SQA to be replaced by Qualifications Scotland in 2025

The new bill proposes establishing the office of His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education in Scotland, which would take over the regulatory and inspection powers from Education Scotland. 

The Chief Inspector would be named by royal appointment and “not subject to the direction or control of any member of the Scottish Government.”

Although not included in the bill, the government has also promised to reform Education Scotland, creating a new-look department that focusses more exclusively on curriculum design, implementation, and oversight. 

Both the new inspector and Qualifications Scotland are expected to become operational in Autumn 2025.

A new name, and what else?

It has been four years since the Scottish Government announced that it would be scrapping the SQA and replacing it with a new qualifications body.

Read more: What do reports about the exam system tell us about the SQA?

In the intervening period, the government has spent almost £1 million on reviews of the education, qualifications and exam systems. A significant portion of those reviews have considered changes to the SQA.

The majority of the new bill deals with the new qualifications body. However, it is unclear how Qualifications Scotland will operate differently from the Scottish Qualifications Authority.

For one, the legislation suggests that there will be minimal, if any, change in personnel:

“With effect from the transfer date, any person who, immediately before that date, was employed by the Scottish Qualifications Authority, is transferred into the employment of Qualifications Scotland.”

This apparently also includes senior SQA leadership, including current SQA Chair Shirley Rogers, who will take on the same role with Qualifications Scotland. 

And Qualifications Scotland’s purview will also be very similar to its predecessor. The bill states that Qualifications Scotland will have the authority to craft qualifications “whether for itself or others to award”, and to “devise a programme of learning” to match the qualification. 

When asked how the two bodies will differ, a Scottish Government spokesperson said that teachers and students will be able to hold Qualifications Scotland more accountable than they could the SQA, through the establishment of dedicated committees for students and teachers. 

“[The bill] ensures the Board of Management has an increased number of members with relevant teaching experience.

“It also provides a duty for Qualifications Scotland to co-create two specific “charters” to set out what learners and teachers should expect from Qualifications Scotland to ensure its processes are fair and transparent and that the organisation can be held to account by those it serves.

“Importantly, the Bill creates an enhanced governance model for the separation of the awarding and accreditation functions, ensuring decisions on these are taken independently of one another.”

The spokesperson added that legislative and administrative changes are not enough to bring about the cultural change necessary to improve the way qualifications are delivered for students and teachers when compared to the SQA model.

“The legislation provides a framework that will shape the identity and focus of the organisation, while work on the corporate and operational transformation being undertaken in parallel will ensure the body feels and behaves differently.”

In a statement following the bill’s publication, the SQA “welcomed” the establishment of Qualifications Scotland and committed to using the “milestone to build further momentum behind our ambitious transformation.”

SQA Chief Executive and Scotland’s Chief Examining Officer Fiona Robertson said that the SQA will work in the meantime to see out its responsibilities during the transition.

SQA Chair Shirley Rogers said the bill offers a “catalyst for change.”

It is unclear how the SQA will directly impact or work alongside Qualifications Scotland in the buildup to the 2025 transfer, especially given the expected transfer of SQA staff.

The legislation does, however, include a provision which states that any SQA actions taken now will be treated as if they were done by Qualifications Scotland once the new body is officially formed.

The bill’s new “learner charter” and “teacher and practitioner charter”, which require Qualifications Scotland to engage with students and staff and publish what each should expect from Qualifications Scotland. 

Qualifications Scotland will be required to review the charters every five years.

The new qualifications body will also include between 9 and 13 “members”, to be appointed by ministers: a chair, a convener of the Accreditation Committee, a chief executive, and between 6 and 10 others.

Those remaining members must include at least one with knowledge of the “interests of persons undertaking a relevant qualification” (i.e. students), two who are teachers, two who are college teachers and at least one with knowledge of the “interests of the staff of Qualifications Scotland.”

Unions say change must be more than ‘rebranding’

The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) released a statement welcoming the new bill as overdue but much-needed.

EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley said that the union will closely follow how Qualifications Scotland’s awarding and regulatinon functions operate to ensure that the new agency cannot “mark its own homework.”

“We welcome the commitment today from the Cabinet Secretary that Qualifications Scotland will ensure that ‘the knowledge and experience of pupils and teachers are central to decisions taken on qualifications and assessment’ and note the proposed increased representation of teachers and college lecturers in the agency’s membership arrangements.

“As with all legislation, the devil is in the detail and we will take time now to consider that detail, to ensure that teachers’ voice is central to the decision-making processes.”

Mike Corbett, NASUWT Scotland National official said that the qualifications system has been clearly in need of an overhaul, and that the new body must represent genuine change and engagement with students and staff.

“We need to see genuine change created as a result of these reforms. This cannot merely be a rebranding exercise where the same cultures and practices continue to exist under a different name and logo. 

“To succeed, the over-emphasis on assessment and bureaucracy which is disempowering teachers, damaging their morale and undermining their ability to meet the needs of their pupils must be tackled. 

 “The new qualifications body, the independent inspectorate and the new national education agency must all offer genuine and meaningful engagement with the teaching profession and the NASUWT. Far too often in recent years, teachers have felt dictated to by these bodies, rather than engaged with, encouraged and supported.

“These reforms must also be underpinned by a commitment to empowering classroom teachers and giving them agency to undertake their jobs and to support the profession to deliver the best for pupils.”

Gavin Yates, Executive Director of parents’ organisation Connect, echoed the calls for legitimate changes, adding that parents should have a direct voice in any ongoing reform efforts.

‘It is vital that parents are fully involved in the Strategic Advisory Council and in the creation and delivery of the Learner’s Charter. We know from our parent survey that parents want to be more involved in school inspections and school improvement.’

‘Connect will continue to work tirelessly to ensure the voices of parents are heard and their concerns are properly addressed. We stand ready to play our part in helping drive improvement in these vital policy areas.’

Teachers and students must drive new system, secretary says

Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said that the new legislation is meant to put pupil and teacher experiences at the heart of decisions about qualifications and assessment.

"Greater independence for the new inspectorate body will see the power to set the frequency and focus for inspections moving from Scottish Ministers to His Majesty’s Chief Inspector.  

“This is a significant change and will  increase confidence in the independent role of inspections in assessing and identifying strengths and areas for improvement across our education system.

"The Scottish Government’s programme of education and skills reform will drive improvement right across the education system.

“That's why we've taken time to engage with learners, teachers and other professionals across the education and skills sector to ensure these changes meet the needs of future generations."