I’m delighted to let you know that NPA Computing Technologies is now available to Scottish schools and colleges. Here are the subject pages for each level: NPA Computing Technologies Level 4 NPA Computing Technologies Level 5 NPA Computing Technologies Level 6 You’ll find the Group Award Specification (GAS) for each level on each page. The GAS contains important information about the qualification structure, contents, delivery and assessment. We’ve previously posted links to each of the units within the qualification. My…
As regular readers will know, we’re in the process of developing HNC Esports. A lead developer has now been selected and we’re about to commence consultation and research about what should be included in the qualification. This involves quantitative and qualitative research. The lead developer will carry out a number of personal interviews with specific individuals, and the SQA team will create a survey to find out what people want. The lead developer then pulls together the findings to come…
As part of SQA’s annual Connections week, we had a session on the new National Progression Award (NPA) in Computing Technology. This qualification was developed last session and the lead developer (a practising teacher) delivered yesterday’s session. There was an excellent turnout, with 25 people in attendance, which illustrates the interest in this new qualification. I took the opportunity to let people know that the qualification is now validated! It’s taken a while but we got there. We’re now in…
The first meeting of the Qualification Development Team (QDT) for HNC Esports took place yesterday. Thirteen members, representing schools, colleges, universities and national organisations, attended. The purpose of the first meeting of any QDT is to kick-off the development and provide some background to members. We discussed a number of topics including the remit of QDTs, the design rules for Next Gen qualifications and briefly discussed some possible ideas for the qualification. I also explained the role of the lead developer…
SQA has a long tradition of working with educators, employers, national organisations and other stakeholders to develop and maintain qualifications. An important part of that collaboration is the various committees that help us carry out our work. The Sector Panel provides strategic advice about developments in the computing sector that affect qualifications, with the aim of ensuring that qualifications are relevant. The Qualifications Support Team (QST) provides advice about the kinds of support that centres need to deliver SQA awards;…
There was a good response to the request for members of the Qualification Development Team (QDT) for HNC Esports. The QDT has now been constituted and the work of developing the qualification is underway. QDTs play a vital role in qualification development in Scotland. They comprise representatives of schools, colleges, universities, training organisations, national organisations and employers, and are responsible for designing the qualification and developing its contents. This qualification is part of SQA’s Next Gen initiative so, once developed,…
My apologies for the lack of information about this development. It’s been a while since I shared information about it. I had hoped to have the refreshed qualification available to centres for the start of this term (August) but a number of factors prevented that. As previously stated, the structure of the qualification is unchanged. But some of the units (including the mandatory units) have been revised. These are: Data Science (Levels 4, 5, 6) Data Citizenship (Levels 4, 5,…
Following the success of last year’s SQA Connections Week, SQA will be running the event again from Tuesday 1st to Friday 4th October 2024. The online event offers schools, colleges and employers/training providers the opportunity to learn about qualification updates, get insights into new developments, and develop ideas for the future. SQA Computing will be running the following session: Thursday 3rd of October 4pm – 5pm: National Progression Award (NPA) in Computing Technology – this session will provide an overview of our…
I’m pleased to announce that SQA’s portfolio of computer games qualifications will be reviewed in the coming year. The review will be sectoral, and not specific to an individual qualification. We’ll look at everything game-related that SQA offers. SQA currently offers a range of awards relating to computer games: NPA Computer Games Development (SCQF Levels 4, 5 and 6) NC Computer Games Development (SCQF Levels 4, 5 and 6) HNC Computer Games Development (SCQF Level 7) HND Computer Games Development (SCQF…
Following Bobby’s previous blog post, I’m pleased to confirm we have now published the 14 new units for the NPA Computing Technology. The new units are. Computing Foundations SCQF Level 4/5/6 Computing Project SCQF Level 4/5/6 Artificial Intelligence SCQF Level 4/5/6 Computer Networking Fundamentals SCQF Level 4/6 Emerging Digital Technologies SCQF Level 4/5/6 I have linked all the units in the frameworks below. Computing Foundations SCQF Level 4 (J8DW 44) Computing Project SCQF Level 4 (J8DY 44) Artificial Intelligence SCQF…
I’m pleased to announce that SQA will be developing a new Higher National Qualification (HNQ) in esports. HNC Esports will be developed during session 2024/25 and available to centres from August 2025. It will be developed as part of SQA’s Next Gen initiative. SQA developed an NPA in this area during 2022/23, which has proven to be popular in schools and colleges, and we’ve had many requests to further develop HNQs in esports. The first stage in any development is…
My apologies for not providing more updates on this development since the last one in late April. At that time, I wrote that the validation event was going to take place in May but that was delayed due to problems in finding a suitable date when everyone was available. The validation actually took place on 14 June. The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed the change in title from NPA Computing to NPA Computing Technology. This change was suggested by…
Every year our team have an Uptake Analysis Review of our qualifications. The reason for this review is to see which of the qualifications in our portfolio fall within the criteria for withdrawal. This criteria is. Qualifications that have had no uptake or no valid open entries processed over the last two consecutive years. Qualifications that have had 100 or less entries over 5 years. As a result of this review, the following qualifications have been withdrawn. I have included…
The Qualifications Support Team (QST) for Computing met recently. The QST consists of practising teachers, lecturers and trainers and the main role of the committee is to consider potential changes to qualifications and advise about support materials. The committee meets once per year, normally in Spring (April/May) so that any changes can be implemented in time for the next session (August). At the most recent meeting, 8 proposals were considered and the majority (6) were approved with two others deferred…
As you know from previous posts, our level 5 Diploma in Information Technology and Telecommunications Professionals (GL2L 45) was extended for a further year and was due to go into lapsing on 30/04/2024. As there was no uptake for the qualification in the last year, it was recommended that the qualification was withdrawn. This qualification has now been withdrawn with an end date of 31/03/2024. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
This development is progressing well and the validation will take place on Friday, 24 May. The purpose of a validation event is for an independent group of experts to review the proposed qualification to ensure that it’s fit for purpose. The validation panel will ensure that the title of the qualification is appropriate, its aims and entry requirements are sensible, the contents are correct, and progression pathways have been considered. The outcome of validation is either that the qualification is…
It’s been a while since I posted an update about NPA Data Science and this seems a good time to let you know what’s been happening. The NPA was first introduced in 2019 and has been popular, with almost 3,000 learners undertaking the qualification since then. The current review was initiated because of feedback from centres that the assessment was burdensome. We took the opportunity to tidy the contents and, of course, modernise the units so that they include the…
One of the most important roles served by SQA is to check the quality of delivery in centres. This role is carried out by External Verifiers, who work within cognate groups. There are three cognate groups in Computing: Computer Science Digital Literacy Information Technology There’s a team of verifiers for each cognate group (membership often overlaps). An External Verifier (EV) is typically an experienced teacher, lecturer or trainer. The role is paid and contracts last for one year. The work…
I’m pleased to let you know that a large team of educators has commenced work on writing (vetting and verifying) the new units that will feature in NPA Computing. This is a large development, which will result in 12 new National Units covering a wide range of topics from AI to computing fundamentals. The units will be written between now and the end of March, after which they will be validated and published on the SQA website at the beginning…
Regular readers will know that Computing is one of the subjects being modernised as part of SQA’s Next Gen project. Part of that programme involves learner evaluation of their experiences when undertaking these new qualifications. Emma Campos, who many of you will know as a previous member of the Computing team, carried out this evaluation. I thought you might be interested in her findings. So, I’ll let Emma tell you in her own words. “Learners taking HNC Computing: Find the NextGen…
