Qualifications Scotland ready to start work next week

Wednesday 26 November 2025

Scotland's new qualifications body starts work next week (2 December) with a promise to put learners and educators at the heart of decision-making.

Qualifications Scotland will replace the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) following the passage of the Education (Scotland) Act earlier this year.

Chief Executive Nick Page says much of the progress made during his first 100 days in the job has laid the groundwork for future success but that newly-published research underlines the need to go further and faster in the weeks, months and years ahead.

Mr Page has visited and listened to colleagues in colleges, employers, training providers, local authorities and schools. He has spoken in depth with parents, carers, learners and system leaders from across the education and skills sector. He says he has heard much to be positive about but acknowledges that a lot more needs to be done to win back the trust of learners and educators.

Key Audience Research, which surveys learners, teachers, lecturers, training providers, parents and carers, shows that:

Mr Page said, 'These findings show us exactly where Qualifications Scotland needs to focus its efforts. There is a clear and compelling need for change, and we must act on it. Qualifications Scotland is not and can never be a rebrand of SQA. It is a new organisation designed from the ground up to work differently, to engage more deeply and to put learners and educators at the very heart of everything we do. It’s a huge undertaking so we need our nation to test us and back us.

'I’ve been heartened by what I’ve heard while out and about across Scotland. There is positivity about the possibilities which the arrival of Qualifications Scotland brings. We need to go deep into that and open up genuine opportunities for everyone to get involved in the work of Qualifications Scotland. We want to hear from teachers, lecturers, learners, parents, carers, local authorities, system experts and employers about what matters to them and what needs to change.'

Qualifications Scotland becomes a legally-established public body at the start of December. The Board will be appointed, chaired by Shirley Rogers CBE, and with at least five members who are practising teachers or lecturers. There will also be members able to represent the interests of learners and employers.

Recruitment will also begin for two new Interest Committees – one for learners and one for teachers and lecturers – and for the new Strategic Advisory Council made up of stakeholder representatives.

Together these represent a significant shift in how the organisation will be governed, with learners and educators much more involved in shaping decisions.

The new organisation will set out its early priorities for change next week. This is expected to include work to fundamentally reform qualifications and assessments, including less reliance on high-stakes exams, and the roll-out of the new Schools Partnership Team, led by headteacher Sarah Brown to ensure Qualifications Scotland is closer to the classroom than SQA was.

Mr Page said, 'The arrival of Qualifications Scotland represents not just a fundamental reset, but the critically important opportunity to transform what and how we assess learning in Scotland. It is an opportunity to accelerate change and to power long-term success for Scotland. We will achieve that by being an organisation that listens, learns and evolves. Our aim is clear: to give every learner the opportunity to fulfil their potential and to deliver for Scotland by making a positive social and economic impact.'