Qualifications Body Transition Board minutes - August 2024

Attendees and apologies

Members

• Shirley Rogers, SQA Board Chair – Transition Board Co-Chair (SR)
• Clare Hicks, SG Director for Education Reform – Transition Board Co-Chair (CH)
• George Brown, SQA Accreditation (GB)
• Liz Cunningham, SQA Unison Representative (LC)
• Laurence Findlay, ADES, Aberdeenshire Council (LF)
• Seán Hagney, SQA Board (SH)
• Ken Thomson, SQA Board (KT)
• Allan Lindsay, Young Scot (AL)
• Erin McCabe, Unite (EM)
• Isabel Nisbet, Independent Adviser (IN)
• Pauline Radcliffe, SCQF (PR)
• Fiona Robertson, SQA Chief Executive (FR)
• Kirsty Ayed, School Leaders Scotland (KA)
• Stuart McKenna, Scottish Training Federation (SMcK)
• Andy Harvey, EIS (AH)
• Jon Reid, SLS/ADES, Falkirk Council (JR)

In attendance

• Lisa Bird, SG, Programme Director (LB)
• John Booth, SQA, Director of Communications (JB)
• Liz McGrath, SQA, Programme Director, Education Reform (LM)
• Nicola Hutchison, SQA (NH)
• Raymond Holloway, SQA (RH)
• Martyn Horsfield, SQA (MH)
• Chris Dunne, SG, Programme Manager (CD)
• Sarah Hart, SG, Head of Delivery (SaH)
• Jaxon Parish, SG, Senior Policy Officer (JP)
• Kieran Watson, SG, Unit Head (KW)
• Manvinder Reid, SG (MR)
• Fiona Comrie, SG (FC)
• Sarah Widdall, SQA (SW)
• Mark Wilson, SQA Senior Communications Manager (MW)
• Eni Adesida, SG (EA)

Secretariat

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

Apologies

• Shona Struthers, Colleges Scotland
• Reid Aiton, Young Scot
• Dawnne Mahmoud, SQA
• Naureen Ahmad, SG

Items and actions

Opening remarks

Welcome and apologies

SR welcomed everyone to the meeting and noted apologies.

Declaration of any conflicts of interest

There were no declarations of conflicts of interest.

Previous meeting - approval of minutes from 30 July 2024 and matters arising

The minutes of the meeting of 30 July 2024 were approved as an accurate record of the meeting.

SR noted that the arrangements for the previous meeting had been challenging due to it coinciding with the school holidays and annual leave. Some actions from the previous meeting were noted, including:

• The Scottish Government finance change lead, Martin Thoronka, is now in post. SR welcomed this development in helping with the financial aspects of transition.
• A ‘below the line’ paper on Governance and Accountability was made available to TB members for written comment.
• It was noted that future TB meetings will discuss further the work of the Body Implementation Project (BIP) as outputs are reached.
• SR also informed attendees that she had spoken to colleagues in Colleges Scotland about approach to risk.

Implementation plan

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

CD presented an overview of the Programme Benefits Model and described its benefits, outcomes and capabilities.

Members queried whether and how a baseline would be recorded for the benefits under the model, along with how the accreditation function would be incorporated. CD noted comments from members and informed them that along with comments made at Programme Board, future models will be produced to reflect these. The production of a Realisation Plan will include a timeline and will also help address concerns.

Members requested a copy of the slides and it was agreed that there would be an update at the next Board meeting.

Action – Issue slides for Programme Benefits Model to Transition Board Members for review. CD to lead discussion at next meeting.

Transition - what is required for day 1?

Day 1 planning

NH and MH provided an update on SQA’s progress to date with transition activities and outlined two funding options and their impact on ‘Day 1’ of Qualifications Scotland (QS) being established (with a working assumption of 3 November 2025).

The Minimum Viable Position for QS to be effective by Day 1 for Option 1, where all transition activities take place before then, is estimated to cost around £2.8m. This option minimises the risk of a poorly executed transition and should support staff morale. However, it runs higher financial and capability-related risks. A timeframe leading up to Day 1 was also presented for this option.

Option 2 is a phased approach and is estimated to cost £1.8m up to Day 1, with an additional £1m worth of transition activities taking place after that date. This option reduces risk of confusion and financial risk, but as the period of change lengthens, there is a higher likelihood and severity of operational risk.

It was emphasised that the consequences of any kind of delay in delivering functions should be carefully considered. A timeframe of the delivery of Option 2 was also requested and will be presented at the next Transition Board meeting.

Action – Programme Plan for Option 2 to be presented at next Transition Board meeting.

Implementation plan outputs project updates

LM presented an update on the outputs for the Body Implementation Plan (BIP) to give sight to attendees before work proceeds. Work has started on all 13 outputs, with three to be completed by the end of August.

SR emphasised the commitment of both SQA and SG to deliver major change through the establishment of QS, following attendee comments about the need for meaningful change.

SR also thanked LM for her contributions to the Transition Board so far, as this was her final meeting before returning to her substantive role.

SR also announced that SQA’s new Programme Manager, Bill Cullen, would be starting the following week. She stated her intention to meet with him regularly to maintain momentum on progress.

SQA commission

SR noted a Commission that she had received from the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills. This encompasses advising how QS could prioritise the delivery of qualifications and related support services to the schools and to improve the operational separation and oversight of the awarding and accreditation functions. SR intends to submit her response to Government the week commencing 16 September.

Transformation - what will happen longer term?

Culture - education reform thematic

SH presented an overview of the Education Reform Culture Thematic project within the reform programme. FC was introduced as the new delivery lead for this thematic.

The work is focussed on articulating the main requirements of the project, including dependencies for culture change – building on existing work completed by SQA. This will be guided by an agreed definition of culture change that signals the ambition of what we need to build for QS.

SR noted that it would be good to see the PID for this project, as the work in culture change is spread across a large number of areas. She remarked that culture change cannot just be top-down imposition by leadership but requires active engagement, clarity and ownership by all in the organisation. Members also noted that work on digital infrastructure could be important in signalling culture change, where accessibility was highlighted.

Action – The PID for the Culture Thematic Project to be shared with members.

Culture - what is happening now?

RH and SW presented the ‘story so far’ of culture change led by the SQA, which he noted as being a complex undertaking which encompassed every aspect of the organisation.

It was noted that SQA’s Corporate Plan is with the SG for approval, with a response to the Hayward Review expected in September – both of which will have an effect on culture change work.

Members emphasised the need for a fresh and innovative approach towards culture change with input from all SQA/QS staff, that will also take into account external views.

Any other business

The Co-Chairs thanked members for their contributions.

Date of next meeting

The date of the next meeting is Tuesday 24 September 2024.