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. In this blog, Alannah Logue MSYP, a member of our SQA Advisory Group, summarises the group’s work.
Over the last two years the SQA Advisory Group has worked tirelessly conducting training, consulting young people and presenting the information to decision makers at the SQA.
The SQA Advisory Group had their final meeting together with the SQA’s Executive Management Team in August 2024, where young people spoke on the three main topics that have come up throughout our consultation work over the years, which were:
- pathways,
- accessibility,
- and qualifications and assessments.
When speaking about pathways, one young person said:
“Most learners we spoke to have no knowledge about work-based qualifications and the pathways they can lead to, but they also said they want to know more about these pathways and many showed interest in taking this type of qualifications. Some learners suggested this information be shared earlier in their school journey to make their BGE years feel more relevant to their career choices.”
On accessibility, young people fed back that they heard a number of issues young people could experience which disadvantaged them in their exams. In the EMT meeting, one young person said:
“Another key issue we heard about was the format of exams. Many students, particularly those who struggle with reading or writing, or for whom English isn’t their first language, found digital formats to be a lifeline. Tools like text-to-speech software or video transcriptions can be incredibly empowering.”
– Young person on accessibility
And finally, on exams, young people fed back the challenges they experience in taking exams, including the impact on their mental health. In the meeting with SQA officials, one young person said:
“The pressure put on them can be overwhelming with an inconsistent amount of support provided pupil to pupil, school to school, and local authority to local authority. This can make the process extremely daunting for young people, especially if it is their first time working towards qualifications and exams. Throughout our in-person groups, learners have been extremely eager to share their thoughts and opinions on a plethora of issues however exams and qualifications is one that has come up more often than not.”
Article 12 of the UNCRC states that we ‘have the right to express their views, feelings and wishes in all matters affecting them, and to have their views considered and taken seriously.’
Through everything we have done with this group, we have made sure that young people have had this right exercised. Reflecting on being involved in the SQA Advisory group and as the SQA transitions into the new Qualifications Scotland, I hope young people’s voices and rights can be central to the decisions they take about qualifications in Scotland.
You can read our report on the work of our Advisory Group and find out more about the overall project below:
