Curriculum for Excellence: College involvement in profiling
What is a profile?
A profile is a positive statement including a learner’s statement of a young person’s
latest and best achievements. It is developed by the learner following conversations
with their teacher or other key adult about their learning and achievements both
within and outside of school or college. The process as outlined needs to be
manageable, straightforward in design, and worthwhile. It aims to provide a way for
young people to explain and share all their achievements including outlining these to
employers and further education staff at transition.
Why does it matter to colleges?
Although a profile can be developed at any stage all learners are developing a profile
at P7, S3 and increasingly in the Senior Phase. Although there are still some S3
pupils in college courses the numbers in this year group on such courses are fewer
than was the case in the past. This means that college activity and involvement in
profiling to date has been limited. However, for the profile to be meaningful, it must
be continually updated through the senior phase and have currency beyond this with
further and higher education institutions and employers. In many cases school pupils
in their senior phase have part of their learning experience through school/college
partnership activity. All the skills and achievements of young people should be
included in the profile whether within school or elsewhere. This will include
achievements and skills obtained on the college courses young people undertake as
part of their school experience. Young people who have produced a meaningful
profile will also have an expectation that this will be a developmental and incremental
process which should be informed by their school/college experience and may be
used to help inform the transition to college. Therefore colleges may in future be
informing the profiles in addition to using the wider evidence within them.
College awareness of profiles
Colleges to date have very limited awareness of what local schools are doing in
terms of profiling. Working with schools in partnership to encourage them to share
their current practice and plans will be key for the future. It seems likely that the
awareness of staff in colleges will increase as young people with profiles begin to
access the further education system and as school and local authority partners begin
to share their evolving practice. While school college liaison staff in colleges will be
key to gathering and disseminating general information to their colleagues, enhanced
awareness across the college sector will be increasingly important to ensure
lecturers are aware of their role in encouraging reflective learning; and
admissions/interviewing staff are clear in how profiles have been developed.
Current reporting mechanisms
If young people are taking more responsibility in the senior phase for updating their
own profiles then the ‘learning conversations’ that take place within college classes
will be an important part of how they describe own achievements. Coherence across
all their learning experiences is required. There is evidence that young people on
Skills for Work courses are already encouraged to reflect on the skills they have
achieved. This has to be aligned to the language and expectations schools and
young people have for profiles. It is important to remember that learners own the
profile and the role of the staff is to discuss the learning with them, support reflection
as appropriate and facilitate the capturing of the learning. Therefore awareness of
the profiling process used in schools would be useful for college lecturers to enable
them to best support young people themselves and to capture the skills they have
achieved.
Currently colleges vary on how they report on the large numbers of school pupils who
are undertaking a college course as part of S3 learning or as part of their senior
phase. Most colleges have agreed some form of reporting achievement and progress
to schools but further developments are needed consistently to capture the broader
skills achieved and the reflective classroom learning that is integral in areas such as
Skills for Work courses. The development of electronic profiles can support the
capturing of reflection and the skills achieved. However the absence of integrated IT
systems between schools and colleges may continue to present a challenge as
learners may find it more difficult to record development secured in a college setting
as this may need to be done back in school.
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What happens in colleges at present that could be used to develop good practice in
profiling?
Case studies and examples of current good practice
Forth Valley College has been instrumental in piloting HNC courses for school
pupils in the areas of Sport, Hospitality and Engineering. The college also offers
Skills for Work courses in a number of vocational areas. Where possible, pupils
attend their local campus in Stirling, Falkirk, or Alloa. HNC provision will be extended
substantially in 2014/15 to include Computer Science and Early Education and
Childcare.
A particularly successful programme that is shaping some of the college plans at
lower levels is the School College Opportunities to Succeed (SCOTS) course. This
course, which operates in conjunction with Falkirk Council, is designed to provide a
S4 course with a clear progression route to a Skills for Work course in S5.
Employability skills and learner reflection on progress and achievement are
fundamental to this course and have been key to its success. College staff are
working with school staff on ways to contextualise mathematics in schools and
college as part of vocational courses.
Fife College together with Fife Council, and supported by funding from the Scottish
Funding Council, are planning a new £6m shared campus at the proposed new
Levenmouth High School. Closer integration of the school and college curriculum will
provide an opportunity for development across learner experiences. School/college
liaison staff are exploring whether college E- Personal Development Plans could be
used with school students. The College has also instituted some joint curriculum
planning with schools and has increased access and attainment targets for school
college partnership activity.
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New College Lanarkshire works with North Lanarkshire Council, South Lanarkshire
Council and East Dunbartonshire Council to provide Skills for Work courses to school
pupils across the local authority areas.
New College Lanarkshire has had early discussions with one school on how e
portfolios produced for an Early Education and Childcare course could be used to
enhance pupil profiles.
To bring partners closer together in shared aims for young people joint curriculum
planning and timetabling coordination is being discussed at a strategic level.
Profile use at transition
Profiles could be used at the point of transition to college whether this is as part of
their school experience or at interview when moving on to full time further education.
Transition to school college partnership courses
As more young people create profiles at P7, S3 and beyond schools and colleges are
likely to be exploring how the profiling experience can support transition. Currently
some courses offered by colleges for S4/5/6 pupils as part of their school college
partnership arrangements are heavily oversubscribed. As an increasing number of
HNC courses are offered, competition for places is likely to grow. Profiles could be
shared with colleges by young people and used to help them engage in dialogue to
indicate and articulate why they would benefit from a Skills for Work, HNC or other
course.
What might be included in profiles to enhance this?
The general requirements for profiles, as set out in Building the Curriculum 5, have
been identified. Additionally, colleges should consider what key points would best
inform young people’s transition to further education. Some of these will be
demonstrated by young people’s achievements but others could be incorporated into
personal statements. Examples could include:

Have young people reflected on whether they are ready for college?

Can they learn independently?

Have they provided examples of maturity and effective team work?

What skills do they feel they developed through youth learning activity and
experiences?
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Next steps
College mergers provide an opportunity for more consistent and meaningful dialogue
with their school and local authority partners. The key outputs contained in the
regional outcome agreements mean that activity relating to school/college
partnership is now more clearly defined. In addition, as recognised in the Education
Working For All! The final report of the Commission for Developing Scotland's Young
Workforce there is now more potential for offering HNC level provision. Providing
additional courses at different levels provides a starting point for new discussions on
how schools and colleges can work together to improve their communication on the
achievements, aspirations and skills of young people.
Recommendations
 As current reporting on Skills for Work and other courses is not always fully
integrated within the school system local partnerships should continue to
explore ways to develop this.

Colleges should ask schools and local authorities to inform them on their
plans and activity on profiles. This should be included in dialogue and
planning meetings between colleges, schools, and local authorities. Colleges
could help inform profiles and should advise on key points to their partners
that will enhance transition. Discussions should explore simple ways to
enable ICT issues to be resolved.

Schools should consider how best to share profiles for access to Skills for
Work and other school/college partnership courses.

Colleges should take the opportunity provided by mergers to consider how
profiles can help learners prepare for the revised post-16 selection and
admission procedures.

When colleges review any plans for their college personal learning portfolios,
consideration should be given to whether the profile can be incorporated to
ensure continuity and consistency wherever young people spend their senior
phase.

College Development Network (CDN) should explore producing and
disseminating a simple clear document which could be used in colleges with
lecturers on school courses, staff responsible for admissions, and on TQFE
courses. This document should include what the profile is, what their input
could be and how it benefits learners and colleges.

CDN should organise a profile awareness training event.
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
As this is an area that is likely to develop over time CDN should ask colleges
to share emerging practice.

Joint CPD between schools and colleges should be considered at local and
national level.
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