Between 2021 and 2024, the Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) worked in partnership with The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) on a project to provide a series of monthly Advisory Group meetings and in-person Learner Panels in locations across Scotland.
Through this youth-led project, MSYPs worked with SYP and SQA to plan and facilitate Learner Panels in various schools across Scotland every 3 or 4 months. The panels were an opportunity for young people to feedback directly to the SQA and have their voices heard in decisions which affect them directly. The SQA provided the learners with transparency while taking comments on board and setting actions.
To ensure impact and relevance, topics were decided with the SQA and included topics such as appeals, design of your exam’s booklet, learner communications, school transitions, assessment, attainment, and equality.
The MSYPs in the SQA Advisory Group also met monthly with SQA officials to share the findings from the Learner Panels and to discuss upcoming SQA communications. These Advisory Group meetings were led by MSYPs, giving group members an opportunity to be a Chair and to lead and facilitate meetings.
The SQA Advisory Group members met with the SQA Executive Management Team (EMT) annually to present the findings and emerging themes of the overall project and allow discussion with the key decision makers within the SQA.
