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SECTION 8
RECOGNISING AND RECORDING ACHIEVEMENT
8.1 Where pupils participate in
school/college activities, the school and the college must
recognise achievement and attainment. Some colleges and
local authorities have established a series of short award
ceremonies which celebrate certain milestones achieved by
pupils.
Midlothian Council As part of their
Determined to Succeed agenda,
Midlothian Council hold award ceremonies for
pupils attended by pupils, parents/carers,
school and college staff, local employers and
councillors. The ceremony is held in the
college with keynote speakers and local
dignitaries awarding the certificates and a
local employer invited to speak about
employability skills and opportunities in their
vocational area. The certificates are awarded
for achieving a certain percentage of
attendance or submission of projects or other
targets and help to motivate and encourage the
pupils mid way through their learning. The
certificate emphasises the importance of
attendance, good work and good behaviour. |
8.2 For all school/college activities, the
college should inform the school of the attendance and
achievements of participating pupils.
8.3 Pupils participating in
SQA courses at a college will be able to
record their achievements as credit points on the Scottish
Credit and Qualifications Framework (
SCQF), e.g. the new skills for work
courses contain the
SCQF points rating for each course the
pupil undertakes. Colleges and schools should ensure that
pupils, parents and employers are clearly appraised of the
SCQF points value for different
courses.
Knowsley College,
Merseyside Knowsley College - a college with Beacon
Status for their school/college programmes and
awarded an 'outstanding' grade in an Ofsted
report in February 2005 - provides a 'Value
Added Passport' for each pupil. The passport
monitors the progress and achievement of the
pupil in each of five personal reviews
conducted over their two year programme. Each
review of progress is documented helping the
pupil to recognise their progress with grades
awarded for achievement, attendance and effort.
An equivalency in each of the 1-7 grades is
provided offering a quick assessment of the
progress of the pupil. Pupils can present the
Passport to prospective employers and further
education institutions since it shows the
'distance travelled' by the young person in a
way which is meaningful and relevant. |
8.4 Where the college is primarily
responsible for the delivery and assessment of a nationally
recognised course, the college should enter the candidate
for the qualification. This allows more ready communication
between the awarding body and the college for purposes of
assessment and quality assurance and removes the need for a
further line of communication between the awarding body and
the school. The college must keep the school fully informed
of all relevant information, including the performance of
pupils. Similarly when the school presents, the school must
keep the college fully appraised.
8.5 For school year 2007/08 onwards,
outcomes arising from school/college partnership activity
will be included in each sectors'
SQA performance statistics. School
performance - like college performance - has been measured
since 2001 with reference to
SCQF levels.
Personal Learning Planning
8.6 Career planning is an important aspect
of personal learning planning (
PLP) procedures. Schools are responsible
for supporting
PLP procedures.
8.7 Careers Scotland emphasises a 'Career
Planning Journey' as a bridge between the
PLP procedures and career planning
decisions. Careers Scotland is at an early stage in
developing the 'Career Planning Journey' fully, which when
used widely has the potential to enhance the quality of
experience for the pupil.
8.8 Design principles in many courses help
pupils to plan their chosen career path. Courses are
designed to establish progression routes to further
learning, training or employment and participants will be
able to plan their qualification route as an important
element to their career planning. Pupils should be informed
of the typical requirements for careers related to their
courses at an early stage, either through the selection
procedures or their induction and guidance procedures. This
serves to emphasise the appropriate levels of
qualifications and skills necessary for their chosen career
path to help them develop employability skills.
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