SQA's Understanding Standards programme moves to online-only
Our 2024-25 Understanding Standards programme is now live and available for booking.
Due to the significant pressure on public sector budgets, the programme will no longer include in-person events and now consists of webinars only. Most of the webinars will last around an hour, though some will be longer, and some will follow an online workshop format.
You can view the webinar programme on our Understanding Standards website at www.understandingstandards.org.uk/Webinars, where you’ll also find links to booking information.
Our first webinar is on 23 September and will focus on the National 4 English added value unit.
We’ll add more webinars to the programme over the coming weeks.
Why we’re making this change
We appreciate that the absence of in-person events will be disappointing for some of you. However, like many public sector organisations, we’re having to make efficiencies and reduce our spending.
Our annual programme of Understanding Standards events, which took place over several months at locations across Scotland, required significant resources.
Supporting you
We have a significant range of online resources to help you develop your understanding of national standards for assessment in your courses and prepare your learners for assessment. We’ll continue to add to these resources by holding webinars and publishing new materials for courses where we’ve identified a need for more support.
Understanding Standards materials show and explain the national standards required for assessment in SQA qualifications, including National Courses and awards. These include candidate evidence and commentary materials – real examples of candidate assessment evidence, with a written commentary by an SQA senior examiner that explains why and where candidates have been awarded marks.
We also have a wide range of webinar recordings and audio presentations, which explain the requirements for assessments.
We continually review our Understanding Standards materials to make sure they stay relevant and up to date for each course.
Access Understanding Standards support for your subjects
To access subject-specific Understanding Standards materials, please visit our Understanding Standards website at www.understandingstandards.org.uk.
We also provide information on Understanding Standards support on the NQ subject pages of our website at www.sqa.org.uk/nqsubjects (please see the ‘Understanding Standards’ tab on each page).
Some Understanding Standards materials are available from the SQA Secure website, for assessments where the evidence must be kept secure and confidential. You can arrange access to secure Understanding Standards materials through your SQA co-ordinator.
Contact us
If you have any questions about our Understanding Standards programme, please email qualification.development@sqa.org.uk.