At Inverclyde Academy, the question is not simply what qualification will you take? It is where could your learning take you?
That change in conversation has been at the heart of the school’s SCQF journey.
The Greenock school has around 760 young people. Around 62% of pupils live within SIMD 1–3 areas, including just over 48% within SIMD 1.
It also has a significant number of learners with additional support needs and a growing number of families who are new to Scotland.
The school values of Respect, Responsibility, Equality and Wellbeing underpin its approach to ensuring that every young person has access to a pathway that suits their interests, abilities and ambitions.
Their SCQF journey began in 2018/19, with the school having recently taken delivery of a Gold SCQF Ambassador plaque.
Today, the Framework is part of everyday conversations around learning, achievement and future destinations.
Putting young people at the centre
The school’s SCQF Ambassadors play a leading role in raising awareness of the Framework.
They support subject-choice events, Parents’ Evenings and Careers Fairs, create displays and promotional materials, talk to younger pupils about their options and share their own experiences of different pathways.
One particularly successful initiative has seen senior SCQF Ambassadors hold individual options interviews with younger learners. Around 30 S3 pupils and 15 S4 pupils who needed additional support with their choices met with ambassadors to discuss qualifications and pathways.
The experience is also helping the ambassadors develop their own skills and confidence.
Dylan, an SCQF Ambassador, said:
It’s given me lots of confidence. I used to be nervous about talking to adults, and was a bit worried about approaching people. Now I find it easier.
Alex said:
I have done lots that I didn’t think I could before. I’ve talked at other schools and discussed music with parents and teachers confidently.
Helping everyone understand the options
The school has worked hard to make the SCQF visible across school, with a senior phase options booklet, assemblies, website content and social media.
Displays throughout the school identify SCQF levels, show progression pathways and highlight the relationship between qualifications, skills and destinations.
Some departments have displayed pupil work using its SCQF level rather than simply the traditional qualification title, reinforcing the idea that learning at the same SCQF level can take many different forms.
Parents and carers are also included, with ambassadors attending Parents’ Evenings, Options Evenings and Careers Fairs to talk about qualification types, SCQF levels, vocational opportunities and wider achievement.
Recognising different kinds of achievement
The SCQF journey has supported a broader approach to the curriculum.
Learners are encouraged to consider academic, vocational and work-based pathways, with the SCQF providing a common language for understanding the different types of learning.
The school has expanded wider-achievement opportunities and is developing systems to help learners recognise the skills, awards and qualifications they gain both inside and beyond the classroom.
This has helped shift the conversation from:
“Which traditional qualification will a pupil take?”
to:
“Which pathway is right for this individual young person?”
Former pupil Cowal is one example. Alongside National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher courses, Cowal gained Young Enterprise, Young STEM Leaders and Saltire awards while also serving as a Science Subject Ambassador.
He said:
I learned a lot about the benefits of SCQF from being a Subject Ambassador in Science and added wider qualifications such as Young Enterprise, Young STEM Leaders and Saltire to my certification which all supported me on my application for university.
Cowal is now studying Physics at his first-choice university.
Continuing the SCQF journey
Achieving Gold is not viewed as the end of the school’s SCQF journey. Its focus is now on ensuring that the structures developed through the programme are sustainable and continue to evolve.
The school has introduced a standardised Ambassador Remit and Agreement, structured recruitment and selection procedures, defined faculty responsibilities and a calendar of core ambassador activities. This means that the programme can be replicated and developed with future cohorts, rather than depending on individual members of staff or pupils.
The next priorities include widening participation in the Ambassador programme, involving younger learners more extensively, targeting opportunities towards groups who may benefit particularly from leadership experiences, strengthening parental engagement, improving evaluation of impact and continuing to develop recognition of wider achievement. These priorities are now linked to the continuing whole-school improvement work.
Most importantly, it is helping to create a shared understanding that achievement look different for every pupil.
By putting pupils at the heart of the work, Inverclyde Academy is helping young people understand what they have achieved, the skills they have developed and where their learning could take them next.