In our new blog series featuring our SCQF Quality Committee members, we speak to Steven Maclennan, development officer for the CLD Standards Council. The CLD Standards Council Scotland is the professional body for people who work or volunteer in community learning and development (adult learning, community development, and youth work) in Scotland.

• What attracted you to the role of SCQF Quality Committee Member?

I am Interested personally and professionally in supporting and maintaining standards. I strongly believe in the importance of the SCQF Partnership and its role in supporting the education sector in Scotland, especially around key aspects that the SCQF supports, like Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), the promotion of lifelong and life-wide learning and the framework’s support of the delivery of community-based learning activities, awards and opportunities.

• How long have you been working with the SCQF Quality Committee?

I have been working with the SCQF Quality Committee for just over three years and have been learning as I go. It has been fantastic to interact with other members of the committee as it’s a very diverse group of people from multiple sectors, backgrounds and skills.

• How did your work/life experience prepare you for the role?

As a qualified community learning and development worker, I’ve been involved with quality systems and processes, such as Qualifications Scotland and other awarding bodies, for most of my career.

My involvement with the SCQF Quality Committee was a natural progression from my role with the CLD Standards Council, which involves working with our Volunteer Committee members in the professional approval of courses and qualifications at all levels in Scotland.

I have found there are strong links and crossover between these roles, and sitting on the SCQF Quality Committee has given me a wider perspective of a quality framework and has enhanced my own practice.

It’s also fantastic to have the experience of working alongside colleagues from different parts of the education and business sectors and the SCQF Partnership executive team.

• In your opinion, why is the quality assurance aspect of the work that the SCQF Partnership does so crucial?

Maintaining the credibility and integrity of the SCQF is really important as it’s the key benchmark within our wider Scottish education system that also has important national and international links.

The importance of SCQF levels and their descriptors can’t be underestimated, allowing for cross-comparison of qualifications across the UK and internationally, as well as helping to provide a system of RPL.

Ensuring that the SCQF is robust and measured is critical in ensuring that qualifications and learning opportunities are understood using a common language which recognises the amount, difficulty and length of learning that learners have undertaken.

It ensures that employers and learning providers are able to understand what learning individuals have undertaken and allows for the progression of that learner in a work or educational environment.

• What is your most interesting quality assurance-related fact?

That there are over 10,500 qualifications on the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF), encompassing a wide variety of awards that can be undertaken in Scotland. If your learning programme is not yet on the SCQF, is it worth exploring if it should be? Yes!

In our new blog series featuring our Quality Committee (QC) members, we speak to Ewen Hay, Director of Products and Services at OPITO.

What attracted you to the role of Quality Committee member?

I’ve long been a strong advocate for the SCQF and its role in strengthening and bringing clarity to skills, qualifications and learning across Scotland. When the opportunity to join the Quality Committee arose, I was pleased to accept. Having spent many years working in qualification development and quality assurance, I recognised the value of the SCQF in supporting meaningful recognition of learning. The role offered a chance to contribute to a framework I’ve respected throughout my career.

• How long have you been working with the SCQF Quality Committee?

I’ve been a member of the Committee since 2019 and have had the privilege of working alongside several Chairs and the SCQF Partnership team during that time. The quarterly meetings provide a valuable space for discussion, reflection and shared learning. It’s been a professionally rewarding experience and one I continue to find personally fulfilling.

• How did your work/life experience prepare you for the role?

My career has focused on training and competence, with a particular emphasis on qualifications and quality assurance. I’ve worked with multiple awarding bodies and have been responsible for developing qualifications and maintaining external approvals. This experience has given me a strong foundation for contributing to the Committee’s work, and I continue to learn from the diverse expertise of my fellow members.

• In your opinion, why is the quality assurance aspect of the work that the SCQF Partnership does so crucial?

Quality assurance is essential to the credibility of the SCQF. It ensures that learning, whether formal or informal, is recognised in a consistent and reliable manner. This benefits learners, providers and employers by offering clarity and confidence in the qualifications landscape. The SCQF’s work in this area is central to maintaining trust and promoting lifelong learning across Scotland.

• What is your most interesting quality assurance-related fact?

I believe there is a common misconception that only formal learning holds value. Learning takes many forms, and the SCQF plays a crucial role in recognising achievement across a broad spectrum. This inclusive approach is one of the framework’s greatest strengths.

• Final reflections

I have a great deal of admiration for the work of the SCQF Partnership and the Quality Committee. The dedication and professionalism of those involved is commendable, and I am proud to support their efforts. Ensuring that learners receive appropriate recognition for their achievements is a responsibility I take pride in and I believe the work of the Partnership deserves continued support and wider recognition.

In our new blog series featuring our Quality Committee (QC) members, we speak to Karen Murray, who is the head of work-based quality delivery at Skills Development Scotland.

• What attracted you to the role of Quality Committee member?

I am a huge advocate of the SCQF as a means to create rigour into skills qualifications and learning in Scotland.

Having done some credit rating activity in my own subject area and having been involved in qualification development for a number of years, I really felt I wanted to understand more and contribute to maintaining the integrity of the framework and its use, so when the vacancy came up. I was very pleased to apply for it.

• How long have you been working with the SCQF Quality Committee?

I think it was in 2017 that I first became a member, but it may have been earlier. It always amazes me how quickly the quarterly meetings come around.

I have definitely seen three quality committee chairs (possibly four?) and two SCQFP Chief Executives in my time served!

• How did you work/life experience prepare you for the role?

I felt that I knew quite a lot about the SCQF and its many uses when I applied to be on committee, through my qualification development experience and credit rating activity in the land-based sector.

I also thought that my background in managing the quality assurance and enhancement of apprenticeships, and previously having being Assistant Principal of Quality Assurance and curriculum at a college, meant that I was well prepared. However, I have learned so much more from the committee and continue to do so.

It’s great to work alongside colleagues from different parts of the education sector and the SCQF executive team. I learn so much from them all.

• In your opinion, why is the quality assurance aspect of the work that the SCQF Partnership does so crucial?

It’s vital to maintain the integrity of the SCQF and its reputation as a way of applying robust standards. This allows qualifications and learning to be both levelled and quantified in a quality-assured way.

Through the quality assurance work of the Partnership, we are validating the work of credit rating bodies and Scottish learning provision, which is crucial to the reputation of Scottish learning provision. The SCQF is truly the key to supporting flexible learning paths.

• What challenges have you come across relating to the SCQF?

My biggest bugbear is that I don’t know how many people I have to explain to that the SCQF level is independent of the amount of credit in a qualification. So many people – even those who have been in skills for a long time – want to associate the amount of credit with the level. It drives me nuts!