September 10, 2026 - Bobby -
The team is currently developing two new Higher National Qualifications. These are: HNC Computer Games Development HND Esports. Since these are Next Gen qualifications they follow the design principles for these new types of award, which means bigger and fewer units, less assessment and grading. The Qualification Development Teams (QDTs) have been working on these developments since the start of the year and, so far, we’ve produced frameworks (one for each qualification) and 19 new units. We’re currently finalising the…
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August 27, 2026 - Bobby -
I recently posted about online support for vocational Computing qualifications such as NPA Cyber Security and National Certificate in Computing with Digital Media. We’ve also created a dedicated Microsoft Team to support new Higher National Qualifications (HNQs), developed as part of Next Gen. Over the last six years we’ve developed a number of these new awards: HNC Computing HNC Esports HND Computer Science HND Data Science HND Networking & Cloud Infrastructure HND Software Development. We’re currently developing two new HNQs:…
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August 27, 2026 - Bobby -
This seems a good time to remind you about the process for asking for changes to qualifications. Qualifications are formally reviewed on a cycle but, between reviews, we maintain qualifications by considering small changes to them. So, if you want to: propose a change to a group award propose a change to a unit suggest the creation of a new unit comment on an assessment there’s a process for that. If you complete this short form, we will pass your…
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August 17, 2026 - Bobby -
Welcome back for session 2026/27. I hope you had a good summer holiday. I'd like to remind you about the support we offer to teachers of vocational Computing qualifications. It can be confusing to remember who does what within Qualifications Scotland so I posted something about this at the start of the year. Who does what My team (me, Emma and Helen) are responsible for vocational Computing qualifications. We can be contacted at: bobby.elliott@qualifications.gov.scot emma.campos@qualifications.gov.scot helen.zhang@qualifications.gov.scot. Emma is the lead…
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The Qualifications Support Team (QST) meets annually to receive updates and consider qualification proposals submitted by centres, or individuals, throughout the year. Our annual meeting took place yesterday, 6 May. Following constructive discussions on the qualification proposals to be considered, I am happy to advise that the following changes were approved: HNC Digital Design and Web Development (GL7Y 15) – Addition of Agile Development: Introduction (HT9H 34) as an optional unit. NPA Computing Technologies (GV6W 44) – Addition of Information…
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I’m pleased to let you know that the documentation for HNC Esports has now been published on Qualifications Scotland’s website. You’ll find it on the Next Gen webpage under “Esports”. NextGen: HN course documents – Qualifications Scotland The Educator Guide is here: GHHQ 47 HNC Esports educator guide Apologies for the delay, which was caused by changes to the way we publish documentation. I hope that you consider offering this exciting new qualification. We’re currently in the process of producing…
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I’m pleased to let you know that a new Microsoft Team has been created to support educators to deliver vocational Computing qualifications. The team can be found here: General | Computing Teaching Network Me and my team often get requests from teachers about the resources needed to deliver a qualification or the best way to timetable a course, and we’re not best placed to answer these questions. The idea behind the support network is to provide a platform for peer…
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The Sector Panel for Computing & IT met last week (Thursday). There was a full turnout (15 members). The Sector Panel provides strategic advice and direction to the team. The Panel meets annually. We provided a qualification update and a statistical update to members. For example, we updated members about various Higher National developments including the recent development of HNC Esports. There were interesting discussions about a range of issues such as the IT infrastructure in schools (which can limit…
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February 3, 2026 - Helen -
We held a joint validation event for NextGen HND Computer Science and HND Data Science in late November last year. David Hiddleston from Edinburgh College served as convenor, and the validation panel included representatives from colleges, universities, training providers, and Skills Development Scotland (SDS). These two HNDs have adopted the new NextGen design principles, and both feature a smaller framework, compared to the legacy HNDs, with fewer but larger units. Meta-skills and learning for sustainability have been contextualised with subject-specific examples…
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January 30, 2026 - Bobby -
The first meeting of the Qualification Development Team (QDT) for HNC Computer Games Development took place on Wednesday afternoon. QDTs consist of representatives of schools, colleges, universities and employers. Computer games qualifications (which span NPA to HND) are very popular (the NPA is SQA’s most popular qualification of this type). The development of HNC is the first stage in modernising the HNC and the HND. Both qualifications will be “Next Gen” qualifications so are likely to, at least, look different…
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