Choose a subject

Choose subject:

Sub navigation:

In this section

People and Society

New National Qualifications

People and Society sits within the social studies curriculum area.

Finalised Course and Unit documents are now available for all the new qualifications, from National 2 to Advanced Higher. These documents contain both mandatory information (in the Specifications) and advice and guidance (in the Support Notes). You can download all of these documents for this subject from our download page, using the button below, or use our check-box facility to download a selection of documents.

Assessment support materials are also now available for all the new National 2, National 3, National 4 and National 5 qualifications. Information on Course assessment support material (such as Specimen Question Papers and coursework information) is available on the National 5 subject page and, for all National 2 to National 5 qualifications, information on how to access Unit assessment support materials can be found on each subject page.

Following the development of these support materials, some documents with mandatory information (in particular the Course Assessment Specifications) will be updated with further information and clarifications by mid-June. In line with our standard practice, these documents will contain version information and a note of changes, if necessary. This will ensure that you can recognise the most up-to-date documents.

View and Download all People and Society documents

Development process

The final documents have been published following a lengthy engagement process. Find out how we got here. Considerable work has been carried out by the Curriculum Area Review Groups (CARGs), the Qualifications Design Teams (QDTs) and Subject Working Groups (SWGs) to develop the final documents.

At each stage of the qualification development process, we publish draft documents outlining our proposals and plans.

Visit our timeline to find out when the next documents for each qualification will be published.

Key points

is a skills-based Course which provides personalisation and choice for learners through relevant themes, contexts and topics, with flexible learning contexts to maximise learners' engagement
develops skills in investigating, making decisions and comparing and contrasting
has an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on key concepts from social subjects, social sciences and religious and moral education
provides opportunities to build challenging, coherent and enjoyable journeys for learners who progress through levels
has a hierarchical Unit structure that provides progression from National 3 to National 4
has added value assessment that provides personalisation and choice in an assignment at National 4