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 Customer Contact Centre is open between 8.30am and 5pm on weekdays, with the exception of public holidays. Telephone: 0845 279 1000 or e-mail: customer@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 Customer Contact Centre or by staff using direct-dial lines or mobile phones - promptly and courteously. The Customer Contact Centre 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
  • process approval applications and inform centres of the outcome within 20 working days of receipt 5

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, on request, a service of prior verification of assessment instruments
  • provide systems verification annually 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
  • consider assessment appeals according to published procedures and dates

Testing Services

For our Testing 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)
  • 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:

  • following consultation with customers and approval by the Scottish Government, notify centres normally by the end of January of entry charges that will come into effect in August (entry charges will also be published on our website at www.sqa.org.uk/entrycharges)
  • resolve customers' invoice queries within 10 working days
  • aim to pay 80% of our suppliers to invoice terms
  • issue invoices to our customers monthly for HN and SVQ product lines; NQ product invoices will be issued twice per annum

Publications and Communication

Publications

We will:

  • provide a catalogue of published materials on our website and ensure it is constantly updated
  • despatch orders for publications within 5 working days for stock items

Communication

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

  • Customer Contact Centre, staffed by specially trained advisors between 8.30am and 5pm on weekdays with message recording facility outwith office hours; telephone 0845 279 1000 or e-mail: customer@sqa.org.uk
  • telephone, e-mail addresses and fax numbers for all key contacts
  • a field team of Customer Support Managers to provide information and help to resolve problems experienced by centres relating to our qualifications and processes
  • information, including lists of qualifications, on our website - www.sqa.org.uk

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.

Accreditation

Our statutory role as the accrediting body for Scottish Vocational Qualifications (SVQs) involves two separate parts. This statement sets out the levels of service which customers should expect to receive in each of these two parts of the accreditation role.

Approval of awarding bodies and accreditation of SVQs

We will:

  • publish, annually, the dates of the Accreditation Committee and the Accreditation Co-ordination Group
  • publish annually, the deadlines for submissions for corresponding Accreditation Committee meetings
  • acknowledge receipt of accreditation submissions within five working days
  • present the submission to Accreditation Committee within six weeks of receipt (providing that the submission meets the SVQ criteria)
  • provide written confirmation of the decision made at Accreditation Committee within seven working days

Audit of awarding bodies and centre monitoring visits

We will:

  • confirm in writing the date of the audit and the name(s) of the auditor(s) at least eight weeks prior to the audit
  • provide verbal feedback on the day of the audit
  • confirm the findings of the audit in writing in the form of an audit report within 6 weeks of the audit
  • conduct monitoring visits to a sample of centres within five months of the audit date (providing that suitable dates can be agreed with the centres)
  • provide the awarding body with a formal report on the centre monitoring visits within 6 weeks of the last centre visit