The publication of the Education (Scotland) Bill marks a significant step forward in the planned replacement of the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).
Importantly, we now know that the new organisation will be called Qualifications Scotland. However, this process must be much more than a name change or rebrand. Many have already pointed this out since the bill was published and we could not agree more. Our colleagues inside SQA are equally keen to grasp the opportunity that the new organisation will bring.
Importance of bringing teachers on board
The bill contains some important proposals about how Qualifications Scotland will be governed.
The plans to have practising teachers and lecturers on the board, alongside those who can represent the interest of learners, are to be welcomed, as are the proposed learner and educator committees that will advise the board.
But as important as strengthened governance is, these arrangements alone will not deliver the changes we all want to see ushered in with the arrival of Qualifications Scotland next year.
The bill must be, and will be, a catalyst for wider change. While the bill proposes that the awarding and regulatory functions of Qualifications Scotland will largely be the same as those of SQA - delivering credible qualifications and maintaining the highest standards - there is the opportunity to change how we work.
This will mean teachers, lecturers, learners - and everyone else we work with and work for - see and feel a tangible difference when they come into contact with the new body.
After the summer, we will set out more details of this transformation when we publish our “prospectus for change”. This has been shaped by extensive engagement and discussion with partners, stakeholders and service users, including teachers and teacher associations.
At the heart of this prospectus will be a pledge to reset our relationship with educators and learners by ensuring each and every one of them has the opportunity to have their voice heard and to inform the decisions, products and services of Qualifications Scotland.
This opportunity is to be enshrined in new learner and teacher “charters”, as set out in the Education Bill.
We have already been taking significant steps in this direction; getting out and about to schools and colleges to hear first-hand from pupils and frontline practitioners and listening more through wide-reaching consultations and surveys on issues such as artificial intelligence and Scottish set texts in English courses.
Our annual evaluation of awarding, drawing on views from across the education system, has helped inform our decision making in recent years.
Appetite for innovation
This is just the start. We know from the conversations we have day in and day out with staff across SQA how much of an appetite they have to innovate and change, while continuing to successfully deliver high-quality assessments and high-standard qualifications.
The Covid-19 pandemic delayed a lot of improvements that were in the pipeline but the publication of the Education Bill, and the certainty that it brings, provide us with a springboard to reignite the change agenda.
We remain proud to be part of an organisation that is at the heart of public service in Scotland, and which helps change the lives of hundreds of thousands of learners every year. We are equally proud to have the opportunity to shape Qualifications Scotland - and to do that in collaboration with everyone across the education and skills community, so together we can build a brighter, long-term future.
Shirley Rogers is chair of the SQA and Fiona Robertson is chief executive of the SQA
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