Co-ordinator Update 31 August 2022

2022-23 Visiting assessment for Dance, Drama, Music and Advanced Higher Modern Languages

The Guide for SQA Co-ordinators for 2022-23 will include a new discrete section on visiting assessment.

Visiting assessment periods

The VA periods for session 2022-23 are:

Assessment arrangements

The deadline for requesting assessment arrangements (AA) for the performance and practical activity components for Dance, Drama and Music has been brought forward. This is to allow more time for your candidates to rehearse with the agreed AA in place prior to visiting assessment taking place.

If you have any candidates who require reasonable adjustments for these components, you must contact the assessment arrangements team (aarequests@sqa.org.uk)
by 30 November 2022.

All AA requests must be agreed in advance with SQA. It is not the responsibility of the visiting assessor (VA) to make decisions on the appropriateness of assessment arrangements for individual candidates.

Centre approval – National 5 and Higher Dance

Centres must apply for approval before delivering National 5 and Higher Dance for the first time and need to consider the resources that are available to them to do this.

In order to deliver this qualification in the next academic session, and for candidates to be certificated in August 2023, applications for approval must be submitted by

30 September 2022.

Further information is available from the Deliver this qualification section on the NQ Dance page on the SQA website.

Centre release and recruitment

SQA relies on the agreement of centres to provide release for VAs where requested. This important aspect of candidate assessment can only be sustained by working in partnership.

VAs who conducted visits on behalf of SQA and met all of their key performances measures last session will shortly be invited to conduct visiting assessment duties for 2022-23. We are currently recruiting visiting assessors and would ask you to promote the following VA opportunities in your centre:

• Chinese Languages – Advanced Higher
• Gaelic (Learners) – Advanced Higher
• Gàidhlig – Advanced Higher
• German – Advanced Higher
• Italian – Advanced Higher
• Dance – National 5 and Higher
• Drama – National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher
• Music – National 5 and Higher including bagpipes and pipe band drumming specialists

VAs play a significant part in the visiting assessment diet, accounting for as much as 80% of candidate’s grades in some subjects.

It is essential for the smooth running of visiting assessment that centres allow their teachers and lecturers to be absent from their centre to conduct assessment for all candidates throughout Scotland. We are very grateful to all centres for releasing VAs for face-to-face visits in 2021-22 and hope that we can count on your support in 2022-23.