SECTION 8
RECOGNISING AND RECORDING ACHIEVEMENT
8.1 Where pupils participate in school/college activities, the school and the college must recognise achievement and attainment. Some colleges and local authorities have established a series of short award ceremonies which celebrate certain milestones achieved by pupils.
Midlothian Council As part of their Determined to Succeed agenda, Midlothian Council hold award ceremonies for pupils attended by pupils, parents/carers, school and college staff, local employers and councillors. The ceremony is held in the college with keynote speakers and local dignitaries awarding the certificates and a local employer invited to speak about employability skills and opportunities in their vocational area. The certificates are awarded for achieving a certain percentage of attendance or submission of projects or other targets and help to motivate and encourage the pupils mid way through their learning. The certificate emphasises the importance of attendance, good work and good behaviour. |
8.2 For all school/college activities, the college should inform the school of the attendance and achievements of participating pupils.
8.3 Pupils participating in SQA courses at a college will be able to record their achievements as credit points on the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework ( SCQF), e.g. the new skills for work courses contain the SCQF points rating for each course the pupil undertakes. Colleges and schools should ensure that pupils, parents and employers are clearly appraised of the SCQF points value for different courses.
Knowsley College, Merseyside Knowsley College - a college with Beacon Status for their school/college programmes and awarded an 'outstanding' grade in an Ofsted report in February 2005 - provides a 'Value Added Passport' for each pupil. The passport monitors the progress and achievement of the pupil in each of five personal reviews conducted over their two year programme. Each review of progress is documented helping the pupil to recognise their progress with grades awarded for achievement, attendance and effort. An equivalency in each of the 1-7 grades is provided offering a quick assessment of the progress of the pupil. Pupils can present the Passport to prospective employers and further education institutions since it shows the 'distance travelled' by the young person in a way which is meaningful and relevant. |
8.4 Where the college is primarily responsible for the delivery and assessment of a nationally recognised course, the college should enter the candidate for the qualification. This allows more ready communication between the awarding body and the college for purposes of assessment and quality assurance and removes the need for a further line of communication between the awarding body and the school. The college must keep the school fully informed of all relevant information, including the performance of pupils. Similarly when the school presents, the school must keep the college fully appraised.
8.5 For school year 2007/08 onwards, outcomes arising from school/college partnership activity will be included in each sectors' SQA performance statistics. School performance - like college performance - has been measured since 2001 with reference to SCQF levels.
Personal Learning Planning
8.6 Career planning is an important aspect of personal learning planning ( PLP) procedures. Schools are responsible for supporting PLP procedures.
8.7 Careers Scotland emphasises a 'Career Planning Journey' as a bridge between the PLP procedures and career planning decisions. Careers Scotland is at an early stage in developing the 'Career Planning Journey' fully, which when used widely has the potential to enhance the quality of experience for the pupil.
8.8 Design principles in many courses help pupils to plan their chosen career path. Courses are designed to establish progression routes to further learning, training or employment and participants will be able to plan their qualification route as an important element to their career planning. Pupils should be informed of the typical requirements for careers related to their courses at an early stage, either through the selection procedures or their induction and guidance procedures. This serves to emphasise the appropriate levels of qualifications and skills necessary for their chosen career path to help them develop employability skills.