Many of you will be returning to school and college this week, after the Summer holiday. Welcome back! The Summer is a relatively quiet time for me and my team, and we took the opportunity to press-on with developments. We commenced the reviews of NPA Digital Media (Basics and Editing) and NPA Web Design Fundamentals in late June and NPA/NC Computer Games Development in July. I announced two new developments relating to cyber security in July. One relates to teaching…
Read moreRead more about Welcome back
July 31, 2017 - sqablogs -
The Diplomas for Information Security Professionals at SCQF levels 6 and 8 (GJ75 46 and GJ74 48) were due to lapse on 31st July 2017. The application for extension was recently approved by SQA Accreditation. These qualifications have been extended for another two years, until 31st July 2019. If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Read moreRead more about Extension – Dip. for Information Security Professionals
We commenced this development a few weeks ago and there is now a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) for the forthcoming qualification. You can read the FAQ here. This FAQ will be kept up to date throughout the development so, if you’re interested in how it’s progressing, be sure to bookmark the link.
Read moreRead more about Questions about HNC Cyber Security?
The Scottish Government is expanding the Apprenticeship programmes, with a particular focus on Foundation Apprenticeships. Foundation Apprenticeships (FAs) are done in the senior phase in schools (S5 and S6) and give learners the opportunity to undertake vocational training and learning in a specific sector. There are a growing number of FA including three computing-related ones. These are: Foundation Apprenticeship in Software Development Foundation Apprenticeship in Hardware & System Support Foundation Apprenticeship in Creative & Digital Media. Each of these Apprenticeships…
Read moreRead more about Foundation Apprenticeships in Computing
We’ve recently been given the green light to commence the review of the National Certificates and National Progression Awards in Computer Games Development. I’ve previously mentioned that these awards, among others, were “scoped” to identify the extent of change needed. As a result, we have agreed the following changes to the awards: NPAs: no change to structure; all units updated; all assessments updated. NCs: possible change to structure, development of new/revised units (and assessments). The NPAs have been a big…
Read moreRead more about NC/NPA Computer Games Development review
July 5, 2017 - sqablogs -
We have been receiving numerous requests from centres for learning and teaching materials for PC Passport 2016. It is a pleasure to announce that we are now in a position to develop further learning and teaching materials for this award. This development is somewhat unconventional, as our projects are normally driven by qualification development. However, the uptake for this award has stalled slightly, so this project could not be more timeous. We will be developing student workbooks, similar to those…
Read moreRead more about PC Passport 2016 – Support materials
July 5, 2017 - sqablogs -
SQA was the first awarding body in the UK to introduce a qualification in online safety when we produced a National Unit entitled Internet Safety in 2007. In April 2016, this Unit underwent a second review (the first review was in 2012) to reflect contemporary threats to online users. It is a pleasure to announce that we have just made available via the SQA Academy formative assessments for this Unit. The assessments are presented as four quizzes covering the different sections…
Read moreRead more about Internet Safety – formative assessments
I recently mentioned that we had received special funding from the Scottish Government to develop support materials for the NPAs in Cyber Security. I’m now in a position to give more details. The money will be used to develop teaching and learning material for the NPAs at all three levels. This material will include: a teacher’s guide, learning materials for pupils and students, and a list of existing resources that can be used to deliver the awards. We’ll also provide…
Read moreRead more about Support material for NPA Cyber Security
I recently posted a message about Scottish Government funding to develop new vocational qualifications in cyber security. The suite of awards will encompass: HNC Cyber Security HND Cyber Security Professional Development Awards in Cyber Security. These new qualifications will build on the existing NPAs in this area. The first qualification to be developed will be the new HNC Cyber Security, which will be available to centres from June 2018. We’re currently looking for members of the Qualification Development Team (QDT)…
Read moreRead more about HNC Cyber Security
The Qualification Development Team (QDT) for these awards met, for the first time, on Saturday. This single QDT is going to revise three awards: NPA Digital Media Basics (SCQF Level 4) NPA Digital Media Editing (SCQF Level 5) NPA Web Design Fundamentals (SCQF Level 5). These awards are quite popular, particularly the Web Design award, which has a good uptake in schools. But the QDT felt that they all had potential to be much more popular if they are updated…
Read moreRead more about NPA Digital Media and Web Design