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> About SQA > Policies > Customer Charter > Service Statements

Service Statements

We design, quality assure and certificate qualifications which develop the skills, knowledge and competence of individuals, contributing to their personal development and the economic growth and development of Scotland.

There are two ways we achieve our aims: we act in partnership with others to develop and deliver our qualifications and services, and we are driven by the needs of our customers in all that we do.

We recognise that we have a clear responsibility to our customers to carry out our duties efficiently and effectively, and to apologise if we get things wrong.

We are committed to continually improving the quality and responsiveness of our service, and we constantly work to tailor our service as closely as we can to the needs of our customers.

What does SQA do?

We work in partnership to provide high quality, recognised and relevant qualifications and assessment.

We were set up in 1997 and are responsible to the Scottish Government for the development, assessment and certification of most qualifications in Scotland (except university degrees).

As well as our 'awarding' function, we also have an 'accrediting' function to approve the introduction of Scottish Vocational Qualifications (SVQs).

We work in partnership with schools, colleges, education and training organisations, the Scottish Government and other national stakeholders representing aspects of Scotland's education, business and cultural interests. We work with other stakeholders to promote our products and services across the UK and internationally.

Our commitment to customer service

We are committed to consultation with customers

To offer services that are as relevant as they can be, we have to keep in touch with those who use them. That is why we are committed to a dialogue with our customers.

We carry out regular satisfaction surveys of our customers to assess their needs and measure the quality of our performance. We also use other methods - such as feedback from our teams of Customer Support Managers and sectoral focus groups - to build the fullest possible picture of how customers see us and our performance.

We are committed to being accessible to our customers

Our Business Development & Customer Support Team is open between 8.30am and 5pm on weekdays, with the exception of public holidays. Telephone: 0303 333 0330 or e-mail: mycentre@sqa.org.uk

All our staff have personal e-mail addresses and direct-dial telephone numbers that you can use to access them direct (and outwith opening hours).

We cater for visitors with special needs, and wheelchair access is available at our main offices. A guide to the facilities available at all our offices is sent to customers in advance of pre-arranged visits.

We deal with personal callers promptly and courteously.

We are committed to responding to enquiries promptly

We respond to written correspondence - letters, faxes and e-mails within 10 working days, or within timescales previously agreed with the customer. Where a full response is not possible within 10 working days, we send an interim response within seven working days and a fuller response within a further 15 days or within timescales previously agreed with the customer.

We handle telephone calls - whether received at our Business Development & Customer Support Team or by staff using direct-dial lines or mobile phones - promptly and courteously. The Business Development & Customer Support Team staff aim to answer incoming telephone calls within 15 seconds.

All our staff identify themselves by name when answering calls. If the staff member you have called is unavailable, you will be invited to leave a message. Telephone messages and voicemail messages will receive a response when the staff member returns to the office.

We are committed to the following service targets for our awarding and accrediting functions

Assessment and Quality Assurance

Validation

We will:

ensure that all our qualifications are fit for purpose and meet all the published design criteria
respond to feedback, through formal and informal channels, from all users of our qualifications

Approval

We will:

provide a fair and efficient system for approving centres and individual qualifications
provide outcome in writing to centres within 10 working days of an approval visit/event

Verification and Systems Monitoring

Validation

We will:

conduct at least one verification visit a year to centres for each SVQ subject area with active candidates
verify other qualifications by visit, central event or by post from a sample of centres each year
provide a service of prior verification of assessment instruments
provide systems verification, at least once every three years depending on risk indicators, to employers and training provider centres with current entries
provide a written report to centres within 14 working days of a verification or systems verification visit
arrange development visits by agreement

Centres outwith Scotland will be subject to individual contract arrangements.

External Assessment

For our National Courses we will:

publish the summary timetable for the May/June examination diet at least one academic year ahead
ensure that all external assessment is carried out timeously and to a high standard

Contract Services

For our Contract Services contracts we will:

deliver a cycle of examinations to agreed timescales, as specified by contractual obligations

Information & Communications Technology (ICT)

We will:

work pro-actively to capture the potential of ICT to strengthen the assessment of our qualifications in ways that benefit centres and candidates

Candidate Data Processing and Certification

For candidate registration and entry for qualifications, we will:

accept information for candidate registration from approved centres at any time and provide a unique Scottish Candidate Number
accept candidate entries from approved centres at any time
publish timetables for entry dates for the external assessment of National Courses
provide facilities for centres to verify entries and access their candidate records

Certification

We will:

issue a Scottish Qualifications Certificate to all candidates who have achieved a Unit, Course or Group Award (for National Courses, the certificate will be sent to arrive on the date published for the summer diet) Where a candidate only sat and achieved an external assessment, this would also be certificated
issue Group Award certification, for candidates with appropriate Unit results, three times per week

Replacement Certificates

We will:

replace lost or mislaid certificates within 30 working days, on receipt of a completed request form

Finance and Charges

Notification of charges

We will:

resolve customers' invoice queries within 10 working days
aim to pay 95% of our suppliers within 10 days of receipt of a valid invoice
issue invoices to our customers monthly for HN and SVQ product lines; NQ product invoices will be issued monthly from April to August inclusive

Communication

We take a pro-active approach to customer enquiries by providing:

Business Development & Customer Support Team, staffed by specially trained advisors to provide information and support to our centres, the team are available between the hours of 8.30am and 5pm Monday to Friday with the exception of bank and local holidays; telephone 0303 333 0330/+44 (0)141 282 6500 (international callers) or e-mail: mycentre@sqa.org.uk
telephone, e-mail addresses and fax numbers for all key contacts
information, including lists of qualifications, on our website - www.sqa.org.uk
Contract Services phone lines are available from 9am and 5pm on weekdays. Telephone: For Dangerous Goods Driver Training (DGDT), Dangerous Goods Safety Advisers (DGSA) & Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA): 0345 270 0123 or for Streetworks: 0345 270 2720
Or email adr@sqa.org.uk for Dangerous Goods Driver Training, dgsa@sqa.org.uk for Dangerous Goods Safety Advisers, mca@sqa.org.uk for Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) or swqr@sqa.org.uk for Streetworks.

Qualifications

Our qualifications must be fit for purpose and are reviewed periodically as part of our five-year review schedule. Regular updates are posted on our website.