National Qualifications

Following successful industrial action by EIS members in response to assessment-related workload in the senior phase, mandatory unit assessments are being removed from N5, Higher and Advanced Higher Qualifications on a phased basis from August 2017.

The removal of unit assessment has significant implications for senior phase curriculum architecture and timetabling. This was flagged up to Education Scotland and Scottish Government by the EIS at the point at which the agreement around the removal of unit assessments was reached and repeatedly thereafter.

The Assessment and Qualifications Review Group on March 31st, issued advice on the changes to local authorities, schools and teachers.

The EIS has a clear view that these decisions should have been made much earlier in the session and communicated to schools timeously.

It is over 6 months since agreement was reached on the removal of units and the implications of those changes have been known since last September.

It would seem that the simple lesson from the introduction of the new qualifications, that schools (parent, pupils and staff) need time to adjust to changes has yet to be learned.