A Perth school is widening pathways, building confidence, and championing equity through the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework.
A journey three years in the making
While St John’s RC Academy officially registered as an SCQF Ambassador School in session 2025/26, the school has been championing the Framework for over three years. It has been a genuine grassroots effort, beginning with conversations among Curriculum Leaders and Classroom Practitioners, growing into whole-school discussions and ultimately reaching pupils and parents alike.
The SCQF has been discussed at leadership meetings and staff meetings, and information has been shared with pupils during assemblies. The school’s own enthusiastic SCQF Ambassadors have taken the lead in presenting to their peers and to parents and carers at senior parent nights. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, particularly from parents who came away with a clearer sense of how today’s qualifications compare to what they experienced when they were at school.
Raising awareness in creative ways
St John’s hasn’t relied on a single approach to spreading the word. The school has built up a comprehensive set of channels and resources to keep SCQF front of mind for its whole community.
- Pupil bulletin and Assemblies: Regular updates keeping pupils informed about qualifications and opportunities
- Social media: Videos shared on X (Twitter) to guide pupils through course choices
- School website: Dedicated SCQF sections for both pupils and parents with detailed guidance
- Classroom displays: Posters and resources in classrooms across the school
- Visual learner pathways: Clear curriculum pathway guides for pupils and parents at parent evenings
- Ambassador board: A pupil-created board highlighting the benefits of different awards
Expanding the curriculum
Alongside raising awareness, St John’s has been actively broadening what it offers to pupils. New qualifications have been introduced over recent years, and the school has strengthened relationships with local colleges, partnering schools, businesses and Developing the Young Workforce (DYW). Staff are also using the Awards Network to research further awards that pupils could benefit from, ensuring the range of options continues to grow.
Looking outward: engaging employers
One of the most exciting developments on the horizon is the school’s plan to have its SCQF Ambassadors present directly to local businesses. The aim is to help employers understand the real skills and experiences that young people have developed when completing a National 4, National 5, Higher, Advanced Higher, National Progression Award or Foundation Apprenticeship. The school hopes that building this understanding will benefit pupils as they step into the world of work.
The school is also developing pupil case studies, real-life examples of how different qualification pathways can be used to maximise learning and attainment, which will be shared on the website and social media channels.
Aiming for gold
Currently at Silver level, St John’s is already looking ahead to the next stage of the SCQF Ambassador Programme, with ambitions to achieve Gold Ambassador status. The team believes the tiered programme has provided clear targets and a framework for driving real improvement for pupils.
Lorraine Winwood, principal teacher of Raising Attainment, said: “There are young people across our school community – and nationally – who have achieved both academically and improved their confidence because of the opportunities offered to them through the SCQF.
“We will continue to work to maximise the available opportunities for our pupils to achieve and keep encouraging pupils to engage with varied qualification types – promoting equity for all.”
St John’s RC Academy is proof that championing the SCQF isn’t just about paperwork or policy: it’s about opening doors, building confidence, and making sure that every young person, whatever their path, has the opportunity to achieve.
St John’s RC Academy is an all-through nursery, primary and secondary school in Perth and Kinross. With a catchment covering the whole of Perth & Kinross, the school serves a diverse community and is committed to offering a wide range of qualifications to support every learner.
Useful links
Douglas Academy is a non-denominational secondary school in Milngavie, East Dunbartonshire, with a vibrant community of over 1,000 pupils.
We pride ourselves on offering a broad, inclusive curriculum that allows every young person to explore subjects suited to their interests, strengths and aspirations.
Through stimulating learning and teaching, rich extra-curricular opportunities and strong partnerships with parents, carers and the wider community, we support our pupils to become successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors. Central to this work is our growing engagement with the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF).
We are incredibly fortunate to have a dedicated staff team who work tirelessly to ensure our young people access meaningful, future-focused learning opportunities – and the SCQF has played a key role in strengthening this offer.
Taking the first steps on our SCQF journey
Our SCQF journey began in January 2024, when Donnie Wood delivered an introduction to the framework for our principal teachers and senior leadership team. This marked the start of a whole-school approach to better understanding qualifications, levels and learner pathways.
By October 2024, we had trained our first cohort of 20 S5 SCQF pupil ambassadors. These pupils were studying a diverse mix of qualifications, from traditional Qualifications Scotland National Courses to National Progression Awards (NPAs), and quickly became passionate advocates for sharing their experiences.
The ambassadors have since created resources to help pupils, staff, parents and carers better understand the different learning pathways available at Douglas Academy. They have also attended parents’ evenings, confidently explaining how SCQF levels support progression and wider achievement.
Watching our ambassadors grow in confidence has been inspiring. As Andrea, one of our S5 ambassadors, shared:
It’s been very rewarding. My people skills have never been better!
Heather added:
I have really developed my communication and teamwork skills being an SCQF ambassador this year.
Expanding opportunities across SCQF levels
Douglas Academy now offers qualifications across a wide range of SCQF levels, and we continue to explore new opportunities across departments. Recently, we have expanded our provision to include additional NPAs, Skills for Work (SfW) courses, and innovative programmes such as Outward Bound and the Daydream Believers Level 6 Award in Creative Thinking.
Our S5 elective period enables pupils to pursue wider achievement opportunities aligned to their interests. These include the Young STEM Leader Award at SCQF Levels 4, 5 and 6, and the Barista Award at SCQF Level 5.
Beyond the classroom, pupils can also gain recognition for skills developed through project-based awards such as:
Together, these opportunities help pupils recognise the value of their learning and achievements – both formal and informal.
Working with partners
Partnership working is a key strength of our SCQF approach. We collaborate with a range of external partners to provide real-world learning experiences and insight into growth sectors.
Our Skills for Work National 5 Energy class visits Whitelee Wind Farm, the UK’s largest onshore wind farm, each year. This experience helps pupils understand renewable energy, environmental impact and future career opportunities within Scotland’s energy sector.
We also work closely with City of Glasgow College, the University of Glasgow, and local restaurants and nurseries, giving pupils access to specialist facilities, industry expertise and valuable work-based learning.
Looking ahead: Our SCQF future
We are excited to continue our SCQF journey and are currently working towards becoming a Gold SCQF Ambassador School. At Douglas Academy, we work hard to ensure all our learners leave with positive destinations, and the SCQF is helping us open up even more doors for our young people.
Useful links
At St Matthew’s Academy, a six-year denominational school in Saltcoats established in 2007, we take pride in our community of approximately 1,325 young people.
Our mission remains steadfast: to provide every member of our school family with the opportunity and encouragement to achieve their full potential.
Our commitment to educational excellence is reflected in our impressive retention statistics. The proportion of S4 pupils returning for 5th year in 2023-24 stands at approximately 85%, with the S5-S6 transfer rate reaching around 75%. These figures demonstrate the continued value that our students find in our curriculum.
SCQF Ambassador programme
The SCQF Ambassador programme is thoroughly embedded throughout our school. It features prominently in both our whole-school improvement plan and individual department improvement plans.
Information on the SCQF has been provided through whole-school assemblies and classroom presentations to recruit new Ambassadors for the coming academic year. These Ambassadors can incorporate their participation as part of their Level 6 Leadership Award if they’re pursuing this qualification.
Interactive curriculum pathways
Our curriculum pathways document represents a significant innovation. This interactive resource illustrates subject pathways, with direct links to the SQA arrangements page for each course, relevant My World of Work pages highlighting example careers, and college/university course pages for selected options.
May activities programme
For pupils not sitting exams, we organise a four-week block of activities and experiences each May. Throughout the month, pupils work with different agencies and organisations such as Street League, Morrison’s Construction, Seamill Hydro and many more, to gain a raft of different experiences and to improve their skills.
Through this initiative, participants can also earn wider achievement qualifications upon completion of the programme. These carefully curated activities lead to various awards, including Youth Achievement Awards, Young STEM Leader certifications and qualifications in wellbeing and leadership.
Sixth year skills development
In 5th year, our pupils can select skills from their option choices for 6th year, where they complete two or three SCQF level 6 awards. This has become an integral component of our S6 curriculum, creating inclusive learning environments where pupils of varying abilities collaborate to achieve different level 6 qualifications.
External partnerships
We maintain robust relationships with numerous external partners, offering pupils opportunities to develop existing skills and acquire new ones. These partnerships also enable students to obtain additional qualifications that may enhance their prospects when moving into positive destinations.
Some examples are volunteering at Doon the Beach café, Learning through Landscapes, Ardeer Golf Club and Gowanbank, to name a few.
Pupils develop many different meta skills through our partnerships, including teamwork, communication, and problem solving, that they can use in their future studies and in the workplace. They also gain qualifications such as leadership, Youth Achievement Awards and Customer Service Awards.
Raising awareness with parents and carers
Beyond parents’ evenings and Twitter/X updates, we’ve created a dedicated SCQF display board and comprehensive parent information sheet showcasing all our SCQF course offerings, featuring a QR code. Parents can scan this code to access the SCQF website for additional information – a project completed by our Ambassadors.
We’ve also included the QR code on option choice sheets, enabling parents to easily access information about the SCQF.
Opportunities to succeed at St Matthew’s Academy
We seek to provide opportunities for young people to develop skills for learning, life and work. By ensuring a variety of learning pathways, we support young people to move into positive destinations. Through our desire to ensure excellence and equity for all students, we will provide a curriculum that challenges and supports all.
We are very proud to be a Gold SCQF Ambassador school and look forward to continuing to prepare young people to be adaptable, to allow them to think independently, to be creative, and move away from just having a knowledge-based skill set.
Pupil Ambassadors have their say
Olivia said: “I have a much better understanding of the different qualifications that can be studied.”
Eileen said: “I feel confident when discussing the wider qualifications and the pathways where they can lead with others.”
Useful links
Learn more about our School Ambassador Programme – https://scqf.org.uk/support/educators/school-ambassador-programme/
Watch our Powering Futures case study with St Matthew’s Academy – https://scqf.org.uk/case-studies/case-study/powering-futures-st-matthews-academy-saltcoats-2/