Scottish Learning Festival Makes Scotland Smarter

Fiona Hyslop says the Scottish Learning Festival is crucial to ensuring educationalists are at the cutting edge of their profession.
 
The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning believes the event is an opportunity for everyone involved in education to develop their skills, swap ideas and learn from the best.
 
Fiona Hyslop attended her first Scottish Learning Festival last year alongside Minister for Schools and Skills, Maureen Watt and Minister for Children and Early Years, Adam Ingram.
 
All three hope to attend this year’s event (24 - 25 September at the SECC, Glasgow), which promises to be better than ever.
 


Fiona said:  “I gained much from my attendance at the event last September and was impressed by the enthusiasm for learning that was on display.”

Find out more.

NQ Cantonese and Mandarin - Intermediate 1 and 2 - Launch Event

We will be hosting a launch event to present new NQ Units and Courses in Cantonese and Mandarin. This event will offer an opportunity for teachers, lecturers and the wider community to familiarise themselves with the Units and Courses at Intermediate 1 and 2 levels.  The Units and Courses will be introduced in session 2008-09, with first certification in 2009.  They will be available in both Mandarin-Simplified and Mandarin-Traditional.

Date:    Thursday 8 May 2008
Venue: Edinburgh
Time:   9.30am – 3.30pm approx
Cost:   Free


The event will include a variety of presentations and workshop sessions and will provide the opportunity for delegates to:

• become familiar with the structure of the new Units and Courses
• become familiar with the assessment procedures and evidence requirements (Specimen Question Papers and Marking Instructions will be presented)
• become familiar with the support available
• interact with other professionals teaching Cantonese and Mandarin
• clarify issues

We'll send letters of invitation and booking forms will be sent to centres at the end of March.  Details and booking forms will also be available at the end of March on the NQ Cantonese and Mandarin pages of our website.

If you have any enquiries about these new Units and Courses in the meantime, please contact: Jim McDonald, Qualifications Manager on 0845 213 5515

Find out more.

Modern Languages for Work Purposes - Launch Event

We will be hosting a launch event for our new free-standing Access 3 and Intermediate 1 Units:  Modern Languages for Work Purposes. 

These Units, due to be introduced in session 2008/09, can be used to integrate the study and use of modern foreign languages into a vocational setting, or can be delivered as stand-alone Units.  They can promote horizontal progression across two or more languages at the same level, or vertical progression through the levels.  The Units will be offered in Cantonese, French, Gaelic (Learners), German, Italian, Mandarin, Polish, Russian, Spanish and Urdu.  Intermediate 2 and Higher Units will be available in 2009.

Date:    Thursday 1 May 2008
Venue: Glasgow
Time:   10.00am – 3.30pm approx
Cost:    Free

The event will include presentations and workshop sessions and will provide the opportunity for delegates to:

• become familiar with the structure of the new Units
• become familiar with the Assessment Support Packs (ASPs) available
• consider learning/teaching implications
• clarify issues

We'll send letters of invitation and booking forms will be sent to centres at the end of March.  Details and booking forms will also be available at the end of March on the NQ Modern Languages pages of our website. 

If you have any enquiries about these new Units, please contact Jim McDonald, Qualifications Manager on 0845 213 5515

2008 Star Awards........who are your stars?

After our very successful inaugural star awards last year, we are delighted to announce that the 2008 event will be held on the evening of Friday 10 October 2008 in Glasgow. The ceremony will be hosted once again by Kaye Adams.

The star awards are a unique way to celebrate the success, triumph, achievement and recognition of the best in Scottish education and training. We will shortly be inviting nominations......so start thinking now about nominating your stars.

We will let you all know when the nomination process begins and details of the award categories, guidance on nominating, the awards timetable and nomination forms will be available on our website.

Entertainment

Do you have a group of talented students who are keen to perform? We want to hear from you.

Our star awards are a truly glittering and unforgettable occasion that celebrate the success, triumph, achievement and recognition of the best in Scottish education and training. Each year, we have a selection of performances through the evening that help to make it all the more special. Last year we were entertained by two dance groups and a traditional band.

We are looking for entertainment acts for this year's ceremony, which will take place on the evening of Friday 10 October in Glasgow.

If you are interested in auditioning for us, please e-mail our Events Team.

See the 2007 winners.

Estimates and Assessment Appeals

As part of our commitment to working with teachers, lecturers and partners to enhance the understanding of standards, we recently hosted events for key teaching staff.

These events provided the opportunity for staff involved in teaching National Courses eg Depute Headteachers or Principal Teachers to consider:

• the key messages on Estimates and on Assessment Appeals
• our findings on the analysis of feedback on unsuccessful Appeals at Higher and Advanced Higher for the 2007 examinations
• the support available to centres, including the new interactive e-learning resource for Estimates, Absentees and Assessment Appeals

We have also hosted events for key staff involved in teaching Higher English.

These provided opportunities to:

• consider the key messages on Estimates and on Appeals in Higher English
• consider selected evidence from evidence submitted for Appeals in Higher English
• clarify key issues

The events were very well received by all who attended. Comments included:

'Good insight into difficulties faced by those assessing appeals.'

'Excellent - now have a much clearer idea of what constitutes evidence.......lots to think about and act on.'

Access the Guide.

Catalogue of National Qualifications (NQ)

In line with our commitment to improving the service and information we provide to customers and stakeholders and our commitment to reducing the impact of our operations on the environment, we have decided to improve the way we publish the NQ Catalogue information on our website. It means that you will be able to search for and find information more easily. We will be updating this information regularly, so that you will be able to access the most up-to-date information on National Qualifications in a single location, at any time.  We have used this method of publishing information for Higher National Qualifications for several years and feedback shows high levels of customer satisfaction.  Information about National Qualifications will include listings of:

• National Units, their Superclass and Verification Groups
• National Courses
• Standard Grade Courses
• National Qualification Group Awards – National Certificates and National Progression Awards

We'll no longer publish paper copies of the NQ Catalogue - they are quickly outdated with new and revised qualifications being made available during the year.  We plan to launch this new online version of the NQ Catalogue in April.

We are also working on a more user-friendly version of Conditions and Arrangements for National Qualifications.  Again it will be web-based and not published on paper, and will allow you to easily select information to suit your needs.  We plan to launch this before the end of the summer term.

NQ Personal and Social Education

All centres should by now have received their Folios for Personal and Social Education and also Personal Statements. If your centre is offering Personal and Social Education and hasn't received the Folios and Personal Statements please contact Tahir Mohammed, Qualifications Officer on 0845 213 5499.

Enquiries concerning copies of National Assessment Bank (NAB) materials and other publications should be directed to the Customer Contact Centre on 0845 279 1000.

Assessment Arrangements Request System

We'd like to thank those of you who have already submitted your requests for assessment arrangements for the 2008 diet of examinations. However, if you have not already done so, please submit your requests as soon as possible in order to allow  us time to process them and to make the appropriate arrangements. In particular, details of any further requests for adapted question papers and digital question papers must now be provided as a matter of urgency as the deadline date for the submission of these requests was 31 January 2008.

The Assessment Arrangements Request (AAR) system was set up for the 2007 diet to allow you to submit requests electronically. We've enhanced the system in light of your comments and feedback, and we hope that you have found the system improved and easier to use.

To assist in determining any required future developments, we would appreciate it if someone from your centre (ideally the person who normally uses the AAR system) could take a few minutes to tell us about their experience of using AAR for the 2008 diet by completing this online questionnaire. 

We value your contribution and thank you in advance for your feedback. Please note the closing date for questionnaires is Friday 21 March 2008.

If you have any queries or require further information, please do not hesitate to contact the Assessment Arrangements team 0131-561 6890.

Complete the online questionnaire.

Sport4Life Business Enterprise Game Prize Winners

The highly successful Sport4Life Business Enterprise game was recently a short-listed finalist for a prestigious BETT award. The awards, which are made by a partnership between Emap Education, Becta and the British Educational Suppliers Association, reward vibrant products that support innovation and personalise learning. 

Sport4life.biz is a business game based on how to successfully run a 'virtual' sports store and aims to teach business and enterprise skills. It is a unique partnership between SQA and Microsoft. Over 22,000 pupils have already signed up for this exciting game, and an amazing 82,000 games have been played since last May. We run regular competitions, and prizes are awarded in a number of categories including the top Male and Female scores over the period.

In December we awarded a total of 19 prizes. 

Other prizes were awarded to pupils from:

 

Drummond Community High school, who won the school prize of £200 of gift vouchers for the school, will also be at a Scottish Parliamentary reception at Holyrood on Wednesday 23 April.

Find out more about the BETT Awards.