Hamilton Grammar School

National

Qualifications

Parent/Carer Guide

1 National Qualifications Parent Carer Guide | Hamilton Grammar School

Why are qualifications changing? Qualifications offered in Scotland were becoming dated and were no longer meeting the needs of all learners. The introduction of Curriculum for Excellence has brought with it a different approach to learning in school. There is now more inter disciplinary learning, a new focus on literacy and numeracy and health and wellbeing, and a more interactive way of teaching and learning. The new qualifications have been developed to build on the Broad General Education being delivered S1-S3. These new qualifications are being introduced for the first time in August 2013 and are designed to give your child the skills they need to excel in the 21st Century. The new qualifications have been simplified to make it easier for learners, parents/carers and potential employers to understand.

2 National Qualifications Parent Carer Guide | Hamilton Grammar School

How will the new qualifications be assessed? National 2 and 3 courses will be made up of a number of Units, in most cases 2 or 3, which will be assessed by your child’s teacher. These units will be marked as pass or fail. To achieve an award for the course, your child must pass all units. At National 4 level, the course will be made up of a number of units, like National 2 or 3, and an Added Value Unit. This Added Value Unit will assess the skills, knowledge and understanding selected from other units of the course. In order to pass at National 4 level, your child must pass all unit assessments plus the Added Value Unit. All units are graded at pass or fail. At National 5 level, the course will also include Units that are assessed by your child’s teacher. In order to achieve a Course at National 5, your child must pass all Units plus a Course Assessment. Course Assessments will normally be carried out using one or two assessment methods* and these will be externally marked by SQA or, where appropriate, internally assessed by the school. The majority of National 5 courses will have an assignment completed within school and an examination. Both will be added together to give your child their overall grade. This will be graded A-D. * The different assessment methods that SQA have introduced are:

• assignment • case study • practical activity • performance • portfolio • project • question paper/test

If your child completes National 5 but find that they have failed the course when they receive their results in August 2014 SQA will accredit them for the units passed on their certificate. If your child has completed the added value unit at National 4 level this evidence can be submitted and your child can be awarded a pass at National 4 level retrospectively. This is not possible for every subject due to the differing approaches taken to complete the added value unit. Faculty Heads from each department will be able to provide information on the provision their subjects have made for this. New quality assurance arrangements are being introduced to ensure that the new qualifications are recognised as a valuable achievement for learners. SQA is working with schools to ensure that all assessments are secure, valid and reliable. They will also make sure they are fair, consistent, in line with national standards, and can be valued by colleges, universities and employers in the future.

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How can I monitor my child’s progress? Check your child’s planner regularly as they should be recording assessment dates in this. If your child fails an assessment and has a reassessment, you will be notified by the department.

Tracking Report S4 Tracking reports will be issued on 13 November 2013. This report will give the current presentation level for all National Qualifications based on work to date. This recommendation may change in light of future attainment. A sample report is shown of pages 7 and 8. For National 2, 3 and 4 you will receive comments on your child’s progress towards passing the course. These comments are:

on track to pass some improvement required to pass significant improvement required to pass

The report will also make reference to your child’s behaviour, effort and homework record for the subject. For National 5 the tracking reports will show the following:

• Working Grade – current level of attainment for all National courses

• Next Target Grade - the level, agreed following discussion, which pupils will aim to achieve for the next tracking period. Teachers will discuss with pupils what they must do to progress to this stage/target level.

• Ratings for Effort, Behaviour and Homework.

S4 Full Report (Post Prelim) S4 reports issued 5 March 2014 will comment on overall level of commitment in terms of effort, behaviour and homework. This report also provides the following assessment information:

• The outcomes of any Unit assessments undertaken to date and performance in prelim examinations and assessments.

• A teacher comment section which will offer further insight into your son/daughter’s progress and updated information on their presentation level.

• The school is required to submit to SQA the final presentation level for each student by 17 March 2014.

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How can I support my child?

Time management is key to student success. Your child should start preparing for course assessments as early as possible. A weekly study timetable will help your child to stay on top of his or her workload and regular revision will alleviate stress. Homework is an integral part of the teaching and learning process. Please encourage your child to make full use of his or her planner and monitor this at home to ensure homework deadlines are being met. It is also essential that your child arrives for lessons with the equipment needed to participate. As a parent, you have an important role in working with the school to support your child. At National 5 level, specimen question papers on the SQA website are available to help you and your child to become familiar with the format of each exam. Please encourage your child to use this resource. The health and wellbeing of your child is paramount. Although studying and course work will be priorities, it is also important for pupils to relax. A healthy diet, a positive sleeping pattern and exercise can help maintain a good work/life balance and promote wellbeing. Further advice is always available from teaching staff when required. Please contact your child’s Pupil Support teacher and use the information provided on our school website.

Key Dates

• Tracking report - 13 November 2013

• Parents’ evening - 21 November 2013

• Prelim exams - 27 January to 3 February 2014

• Full report - 5 March 2014

• Deadline for submission of final presentation levels to SQA - 17 March 2014.

• SQA exams - starting 29 April 2014

How will you keep me updated this year?

We will provide updates in the usual manner, e.g. letters home or articles in the newsletter. Further information will be provided nearer the time about prelims. Supporting documents will also be added to the school website. Senior Leaders will also be available during our ‘CfE Clinics’ to offer help and support. Please contact the school office to book appointments for the following dates if you wish to discuss an issue: • 10 December • 23 January • 5 February • 20 February

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S4 Prelim and Assessments (27 January to 3 February 2014) The S4 prelims and assessments will take place at the end of January 2014 and last for six days. During this time pupils will have assessment leave and will only be required to attend school when they have an exam or assessment. Further details and a personal timetable will be issued to students later in the year. Pupils will sit prelim exams and assessments at National 2, 3, 4 or 5. The purposes of these exams and assessments are to:

• to provide clear evidence that the pupil can cope with the demands of the assessment instruments

• to provide an indicator of S5 progression pathways

• to contribute to the estimate grades which are send to SQA in advance of the examinations

• to form part of the evidence in an ‘exceptional circumstances’ case if this becomes necessary (see page 6)

How will staff ensure my child is presented at the correct level? Unlike Standard Grade, pupils are presented only at one level – N2 or N3 or N4 or N5. Recommended presentation levels will be determined by a range of assessment evidence, e.g. unit assessments throughout the session, prelim evidence and course assignments. Final decisions about which levels a pupil is sitting will be communicated in the S4 full report issued on 5 March. Please contact the school if you have any concerns about presentation levels. Passing N5 Unit assessments demonstrates minimum competence. These are set at a Grade C level and do not of themselves offer evidence that a pupil can cope with N5. If a pupil fails a course assessment, they will receive credit for the units they have achieved at that level. For example, if a pupil fails the course assessment at National 5, they will be awarded the units from the course at that level. Pupils’ work must meet the standard expected by the SQA. Within the school each department has devised its own processes for checking that work is being marked correctly and judged fairly. Samples of work are compared to check that all staff teaching that subject are assessing work appropriately. The SQA and South Lanarkshire Council have devised a rigorous process to ensure that teachers are making correct decisions about the quality of pupils’ work. This process is called verification and means that teachers’ assessment judgments are scrutinised by staff from outside the school to ensure they are correct.

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What is happening to appeals? Appeals do not form part of the new system of National Qualifications. The old system is being replaced by two separate services.

Exceptional Circumstances If the school believes that a candidate has suffered as a result of exceptional circumstances (for example bereavement or illness during an exam) we will inform SQA of the circumstances immediately. If SQA agrees that the exceptional circumstances procedure should apply, we can submit alternative evidence of attainment demonstrated by the candidate, which SQA will consider. This ‘alternative evidence’ will be coursework, class assessments or exams. The SQA will also take account of how the other candidates at the school performed in the exam.

Post Results Service This service will run after candidates have received their certificates in August 2014. If we are concerned by a candidate’s result, we can request a clerical check and/or a marking review of the script. The ‘script’ is the name given to the candidate’s exam answer paper. If this check/review of the marking of the script, leads to a change of grade (either up or down), this will be amended and a new certificate will be issued to the candidate. There will be no consideration of ‘alternative evidence’ with this service. If the original grade remains unchanged after the check/review of the marking of the script, the school will be charged for this service. Once the SQA has published its final criteria and procedures we will share with you the criteria which the school will apply when determining if we will seek to have a candidate considered under any of these procedures. Please note that a candidate’s grade can go down if the clerical check or marking review reveals that an error was made.

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Sample Tracking Report

8 National Qualifications Parent Carer Guide | Hamilton Grammar School

Sample Tracking Report

9 National Qualifications Parent Carer Guide | Hamilton Grammar School

Where can I find more information?

• Hamilton Grammar website – http://www.hamilton.s-lanark.sch.uk/

• The National Parent Forum of Scotland have produced summaries for all subjects called

Nationals in a Nutshell – https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/glowblogs/NPF/nationals-in-

a-nutshell/

• SQA to obtain course information as well as specimen question papers -

www.sqa.org.uk/browsecfesubjects

• Information from SQA on the qualification changes for parents and carers

http://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/46161.html

Please Note

Scan the QR code above with a mobile phone and you’ll be taken to the website directly.

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SQA Exam National 5 Exam Timetable

* Please notes times may vary from those stated

Tuesday 29 April

Course Paper Time Modern Studies 09:00 - 10:30 Accounting 13:00 - 14:30 Wednesday 30 April

English Reading for Analysis and Evaluation 13:00 - 14:00

English Critical Reading 14:20 - 15:50 Friday 2 May Music 13:00 - 13:45 Tuesday 6 May Mathematics 1 Non-calculator 09:00 - 10:00 Mathematics 2 Calculator 10:20 - 11:50 Wednesday 7 May History 09:00 - 10:30 Thursday 8 May Graphic Communication 13:00 - 14:30 Monday 12 May Chemistry 09:00 - 11:00 Wednesday 14 May French Reading and Writing 09:00 - 10:30 French Listening 10:50 - 11:15* (approx) Thursday 15 May Drama 09:00 - 10:30 Friday 16 May Biology 09:00 - 11:00 Monday 19 May Business Management 13:00 - 14:30 Thursday 22 May Physics 09:00 - 11:00 Friday 23 May Computing Science 09:00 - 10:30 Tuesday 27 May Design and Manufacture 13:00 - 14:30 Thursday 29 May Geography 09:00 - 10:30 Friday 30 May Art and Design 13:00 - 14:10 Spanish Reading and Writing 09:00 - 10:30 Spanish Listening 10:50 - 11:15* (approx)