Our ways of working
Against the backdrop of education reform, we have been keen to ensure that the development approach and the ways of working we have adopted throughout the NextGen: HN project, align with the design principles of the new qualifications body which will replace SQA.
New qualifications body design principles
The new qualifications body will:
- be user centred
- be data focused
- be flexible to change coming from the operating environment
- be a learning organisation
- be digital by default
- be collaborative
- be sustainable
- develop an organisation culture which delivers for Scotland’s learners.
Below are some key features of NextGen: HN which align with these principles.
Service design model
We follow a service design model when developing NextGen: HN qualifications, focusing on meeting the needs of learners and centres, with an emphasis on continuous improvement and collaboration. This approach allows us to challenge and evaluate aspects such as the design principles, grading models and approach to quality assurance. Ongoing evaluation and feedback from learners, centres, deliverers, staff and other stakeholders helps us learn lessons and refine our approaches.
Development cycle – pre-development activities
The design principles are apparent throughout our pre-development activities, including:
- Consultation – extensive engagement with colleges, sector skills bodies, Skills Development Scotland, the Scottish Funding Council and other stakeholders.
- Subject selection – based on comprehensive criteria including which subjects would reach the highest number of learners, changes happening in subject/industry areas, and financial impacts, resource capacity planning and operational efficiency.
- Qualification Design Team (QDT) formation – wide stakeholder representation on all QDTs, and consultation between QDTs and relevant external parties such as Higher Education Institutions, professional and regulatory bodies
Development cycle – prototype qualification development
- NextGen: HN design principles – created to ensure that the qualifications are developed and validated to a consistently high standard, align with the design principles for the new qualifications body.
- Collaborative development – QDTs ensure a collaborative development for each qualification, with members are drawn from pilot centres, learners, further education, industry, employer/training providers, higher education, professional associations, regulatory bodies, appointees, and other stakeholders as appropriate. They operate as part of a cross-functional team including SQA staff, creating a wide support network.
- Minimum Viable Product approach – find out about our MVP approach here
Development cycle – prototype pilot delivery
SQA staff and appointees carry out a variety of engagement activities to support pilot centres during delivery, including:
- Introduction meetings
- Change Impact Assessments
- Pre-delivery evaluation meetings
- Monthly ‘keep in touch’ meetings
- Delivery evaluations
- Themed conversations
- Quality assurance touch points
- Pilot Centre Update – monthly newsletter
- Microsoft Teams collaboration spaces
Development cycle – evaluation, analysis and validation
NextGen: HN takes an agile approach to development, favouring an iterative design process, that can accommodate the input of a wide range of stakeholders.
This allows us to make regular improvements and refinements to meet the needs of users. It also allows the project to adapt and evolve as it progresses, rather than being rigidly constrained.
The changes we make are small and manageable, and, as we progress through the project, the subsequent changes build on those which have preceded them and the lessons we have learned.
We have three projects strands to focus on different elements of the evaluation process:
- Prototype evaluation – ongoing evaluation of protype qualifications to improve and refine design ideas, ensuring they best meet the needs of the final user.
- Learner evaluation – engagement with learners to ensure their views are considered throughout the development and delivery phases.
- Evaluation framework – to determine the evaluation activity required for NextGen: HN and ensure that it is carried out robustly and effectively.
If you would like more information on our ways of working, please contact
nextgen@sqa.org.uk.