Scottish Government

SCQF
Scotland's Lifelong Learning Framework

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Recognising Prior Informal Learning (RPL) within the Scottish Credit and
Qualifications Framework (SCQF)

A National Debate

Here's your opportunity to be part of our National Debate.
Your views are needed to shape future practice.

Free Sector-based SCQF RPL workshops are being held between April and June 2004.

A project website, available after April 2004, will also support the national debate: www.scqf.org.uk/rpl

Please select the most appropriate workshop for you and return booking form at least one week prior to the workshop of your choice.

For further general information on the SCQF - visit our website on:www.scqf.org.uk

Background to the RPL Project

How can the SCQF support the wider recognition of prior informal learning in a way that is useful to the learner; to the learning provider; to the receiving organisation; to the community and to employers?

In what ways can this learning be recognised in the form of credit rating within the context of the SCQF and how can this be linked to the personal and professional development of the learner and the planning of future learning pathways?

A national debate is being held across the post-16 education and training sectors in Scotland to explore these and other key questions as part of an SCQF project to develop national guidelines for recognising prior informal learning within the context of the Framework.

RPL Guidelines

The guidelines will form a section of the SCQF Handbook and will cover all prior learning which has not been previously assessed or credit-rated. This includes prior learning achieved through life and work experiences as well as prior informal learning gained within the community; in the workplace and in the voluntary sector.

The guidelines will be the outcome of the national debate on RPL by you, other policy-makers and practitioners across the post-16 education and training sectors in Scotland.

The intention is to publish these guidelines during 2005-06.

Your contribution to the national debate will have a direct impact on the production of the guidelines.

The successful implementation of the SCQF will depend on the development of effective mechanisms for recognising prior informal learning.

We wish to find out what your views are on how this can be done.

There will also be an interactive chat room on RPL on the website after April 2004.

WORKSHOP

Agenda

SCQF RPL Guidelines further information

The guidelines will:

• provide guidance to learning providers across all post-16 education sectors in Scotland on recognising prior informal learning within the context of the SCQF
• provide a core set of principles that will enable users of the SCQF to have confidence that there is a consistent approach to assessing and credit-rating prior informal learning
• support the more widespread practice of recognising prior informal learning as part of the lifelong learning agenda in Scotland.

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework