School Ambassador FAQs

The School Ambassador (SA) programme is the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) initiative that supports secondary schools in expanding their qualification offerings and promoting the value of both vocational and academic pathways

Any Scottish secondary school interested in enhancing their pupils’ learning journeys can apply – over 250 schools are already involved.

We can support you to explore a whole range of learning programmes and
qualifications on the SCQF. There are over 10,000 programmes on our Register and there are some excellent opportunities for young learners, many of which can be integrated into the curriculum and wider school day.

We have created a number of resources for schools. A lot of them can be found on our Padlet, which is free and accessible to anyone. It contains up-to-date printable resources, examples of applications, recognition programme criteria, social media toolkit, pupil ambassador guide and much more.

We also offer support via monthly digital drop-in sessions on the last Wednesday of every month. Join us to ask your questions and connect with the network. We also organise networking events at least twice a year – keep an eye out on our social media platforms and the Padlet for announcements. All of our events and resources are free of charge.

It’s a tiered system (Bronze, Silver, Gold) designed to benchmark and celebrate a school’s progress in embedding the SCQF: 

• Bronze: Building awareness and exploring new pathways 

• Silver: Promoting SCQF awareness among staff, pupils, parents and starting to develop curriculum pathways 
• Gold: SCQF is fully integrated; the school offers a significant range of senior-phase pathways 

We have a list of schools involved on our website and an Ambassador Wall that lists all schools which have achieved Bronze, Silver and Gold status on the SA Recognition programme. 

We send you a plaque celebrating your school’s achievement, which can be hung in the foyer. We will send an SCQF logo with the status attached, which you can put in your email signature. We also highlight your school’s success on our social media platforms and place your school logo on our Ambassador Wall. 

Please fill out this form on our website. You will receive an email with a training recording and other useful resources to get started, as well as instructions with next steps. We encourage you to book a drop-in session with our team and/or attend a networking event to learn more. See more on the Padlet.  

We no longer offer bespoke training or refresher training. Instead, there is a recording that you will receive along with details of next steps. Email schools@scqf.org.uk for more information. 

We don’t require a specific number. We suggest you can recruit pupils that you think would fit the role (either BGE or Senior Phase), any number between 4 and 12, it’s up to the school. Their main role is to promote the SCQF to their peers, teachers and parents/carers. See more information here. 

There’s no application form to complete, but you do need to show us your evidence based on set criteria. You can choose any format you like – MS Sway, Padlet, PDF, PPTs – that means you have the flexibility to present evidence and information on how your school meets the criteria. Good examples are on our resource Padlet. 

Criteria for Bronze, Silver and Gold status can be found on the Padlet, alongside some extra guidance for each criterion. 

Typically, Bronze is quite easy to achieve – it usually takes around 2 to 3 months to start, train staff and pupils and introduce NPAs, SfW, Awards or other qualifications. Silver usually takes around a year as it requires more work throughout the academic year. Finally, you can start applying for Gold within 18 months to 2 years. You can choose to apply straight to Silver or Gold, presuming that you meet all the current criteria. 

We strongly encourage Gold schools to stay in touch with the SCQF Partnership and continue promoting the Framework and parity of qualifications among their communities. Here are a few opportunities for staying involved: 

• Mentoring other schools in your local authority, helping them enhance curriculum and progress through the recognition programme.  

• Helping to host SA events in collaboration with SCQFP by providing support with planning, organisation and delivery of the networking events. 

• Simply staying in touch with us and continuing to work with parents and carers. Share photos and videos via social media channels: X, Bluesky, LinkedIn. We are also on Facebook and Instagram. 

Email schools@scqf.org.uk indicating which resources and how many you require. Include your details and we will be in touch with you.  

That’s not something we can offer. However, we have developed training resources you can take pupils through which gives them lots of information about SCQF, some ideas about where to start. It takes around a period to cover. You can download this training from the Padlet.

The SCQF Padlet contains lots of examples of pathways in columns 2 and 4. Additionally, we encourage schools to attend our networking events and digital drop-in sessions. All our events and resources are free of charge.  

Yes, we are planning 3 networking events for the 2025-2026 academic year. Keep an eye on our social media channels and newsletters. Click here to sign up for our e-zine to stay up-to-date, if you haven’t already.   

We organise a few School Ambassador networking events throughout the year. Every month we host digital drop-in sessions as an opportunity for you to connect online and ask questions. Additionally, there is a list of schools on the website that we update monthly where you can look up a school of your interest and contact them directly.  

Please contact us at schools@scqf.org.uk. We aim to respond within two weeks.  

You can contact the organisation who owns the qualification directly and they can tell you everything you need to know.  

If it’s an SQA qualification, speak to your school coordinator or regional manager. If it’s not owned by SQA, speak to the organisation directly.  

The Insight team offers a Padlet with loads of information. There you can find a list of all the awards and qualifications that will be captured on Insight. You can use their points calculator to see the number of points allocated to a programme here.  

All learning programmes at SCQF level 6 will generate UCAS points and be included as part of a learner’s application. To find out more, check out the UCAS points calculator here for more information.