memory Clinic.

“This expansion represents an exciting continuation of the development of The Edinburgh Practice, and we have a strong pipeline of new service development projects for 2023 and beyond.”

The Edinburgh Practice Awards include ASB Young Business of the Year Award 2018 and 2019 Finalist for Start Up Business of the Year Women’s Enterprise Scotland Awards.

Website: www.edinburghpractice.com

Facebook: The Edinburgh Practice

Instagram: @theedinburghpractice

Views sought on reform on exam qualifications and assessment

A consultation has been launched on how qualifications and assessment should be reformed to ensure learners’ achievements are fairly recognised.

Young people, parents, carers, teachers, education staff and all learners are among those being encouraged to give their views.

The consultation invites opinions on:

  • the balance between exams and other forms of assessment
  • how a wider range of learners’ achievements can be recognised
  • potential uses of technology in assessment and qualifications
  • how to ensure that qualifications enable all learners, regardless of their circumstances, to demonstrate their strengths and achievements

The consultation, which will close on 16 December, is part of an independent review of qualifications and assessment announced by Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville in October 2021.

The review is being led by Louise Hayward, Emerita Professor of Educational Assessment and Innovation at Glasgow University, who will provide independent advice for Ministers to consider in March next year.

Professor Hayward said: “This Review of Qualifications and Assessment offers Scotland an opportunity to look to the future.

“We want to ensure that the ways in which we gather evidence about all learners’ achievements, awards and qualifications help every learner to transition positively into the next phase of life, be that in college, employment, university or voluntary work.

“By supporting every learner to become a confident, committed life-long learner, we will help Scotland to grow socially, culturally and economically.”

Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “The aim of reforming qualifications and assessment is to ensure that all senior phase learners have the best possible opportunity to demonstrate the breadth, depth and relevance of their learning.

“This consultation and the other work being done by Professor Hayward to gather a wide range of opinions is crucially important and I would encourage anyone who has an interest, particularly young people, parents, carers and education staff, to give their views.

“The review, and our other planned education reforms, have the clear purpose of doing all we can to improve the experiences and outcomes of children and young people in Scotland’s education system.”

The consultation on qualifications  and assessment will run until 16 December.