Validation hosts

Validation panel meetings can be hosted either by SQA or a centre.

SQA will organise and host the validation meeting for nationally devised qualifications. For locally devised developments, the validation meeting will normally be organised and hosted by the centre.

If your centre wants to hold and organise the validation meeting, the composition of the Validation Panel should be discussed with the SQA Lead Officer to ensure its composition is correct and that there is no potential conflict of interest.

Validation Panel members are acting on behalf of SQA in assessing the proposal against SQA’s quality criteria. While panel members will usually have an interest in the Group Award, and may have taken part in the consultation process, they should not have been directly involved with its development.

Centre hosted validation panel meetings

The lead centre of a collaborative development, or a single centre putting forward a Group Award proposal, may organise and host the validation meeting.

Where a centre decides on this course of action, SQA will have been consulted on the composition of the validation panel and will normally make at least one nomination to it.

For centre hosted validation meetings, the centre is responsible for:

  • finalising the Group Award specification
  • identifying and recruiting the validation panel members, including the chairperson and SQA officer
  • arranging the validation meeting
  • issuing validation meeting papers (two weeks before date of meeting)
  • all associated costs

The centre representative is responsible for completing and returning the 44 Group Award validation report (73 KB).

SQA hosted validation panel meetings

SQA will organise and host the validation meeting for nationally devised Group Awards.

For SQA hosted validation meetings, SQA is responsible for:

  • finalising the Group Award specification
  • identifying and recruiting the validation panel members, including the chairperson and SQA officer
  • arranging the validation meeting
  • issuing validation meeting papers (two weeks before date of meeting)
  • all associated costs

The SQA Officer is responsible for completing and returning the 44 Group Award validation report (73 KB).