Qualifications Body Transition Board minutes - 4 June 2024

Attendees and apologies

Members:

• Shirley Rogers SQA Board Chair - Transition Board Co-Chair (SR)
• Clare Hicks, Scottish Government (SG), Director of Education Reform - Transition Board Co-Chair (CH)
• Reid Aiton, Young Scot (RA)
• Kirsty Ayed, School Leaders Scotland (KA)
• Liz Cunningham, SQA Unison Representative (LC)
• Iain Glennie, Scottish Secondary Teachers Association (IG)
• Tom Hall, Colleges Scotland (TH)
• Laurence Findlay, ADES, Aberdeenshire Council (LF)
• Seán Hagney, SQA Board member (SH)
• Andy Harvey, EIS (AH)
• Claire McPherson - Universities Scotland (CM)
• Erin McCabe, SQA Unite Representative (EM)
• Stuart McKenna, Scottish Training Federation (SM)
• Isabel Nisbet, Independent Adviser (IN)
• Pauline Radcliffe, Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (PR)
• Jon Reid, SLS/ADES, Falkirk Council (JR)
• Fiona Robertson, SQA Chief Executive (FR)

In attendance:

• John Booth, SQA, Director of Communications (JB)
• Steve Borley, SQA Head of Chief Executive’s Office (SB)
• Martin Campbell, SQA, Director of Business Systems (MC)
• Sarah Clark, SG, Policy Manager (SC)
• Jane Duffy, SG, Head of Education Alignment and Apprenticeships (JD)
• Chris Dunne, SG, Programme Manager (CD)
• Sarah Hart, SG, Head of Delivery (SaH)
• Ruth Jays, SG, Unit Head (RJ)
• Dawnne Mahmoud, SQA, Director of People (DM)
• Liz McGrath, SQA, Programme Director, Education Reform (LM)
• Stuart McLaren, SQA, Head of Marketing (StM)
• Jaxon Parish, SG, Senior Policy Officer (JP)
• Mark Wilson, SQA, Senior Internal Communications Manager

Secretariat:

• Karen Ferguson, SQA (KF)
• Pauline Hendry, SG (PH)
• John Keenan, SG (JK)
• Anna Kerr, SQA (AK)
• Niamh McGhee, SG (NM)

Apologies:

• Lisa Bird, SG
• Euan Duncan, SSTA
• Allan Lindsay, Young Scot
• Katie Miller, CBI
• Pauline Radcliffe, SCQF
• Shona Struthers, Colleges Scotland
• Ken Thomson, SQA Board 
• Kieran Watson, SG

Items and actions

Opening remarks

Welcome and apologies

The Co-Chairs welcomed everyone to the meeting and noted apologies.

Some additions to the Board membership were also noted. The membership is not yet fixed and there may be some further expansion to reflect the desire to include employers in the membership.

Declaration of any conflicts of interest

There were no declarations of conflicts of interest. This item will remain on the agenda to address any emerging conflicts.

Previous meeting – approval of minutes from 23 April 2024 and matters arising

No comments were made and the minutes were now considered approved.

Terms of Reference (ToR)

Members were thanked for their comments and feedback on the ToR, a revised version of which was included in the papers for this meeting. A couple of key points were noted – a clear emphasis has been made on the Board’s responsibility to ensure the impact on staff is considered and managed, and that the expertise within SQA plays a key role in shaping the future arrangements of the new qualifications body (NQB). In addition, a specific reference has been added regarding Board members’ role in providing scrutiny, challenge and support to the Board.

Members indicated that they would like to see a specific separate reference to accreditation within the ToR, including on membership of the Board. There were no objections to this from the co-chairs.

Action: Invitation to join the Board to be extended to a member from accreditation.

The cost of transformation was also noted as an item that members would wish to see included in the ToR. Budget is referenced, but this can be made more distinct.

These minor amendments to the ToR will be made and the document will be signed off, while noting that further changes can be made as required.

Action - Amendments to be made to ToR prior to sign off.

Vision for NQB - where are we trying to get to?

JP set out the Scottish Government vision for the NQB and how it fits into wider education and skills reform ambitions.

There are three tranches of work in realising the vision:

• Legislation
  • underpinning legislative framework
  • separately governed awarding and accreditation functions
  • enhanced governance and accountability models
• Implementation
  • incorporating the transition from SQA to the NQB
  • corporate, operational and cultural transformation
  • qualifications and Post-School Education and Skills Reform activities
• Thematic Projects
  • cohesive and collaborative infrastructure
  • alignment across all national infrastructure reform activity
  • key system change – digital, branding, interfaces etc.

Members requested that diversity is embedded into the governance structure. There should be inclusion of voices from both male and female members of the profession and the BAME community. It is also important to consider geography, as rurally located educators will have different experiences from those in cities.

JB set out the SQA draft Corporate Plan, building on JP’s presentation, particularly around implementation and the transformation required.

SR assured members that while there is a need to transform SQA in terms of their external presence, working with staff internally is of equal importance, and is subject to a consultative piece of work.

It was noted and acknowledged that different stakeholders have different needs and desires for the new body, with some wanting it to feel significantly different, while others consider it delivers well for the sector already. It will be a tricky balance to ensure that all groups are satisfied, but members were assured that focus will be on improvement.

The terminology of the draft corporate plan was discussed, with members noting that they would wish to see the culture of the organisation reflected in the words used to describe it, and this must be about assurance and standards. This feedback was noted, and the plan will be revisited to ensure what is said isn’t misinterpreted.

Where consultation takes place, members were keen to ensure that this isn’t limited to a narrow pool of people. Professional associations are valued partners in this work, with broad networks. This feedback was acknowledged and consultation will engage with a full spectrum to ensure everyone has an opportunity to make their opinions known.

Transition - what is required for day 1?

SaH and LM outlined the NQB Implementation Plan, details of which were contained in the papers attached to the agenda for this meeting.

SaH summarised the key steps required in order to provide clear and collective assurance to Ministers and the wider system regarding what needs to happen to have the new body in place for day 1. This will be further layered with the wider reform and transformation work.

The plan will be built on and timelines allocated to the listed outputs. This will be informed by thematic projects, and transition planning work already undertaken. Further detail will be provided at future Transition Board meetings, and the Board’s assurance will be sought. It was acknowledged that there are a number of different strands of reform work operating at different sets of pace that need to be navigated.

A request was made for the list of outputs to be rearranged so related outputs are sitting together in the table. Specifically, output 12 relating to staff transfers would sit better under output 3 staff structures. This was noted and will be taken on board.  Following a question it was also noted that It was confirmed that appointees to SQA are firmly included in the transition plan, mostly under output 1.

Action - SaH/LM to consider ordering of list of outputs in Implementation Plan.

Members were assured that there is scope for them to engage directly with project teams as specific elements of the plan are developed.

Action - Members offered opportunity to engage in further detail of the Implementation Plan as work develops.

Update on branding work

RJ spoke about the development of branding for the new bodies as a result of education reform. The Scottish Government, while retaining oversight, recognises that the insights of colleagues in SQA and Education Scotland are absolutely critical to developing the branding for the new national bodies.

Scottish Government colleagues are currently working to seek funding approval for the project. Members raised questions regarding the amount of funding and the timing of release. It was explained that there is absolute acceptance that branding work will be required in establishing the NQB, and the scope of that will be further detailed once the range of funding is known. It was not possible to provide a timeline for the decision, but greater clarity will be forthcoming in due course. Once the approach and budget is agreed, this will be communicated to the Transition Board.

JB spoke to the meeting about branding issues specific to the NQB, noting that a collaborative approach is critical, but that branding must be able to reflect the unique personality of the new body.

Discussion followed about a range of issues in relation to the branding of the NQB. It was explained that the paper outlines an in-principle model and user testing will explore many issues in further detail.

Members noted that while they understand the logic of linking together all the new bodies and having uniformity in the approach to branding, the NQB has specific status as a Non-Departmental Public Body and this needs reflected in the branding work. The Scottish Government and SQA recognise that more work needs to be done in order to realise the benefits of working this way

There was uncertainty about the separate identities of the accreditation and awarding functions of the new organisation and whether they would operate under the same name. This was noted for further consideration.

CH noted the helpful comments from members outlining some risks and issues related to the branding approach. These will be further reflected upon as the transition plan proceeds.

Transformation - what will happen longer term?

Digital pathfinder: strategy overview

CD spoke about the digital strategy, which is part of the Digital Pathfinder thematic project and applies to all new bodies that the programme seeks to establish. The presentation outlined the purpose and scope of the strategy, also covering working assumptions and ongoing assurance related to strategy development and implementation.

The next steps of this work are to develop the full digital vision and strategy to serve as a guide for subsequent digital service delivery initiatives for the new public bodies, and to provide a roadmap for the delivery of subsequent digital capability initiatives.

Potential innovation examples to be explored for post launch digital transformation were identified. These included digital assessments, AI and single sign on for users, which were well received by members.

SQA digital awarding update

MC spoke to the redesign of services offered by SQA, the design and delivery of which will be based on user experience, a key part of digital transformation. In setting out the scope of the work, it is clear that it must align with the wider scope of Education Reform. Work is ongoing with the Digital Pathfinder thematic project team, and Education Reform design principles will be embedded in the methodology.

An external partner, BGSS (a technology and software engineering consultancy) have been assisting with the Stage 1 discovery exercise, which is nearing completion.

Stage 2 will deliver the core capabilities to allow scaling of qualification and Stage 3 will encompass the wider digital transformation, including the delivery of a structured roadmap and delivery of the digital capabilities to meet system needs.

Members noted the constraints of SQA legacy systems. One of the perceived benefits of staff moving to the new organisation is that investment will be made to legacy systems and infrastructure. It will be important that expectations of SQA staff are managed regarding timelines for when systems will be improved, and what will be achieved by day 1.

Any other business

Secretariat will issue a poll to members regarding preferences for hybrid or virtual format for the next meeting.

Thanks were expressed to all members for their contributions to the meeting.

Date of next meeting

The date of the next meeting is Tuesday 25 June 2024.