FOI21/22 156 Study Guides

Date published: 28/06/2022

1) Any internal communications from 28th February 2022 - 7th March 2022 inclusive on the content or release of the study guides.

2) If number 1 is not possible, any internal communications from 28th February 2022 - 7th March 2022 inclusive on the content or release of Higher level (SCQF 6) study guides.

3) Any internal communications on 7th March 2022-8th March 2022 inclusive on the content of the study guides and the subsequent updates made to the study guides.

4) If number 3 is not possible, internal communications on 7th March 2022-8th March 2022 inclusive on the content of the Higher level (SCQF 6) study guides and the subsequent updates made to the Higher level (SCQF 6) study guides.

5) Any internal communications from 28th February 2022-8th March 2022 inclusive on the content or release of the Higher English (SCQF 6) study guides.

6) As offered, any evidence of engagement between parents/carers, young people, and teaching staff and the SQA.

7) Any internal communications on the social media response to the study guides from 7th March 2022-14th March 2022 inclusive.

Information relating to questions 1-4 is in document Information Sheet Part 1 below

Below is a link to the final version of the document mentioned in the email exchange relating to AH Computing Science

https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/files_ccc/2022-revision-support-learners-ah-computing-science.pdf

5) Any internal communications from 28th February 2022-8th March 2022 inclusive on the content or release of the Higher English (SCQF 6) study guides.

As required under Section 17 of FOISA, if we do not hold the information requested, we must advise you accordingly. There is no internal communications on the content or release of the Higher English (SCQF 6) study guides during the requested time period.

6) As offered, any evidence of engagement between parents/carers, young people, and teaching staff and the SQA.

• Scenario 2 Revision Support For Learners documents were produced by Qualifications teams, which include Qualifications Managers, Qualifications Officers and Subject Implementation Managers. Please note, that Subject Implementation Managers are employed by SQA for their teaching background and significant experience. Qualifications teams were responsible for drafting the documents or working with key appointees, to draft the documents. Namely, Principal Assessors and/or Depute Principal Assessors and/or Principal Verifiers and/or Senior Team Leaders (many of whom are practising teachers/lecturers and all are experienced practitioners) created or assisted with the creation of the subject specific content of these documents. This involvement varied between subjects relative to the nature of the revision support materials and original modifications made at the start of the session. It is important to note that there was considerable discussion externally on the original modifications both for session 2020/21 via an external consultation (for further details please see https://www.sqa.org.uk/files_ccc/outcomes-national-consultation-2021.pdf) and for session 2021/22. The creation of Scenario 2 Revision Support For Learners documents was an extension of this early work. 
• If/when an opportunity allowed, some Qualifications teams were able to discuss the type of Scenario 2 support being produced with teachers at meetings which were focusing on other aspects of SQA's work.
• In some cases, representatives from the following groups were also engaged with regarding the documents: National Qualifications Support Teams (NQSTs), Subject Implementation Manager networks, exam teams and/or subject associations. The level of engagement depended on the complexity of the subject requirements. 
• Furthermore, a group of learners (who are also members of the SQA Learner Panel) provided feedback that reassured SQA that the support was suitable for the intended audience. The group sense checked the approach being taken via the review of three examples of blank templates. It should be noted that SQA could only share blank templates because of the confidential nature of the content of the documents (to give early sight of the Revision Support for Learners documents would put those learners at an advantage, since many of the documents detail content which will be assessed in the examination). Some of the feedback from the group can be summarised in the bullet points below:
  • The learners liked the layout and format of the documents
  • It seemed clear and easy to follow
  • The learners felt the resource will be a benefit to them
  • The learners expect the resources to be used by their teachers to shape revision guidance in class and for teachers to talk them through it
  • Following that, the learners will use the resources personally as part of their own exam study/prep
  • The learners would like a central hub of info for each subject (modifications, revision support, BBC bitesize links, past papers etc) so it’s easy to access
  • A lot of discussion about having an integrated App for everything related to exams
  • The learners will access the resource on their phones or tables rather than a laptop or PC
• In addition to this, some Qualifications teams also worked directly with a small number of presenting centres to enable learners to provide direct feedback on subject specific documents (content, language and layout); this was used to shape the documents before publication.

7) Any internal communications on the social media response to the study guides from 7th March 2022-14th March 2022 inclusive.

Please see the document Information Sheet Part 2 below

Information Sheet Part 1 (0.98 MB)

Information Sheep Part 2 (186 KB)