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CfE Implementation e-bulletin
December 2014
Welcome to the December CfE e-bulletin.
It's hard to believe we're nearing the end of
2014. It's been a really significant year for the
education community and one which has
proved to be both challenging and rewarding.
The new year is fast approaching and as we
progress further into the school year we
continue to focus on engagement with
practitioners, pupils and parents to ensure we
provide the right level of support for everyone
involved.
Bill Maxwell
Chair of the CfE Implementation Group
What could I be? Education Scotland and partners link up with the
Herald and Times
The second in a series of new unique publications called What could I be? has
been produced for young people around careers. Parents, carers and teachers
will also find this supplement helpful in thinking about jobs and careers as well
as considering options for the future. This edition looks specifically at Law and
Society and careers in this area.
This is the second of three handy supplements that Education Scotland, the
Scottish Government, Skills Development Scotland and the Scottish
Qualifications Authority have teamed up with the Herald and Times to produce.
This supplement has appeared in the Sunday Herald and Evening Times and will
be sent to every secondary school in Scotland for distribution to their S1 pupils.
Another edition will be produced in January 2015.
Quality Assuring the National Standard
SQA, in partnership with Education Scotland, has launched a video aimed at
education professionals who are teaching the new curriculum and qualifications,
as well as parents who may wish to understand more about why and how we
ensure quality assessment decisions across all schools and colleges. The video
aims to clarify how assessment decisions are linked between the broad general
education through to senior phase, in order to maintain the same standard
across Scotland.
New guidance on Accessibility Strategies
The Scottish Government published new guidance on Accessibility Strategies to
support education authorities, independent and grant-aided schools in their
duties to develop accessibility strategies to improve, over time, physical access
and access to school information and the curriculum for pupils with a
disability. Guidance is available from the Scottish Government website and is
available in HTML, PDF and in ebook format.
Primary One Literacy Assessment & Action Resource (POLAAR)
published
The Primary One Literacy Assessment & Action Resource, aimed at helping P1
teachers and support staff to identify pupils at risk of developing later
difficulties with their reading and writing and acting on these, was recently
published on the Education Scotland website.
The resource was developed collaboratively by educational psychology
professional bodies, the Scottish Government and Education Scotland and is
based on research commissioned by the Scottish Government and undertaken
by Professor Keith Topping on the key factors which underpin successful literacy
development in learners.
POLAAR meets a commitment made in the Scottish Government’s Literacy
Action Plan to encourage all local authorities to introduce personalised literacy
assessments and diagnosis at P1, and to encourage practitioners to be aware of
and act on this assessment information.
National 5 Course reports
SQA has published Course Reports for each subject at National 5. These are
available from the relevant subject pages on their website.
The Course Reports, which are written by each subject’s Principal Assessor,
highlight examples of successful performance in the National 5 exam and
outline areas where some candidates lost marks. They are used by teachers and
lecturers to provide advice and guidance on how to prepare future cohorts for
the qualifications.
Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy (SSLN) 2014 support
assessors : Professional Recognition in Assessment by the GTCS
Around 100 teachers, across the country, have been awarded Professional
Recognition in Assessment by the GTCS for the professional learning they have
completed to support assessing pupil performance in listening and talking for
the SSLN 2014 Literacy survey. Education Authority Assessment Coordinators
may wish to consider using this pool of expertise within their authority to
further support schools in the planning and effective assessment of listening
and talking.
New Higher Exemplar Question Papers, Marking Instructions and
guidance
SQA is producing an Exemplar Question Paper for every new Higher Course that
includes a question paper as part of the Course assessment. This is an
additional resource that teachers and lecturers can use to prepare their
candidates for the live Higher question papers. It may also be of interest to
parents/carers in supporting candidates who are preparing for Course
assessment.
The Exemplar Question Paper will include Marking Instructions, and will also be
accompanied by a guidance document that illustrates how further examples of
questions can be produced. These documents will be published between midDecember 2014 and the end of January 2015.
Find out more at the SQA website.
Arrangements for Higher Courses in Session 2015-16
From August 2015, only the new Higher Courses will be available. Any
candidates wishing to undertake a Higher Course in session 2015-16 will
therefore be required to follow the new Higher.
Any candidates who receive a ‘No Award’ result for an existing Higher Course in
2014-15 will be unable to re-sit the Course assessment in 2016. However, SQA
is putting an arrangement in place to support these candidates by including the
existing Higher Units in the new Higher Course Frameworks with a finish date of
31 July 2016. This arrangement will only apply to subjects which have new
Higher Courses.
Find out more for Higher arrangements in 2015-16.