Helping everyone plan their learning journey
The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework Partnership (SCQFP) is the independent charity that is responsible for ensuring the quality and integrity of Scotland’s qualifications framework.
Our Framework helps people of all ages plan their learning journey. We work with a range of learning providers to ensure that a wide variety of learning is on the Framework, from Access to Computing and Advanced Ballet, to Youth Counselling and Zoology.
What we do
We help learners of any age understand their qualifications, skills and experience so they can plan their next steps, whether that’s in education or employment
We help parents and carers understand the different learning pathways available for young people
We support schools to expand their curriculum pathways through our highly successful School Ambassador Programme
We enable businesses to transform their recruitment through our Inclusive Recruiter scheme, filling skills gaps and aiding workforce retention
We provide expert advice on Recognition of Prior Learning so that students don’t have to repeat learning, saving them time and money
We support our credit rating bodies to deliver a quality assured credit rating process, enabling them to place learning programmes on the SCQF
We help countries develop their own qualifications frameworks and share good practice
Our values
Our Board
We are governed by a partnership Board of Directors, who meet quarterly, with board business moderated by an Independent Chair. The bodies represented on the Board have a prominent role in assuring the quality of lifelong learning in Scotland.
The company is governed by the four organisations that make up the partnership. These are QAA, Qualifications Scotland, CDN and Universities Scotland and they appoint Directors to the Board. We also have four additional co-opted Directors, one of whom is the Chair of the SCQFP Quality Committee.
An independent Director is appointed as Chair of the Board by the Board of Directors.
John Evans
Chair of the BoardJohn’s career includes CEO and board level roles in HR, Marketing and Corporate Services in a range of sectors and regions. He is currently Deputy CEO of Borders Community Action. He holds professional HR, marketing and coaching qualifications. John is also a member of the Scottish Prison Service Advisory Board and a board member of Edinburgh Leisure, together with being Chair of BATs, a community sports organisation working across North Edinburgh.
Clare McPherson
Role: Appointed Director Universities ScotlandClaire McPherson, Director of Universities Scotland, brings extensive experience in shaping public policy at the highest levels of the UK and Scottish Governments. Her civil service career spans strategic roles in the First Minister’s Policy and Delivery Unit, and Deputy Director for Population and Migration. During her tenure as Deputy Director of Policy at the Scottish Funding Council, Claire played a pivotal role in the COVID-19 policy response and spearheaded a strategic review of higher education sustainability.
Marie Hendry
Role: Appointed Director College Development NetworkMarie Hendry is the Chief Executive of the College Development Network, which is the college sector’s development agency. Collaborating with SCQFP, she enhances the framework’s impact across colleges and skills systems. Formerly Depute Director at the Open University in Scotland, Marie also serves on the Public Engagement Committee of the international charity SCIAF.
Rob Stroud
Role: Appointed Director Quality Assurance Agency for Higher EducationRob is the Executive Director of Quality Assurance and Enhancement at QAA, with executive oversight of the Contract and Regulatory Services teams, having previously been Director of Assessment Services and Access to Higher Education. Previously, Rob held senior roles at the OfS and HEFCE, and has experience in student protection, the regulation of independent providers, teaching funding policy, the design and operation of student number controls, and a background in student experience policy and practice from earlier roles.
Nick Page
Role: Appointed Director Qualifications ScotlandWith over three decades in public service, Nick began his career teaching Geography in London before becoming a deputy headteacher in North Wales, where he developed a strong commitment to inclusive education and values-led leadership. He later moved into the private sector, leading educational projects and international studies focused on integrated services for children and families — a theme that has shaped his career.
In local government, Nick served as Strategic Director of Children’s Services in Salford and Chief Executive of Solihull Council, driving transformational change to improve outcomes for children, young people and families.
Now leading Qualifications Scotland, he continues that mission, guided by the values of being Open, Connected, Caring and Brave. These principles underpin his leadership and his commitment to fairness, kindness and courage in change. Outside work, he remains passionate about education, married to a teacher and proud father of two adult children.
Gillian Brydson
Role: Co-opted Director Chair of the SCQFP Quality CommitteeGillian is Executive Director of Education, Skills and Community Wellbeing for Dumfries and Galloway Council, having previously been Director of Education and a local authority chief officer for many years. Before moving to local government, she was a lecturer in the college and university sectors. Her current role has responsibility for overarching functions which have relevance to the work of the SCQFP, including schools, early years, adult and community learning and employability and skill. Through this, she brings her experience of the wider learning system to the Quality Committee. Gillian has significant experience at board level for public and third-sector organisations and is committed to building thriving communities through local democracy.
Martin Jones
Co-opted Director Institute of Law, JerseyMartin has over 30 years’ experience in tertiary education, primarily working within a law school environment. During 15 years at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU), he held a number of leadership roles, including Head of Law. More recently, he has worked within the University of the Highlands and Islands as Principal and CEO at UHI Argyll. In 2025, he became Dean and CEO of the Institute of Law, Jersey. An advocate for technology in learning, he is passionate about widening access to the legal profession and has been a member of the Law Society of Scotland’s Education and Training Committee for the past five years. During his time at GCU, he was the founding director of the Learning Development Centre, which focused on supporting students articulating into university from further education colleges. Outside work, he supports Ocean Youth Trust (Scotland) as a trustee.
Ross Short
Co-opted Director BabcockRoss is a strategic engineering and people operations leader. As Head of Fleet Capability at Babcock, he leads the development of safety-critical workforce competence strategies, with a strong focus on engineering assurance and operational excellence. As a co-opted director of the SCQFP, Ross offers a valuable industry perspective on skills development, competency frameworks, and strategic workforce planning. He is a passionate advocate for social mobility and is committed to ensuring qualifications frameworks remain inclusive, relevant, and responsive to the evolving needs of employers and learners.