Frequently Asked Questions

Learners will be given the revision support during week beginning 7 March to help with their revision ahead of the Easter holidays. It is important that learners have had the opportunity to complete the learning for their courses and focus on their coursework before their attention moves more fully to preparing for exams.

It is also important that this information is not provided too far in advance to avoid the narrowing of learning and teaching, which will negatively impact learners’ breadth of course knowledge and understanding, and the next steps in their learning.

Revision support is primarily aimed at learners but schools, colleges and training providers have a critical role to play in supporting learners and helping them understand how to use the support materials to maximise their exam performance.

This is because the question papers (exams) are different for each course – they assess different types and volume of knowledge, understanding and skills, and contain different questions that are focused on the learning of specific courses. The revision support will also take account of any modifications we made to the question papers at the start of the session, which also vary between courses.

In some courses we will advise learners which topic(s), context(s) or content will or will not be assessed in the exam. This will allow learners to focus their revision on what will be in the exam. It is not possible to take this same approach for courses where the exam will assess content from across the whole course or where the topics or content cannot be separated easily. This additional information has already been provided for some courses.

For some courses we will provide study guides, with hints and tips to help learners prepare for the exams.

In a small number of courses, we will allow learners to take study notes into the exam.

We are providing revision support for all courses that have an exam. Some courses will not have revision support either because they don’t have an exam or because we removed the exam for 2022 as part of the modifications to assessment.

It is still the clear intention for the 2022 exams to take place during April to June. Moving to Scenario 2 means that SQA will publish revision support in early March to help learners with their revision during the final run up to the exams.

The Scottish Government will only cancel the exams if public health advice restricts physical gatherings at the time the exams are due to take place.

Exams will not be cancelled unless public health restrictions mean that physical gatherings are not permitted at the time of exams. This decision cannot be taken until nearer the time when the public health situation is clear.

No, we have already made significant changes to exams and coursework (which we refer to as modifications) that were published at the start of session 2021-22. We are not making any further modifications to exams or coursework this session, as we need to maintain the credibility of the qualifications for learners and end users (including colleges, universities, training providers and employers).

No. The timing of the exams cannot be moved for a range of reasons, including allowing sufficient time for marking and informing learners of their results in good time to make decisions about their next steps.

If the exams are cancelled, we will move to Scenario 3. This means teachers, lecturers and training providers will be asked to determine a provisional result for each learner, based on their professional judgement of alternative assessment evidence.

This alternative assessment evidence is assessments that learners have already completed during the course, such as prelims, practical activities, performances, and class tests – and which teachers and lecturers have already used as a basis for determining estimate grades.

There will be no requirement for schools, colleges, and training providers to undertake additional assessments if the exams are cancelled, as this would place excess workload on teachers, lecturers, training providers and learners.

View more information about each of the scenarios.

Advice on this was provided to centres last term in SQA’s refreshed guidance for estimates in session 2021-22.

Yes, teachers, lecturers, and training providers should share their learners’ estimates with them individually and discuss how they arrived at their decision before submitting the estimate to SQA.

The estimate must be based on evidence gathered from assessments the learner has already completed throughout the course.

View guidance on evidence for estimates in session 2021-22.

They are senior appointees – practising teachers and lecturers – who will work with SQA staff and senior managers to ensure a consistent approach to determining grade boundaries for each course.

We will publish more information on this year’s exam exceptional circumstances service and appeals service over the coming weeks. This will be available on our website at www.sqa.org.uk/nq2022.

We will notify schools, colleges, and training providers directly when this information is available, and we will also share information through our social media accounts.

Yes, we are continuing to publish new information on our parent and carer blog at https://blogs.sqa.org.uk/qualifications2022 and we will also be sharing information for learners across social media.

We had already anticipated that learners across the country would be affected by ongoing disruption to learning and teaching this year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. To address this, we made significant modifications to the course assessments (coursework and exams) at the start of the session to help reduce the volume of assessment and ease learner workload.

We are also providing revision support for learners during week beginning 7 March, in response to further disruption to learning and teaching, to help learners prepare during the lead up to the 2022 exams.

This will be covered in our guidance about the exam exceptional circumstances service, which we will publish in the coming weeks.

This will be covered in our guidance about the exam exceptional circumstances service, which we will publish in the coming weeks.

We would always encourage learners to attempt the exam wherever possible. If the learner sits the exam but believes their performance has been affected by a circumstance beyond their control in the lead up to the exam, they should wait until they receive their results on 9 August. If the learner wants to question their result, they can submit an appeal and request that SQA views alternative assessment evidence to cover the whole course. Their school, college or training provider would need to send this alternative evidence to SQA on the learner’s behalf.

If the learner has completed the timetabled exam, and there has been no disruption on the day of the exam as reported by the Chief Invigilator, the learner will not be eligible for the exam exceptional circumstances service. However, once the learner receives their results from SQA on 9 August, if they want to question a result, they can submit an appeal and request that SQA views alternative assessment evidence.

The school, college or training provider will need to submit alternative assessment evidence to SQA on the learner’s behalf. This is the same evidence that you would send to us for an exam exceptional circumstances request.

If a learner is unable to attend the exam because they are self-isolating, they will be eligible for the exam exceptional circumstances service. This service covers Covid-19 related absence, including personal illness and self-isolation in line with current public health guidance.

We will ensure our specific guidance for this service, in relation to Covid-19, is kept up to date to reflect any changes in public health guidance.

Centres do not need to provide proof to SQA when submitting an exam exceptional circumstances request, though we will ask the Head of Centre to provide a letter or statement that confirms the learner had a valid reason for not attending the exam.

We will publish more information on the exam exceptional circumstances service in the coming weeks.

The exceptional circumstances service is intended to support learners who are unable to attend the exam due to a reason beyond their control, such as a medical condition or bereavement. Centres (schools, colleges and training providers) should use their best judgement to decide, in discussion with the learner, whether they have a valid reason for missing the exam and are therefore eligible for this service.

Centres should only submit an exam exceptional circumstances request for a learner who has a valid reason for not attending the exam, and we will ask the Head of Centre to provide a letter or statement that confirms this.

We will publish guidance about the exceptional circumstances service, which will be available in the coming weeks.

If a learner takes unwell during an exam and is unable to complete the exam as a result, their centre can submit an exam exceptional circumstances request. The centre will need to send alternative assessment evidence to SQA, which our SQA appointees will review alongside the learner’s partially completed exam script.

No, we will use the same approach for both services. The evidence will be judged against the national standard for that course.

Through the 2022 appeals service, a learner who achieves a lower grade than their estimate can request an appeal. The learner should discuss this with their school, college or training provider first, before asking them to submit alternative assessment evidence to SQA for independent review.

The 2022 appeals service will involve SQA appointees reviewing alternative assessment evidence that the learner has completed through the year. SQA will also conduct a clerical check on the exam script. All learners will have free direct access to the 2022 appeals service.

No alternative evidence is considered as part of the post-results service that normally operates following an exam diet. The post-results service involves a clerical check or marking review of the learner’s exam script, to check that the learner was awarded the correct grade, and requests can only be made by centres.

Recognition of Prior Learning is a method of assessing whether a learner’s experience and achievements meet the evidence requirements for a unit (or units) in an SQA qualification. This experience may or may not have been developed through a course of learning. For further information visit: SQA RPL Policy

You can make changes to your registered candidate's personal details as long as these details are accurate and the proper identification is provided to support this change. If you have any queries relating to this process please e-mail:

• schools: national.qualifications@sqa.org.uk
• colleges, training providers and employers: candidate.records@sqa.org.uk

You can update your centre's details, including details for the SQA Co-ordinator, either by contacting our Business Development and Customer Support team, or by filling out our online Centre Update form.

If you don't already have a named contact within SQA, contact our Business Development and Customer Support team. Our Customer Charter gives further details and information on how to make a formal complaint.

Please complete our Freedom of Information request form. Full details on how to make a request are available in our Access Information section.

If you know the name of your Business Development Manager/Consultant then you can contact them directly.

Alternatively call 0303 3330330 or email mycentre@sqa.org.uk and we will put you in touch with the relevant contact.

For more information visit: How do I deliver SQA qualifications - //www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/63284.html

A range of documents and support materials is available from the subject pages of our website at www.sqa.org.uk/nqsubjects. Support materials for unit assessments and coursework are held on our secure website at www.sqa.org.uk/secure

You can arrange access to secure materials through your SQA co-ordinator. These materials must be stored securely and treated as confidential.

Any requests for additional support needs must come directly from the centre and should be sent to aarequests@sqa.org.uk or call 0303 3330330

For more information and to apply for Appointee positions please visit: Applying to be an Appointee

Or contact us by e-mail am@sqa.org.uk or call 0845 2791000

There are a number of communication methods, depending on the nature of your enquiry. Full details are available on our Contact SQA page.

Material which is subject to a Post-results Services request must be retained by SQA for at least 12 months from the date of certification before it can be returned to centres. This is to enable any subsequent enquiries or complaints to be dealt with efficiently.

Foundation Apprenticeships are a Skills Development Scotland (SDS) initiative, providing new, work-based learning opportunities for S5 and S6 learners. For further information visit.

SQA will only quality assure the qualification/learning programme once it has been credit rated if you have signed up to our external quality assurance service. This is at an additional annual cost and is carried out by an SQA Officer.

Organisations can submit an existing qualification/learning programme which learners have already taken part in, or a programme which has yet to run.

The way in which a qualification/learning programme is assessed does not affect the submission and as long as the outcomes are formally assessed, and the results recorded then it can be considered for credit rating.

As this is a commercial service there is charge. For further details please contact SQA's Credit Rating Service.

This will result in general credit and not specific credit being allocated.

SCQF Credit Rating will not result in accreditation or validation by SQA. SQA is the credit rating body.

Customised Awards are qualifications owned and developed by you. They allow you to decide the content and structure of the qualification with SQA providing assistance on its development, external quality assurance and certification.

No. A Customised Award can be created with little or no training in place. Similarly, a Customised Award can be created if there is already training in place. A member of our Business Development Team will be able to talk you through your options.

Our five point process for creating a Customised Award can be reviewed on our Customised Awards process page

The process to create a Customised Award can vary, depending on the amount of work required. A member of our Business Development Team can give you more information about the length of the process depending on what you are hoping to achieve. Our experience tells us that a development can be completed in approximately 4- 6 months.

You will work with a member of our Business Development team. They will introduce you to our Specialist Awards and Services team, who will work with you to create your award. Our Business Development team member will be your first point of contact and will guide you through the process from start to finish.

There are several benefits to your business for creating a Customised Award. They can include:

• Creating a truly bespoke qualification
• Accredit your own learning and obtain recognition for it
• Exclusively own your own qualification
• Help you achieve business objectives
• Increase skills levels in your workforce and improving work practices and motivation
• Assist the management and development of human resource functions
• Provide recognition and development opportunities for employees
• Help meet regulatory requirements and demonstrate the competence of your employees to external parties.

No - not without your permission. When you create your Customised Award, you exclusively own and deliver this qualification, but you are free to allow other SQA Centres to deliver your award.

You may be interested in our Credit Rating service. More information can be found by visiting www.sqa.org.uk/creditrating.

The costs for creating a Customised Award can vary depending on the development time, and your requirements. A member of our support team will be able to talk to you about this and give a full breakdown of costs.

You can access past papers for National Qualifications using our Past Paper Finder.

Replacement certificates can be arranged for a fee of £38.00 and this service normally takes between 2-3 weeks.

You can order your replacement certificate online at www.sqa.org.uk/eshop

Alternatively, you can submit a written request to us by completing our Replacement Certificate Form. Once complete the form can be returned to the following postal address:

Replacement Certificates
Scottish Qualifications Authority
The Optima Building
58 Robertson Street
Glasgow
G2 8DQ

Or, if you have completed the form electronically and are paying by credit/debit card, you can e-mail it to us at certification@sqa.org.uk

The replacement certificate will also show Core skills, SQA Credits & SCQF credit points if these are applicable to your qualification(s).

Learners studying National Qualifications can sign up to receive exam results by email and/ or text on MySQA.

You register using your Scottish Candidate Number (SCN) and activate your account once you receive the activation e-mail. After you activate your account, you will then have to select whether you wish to receive your exam results by email or text.

Please note: registration for MySQA closes a few weeks before results day, so make sure you register early.

For general support and advice, please complete our candidate enquiry form.

Our Study Guides and videos will give you hints and tips to help you when studying for SQA qualifications.

Your Scottish Candidate Number (SCN) is displayed directly under your name on your certificate.

If you do not have your certificate you should complete the Candidate Enquiry Form, this will allow us to locate your records and provide you with your SCN

Alternatively, call us on 0345 279 1000 and we will confirm your details then provide you with your SCN Number.

We cannot provide direct comparisons between our qualifications and that of other awarding bodies within the UK or internationally.

However, you can download Qualifications Can Cross Boundaries (886 KB) (UK) or visit UK NARIC (International).

Please note, if you currently attend school, college or are an SQA learner through your employer or training provider, then your centre has the responsibility to amend your record for you. Please ask your teacher, lecturer or employer/contact to update your record.

If you no longer attend school or college, and would like to update your SQA record, please complete and return our change of name declaration form and contact us directly. To enable us to process and update your record we require two copies of identification - one is required to be a link from your previous to your current name. Please note you do not need to send us the original documents; photocopies or scanned copies will be sufficient. You can scan and e-mail these documents to candidate.records@sqa.org.uk or send them by post to the following address:

Operations
Centre Support
Fourth Floor
The Optima Building
58 Robertson Street
Glasgow
G2 8DQ

Updating personal information - guidance for transgender learners

If you are currently studying your school/college or training provider will have to change your address as this must be done by the centre who have registered you for the qualification you are studying.

If you are no longer studying, we will require more information to allow us to locate your Candidate record, please complete our Candidate Enquiry Form

We will then be able to complete your change of address.

Contact your local school, college or training provider. Most colleges have this information on their website. You can also visit www.myworldofwork.co.uk
If you would like information on a specific course that we offer then please complete the Candidate Enquiry Form.

Recognition of Prior Learning is a method of assessing whether your experience and achievements meet the evidence requirements of a unit (or units) in an SQA qualification. This experience may or may not have been developed through a course of learning. For further information visit: SQA RPL Policy

We provide a return service for non-examination material that has been submitted to us for assessment.

Before you make a request, please check with your school or college to see if materials were sent to us in the first instance.

For more information on this service, and details of how you can make a return request, please see the Request for Return of External Assessment Material page on our website.

SQA does not provide access to or copies of exam scripts, even if this is requested under Data Protection or Freedom of Information legislation.

Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002

A request for an examination is a request for personal information, which is exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

Data Protection Legislation

This legislation gives you the right to access the personal information that SQA holds about you. However, exam scripts are exempt from release.

You can find out more about your personal information on the Personal Information section on our website.

Text and emails will be sent to candidates who have an activated MySQA account from 8 am onwards on results day. Please note that emails and texts cannot be re-sent.

If you registered to receive your results by text message or email, and have not received them, please contact your service provider.

NB If you are abroad, you will only receive a text if your phone is set up to receive messages abroad and if you have enough credit.

Check your spam/junk folder regularly, as delivery times from individual service providers may vary.

This is normal. You will not see your English: Spoken Language component on MySQA. However, it is included as a recognition statement on your certificate and will say: The National 5 English Course includes a demonstration of skills in Spoken Language (Talking and Listening).

MySQA is closed as results are updated it will re-open before 31 August.

Foundation Apprenticeships are a Skills Development Scotland (SDS) initiative, providing new, work-based learning opportunities for S5 and S6 learners. For further information visit.

National Qualifications are one of the most important types of qualification in Scotland, and almost everyone leaving school or college today has one or more National Qualification. They are mainly taken by learners in the senior phase of secondary school (S4 to S6) and learners in colleges, including adult learners.
They cover a range of subjects and are designed to develop the skills and knowledge needed to succeed beyond the classroom; whether progressing to other SQA qualifications, training, employment or university. Find out more at www.sqa.org.uk/nq

Learners develop practical skills like data collection and team-working; Core Skills like literacy, numeracy, communication, ICT and problem solving; and Skills for Learning, Life and Work (SfLLW) such as employability, independent thinking, and enterprise and citizenship.

Literacy and/or numeracy skills are developed within all National courses, though how this takes place will vary depending on the subject area.There are National Literacy Units and National Numeracy Units which learners can study for on a stand-alone basis.These units are also a required part of some National courses. More information can be found on our Literacy and Numeracy page.

SQA does not specify the number of qualifications that schools should deliver. The number of subjects that learners study in S4 is decided locally by the school or local authority.

National 4 courses have been designed to provide flexibility in timetabling and assessment. Internal assessment is more suitable for courses at National 4 level and will help to build learners' confidence in preparation for National 5. Learners do a National 4 Added Value Unit assessment instead of an exam, and the Added Value Unit assessment allows them to demonstrate the knowledge and skills they have developed throughout the course.

No. All internally assessed qualifications are subject to robust quality assurance by SQA, to ensure that the qualifications are being assessed at the national standard.

National 4 follows a similar model to other existing qualifications such as the Higher National Certificate (HNC) and Higher National Diploma (HND), which are both internally assessed but quality assured by SQA. Many people use these qualifications to progress into employment or to get into higher education, often with advanced standing (where the university accepts the qualification as credit towards completing an undergraduate course, enabling the student to enter the course at a more advanced stage, eg entering at second year instead of third year).

SQA can allow assessment arrangements to be made for candidates in their exams and assessments. For example, a candidate who experiences difficulties with writing can use a laptop. We allow many different kinds of assessment support, such as use of sign language, human readers, scribes, prompters or extra time to complete assessments. We can also provide adapted question papers, including Braille question papers, digital question papers, large print question papers and question papers printed on coloured paper.

The school or college is responsible for making an assessment arrangments request to SQA and we will work with them to find the most suitable arrangement for the candidate. In most cases, the school or college will have already identified the candidate's needs and will be providing support for them during their studies, not just in exams and assessments.

No. It is for individual schools and colleges to decide whether or not to use prelims. Prelims do not form part of the formal assessment process for National Qualifications and are not a requirement.

Prelim papers are set and marked by the school or college, not by SQA.

Yes, however this information does not appear on the candidate's qualifications certificate. The certificate will simply state that the candidate has achieved grade A, B, C or D.

If a candidate wishes to find out which band they have achieved, they will need to contact their school or college. The school or college will be provided with details of which band the candidate achieved their grade at; for example, where a candidate has achieved an A, if they achieved an A (upper) at Band 1 or an A (lower) at Band 2.

National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher courses are graded A, B, C or D. Grade D indicates that the candidate has achieved a band 7 in the course assessment, which equates to 40-49%.

Candidates who score less than 40% receive a 'No Award' result and are not awarded the course. 

SQA does not count a Grade D (band 7) as contributing to any Course or Group Award it may be part of, whether an Award, National Progression Award, National Certificate or Professional Development Award.

Yes. National 5 Courses carry 24 Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) credit points at SCQF level 5, reflected the level of demand and difficulty involved.

National 4 Courses - which are not graded - also carry 24 SCQF points, however these are at SCQF level 4, which has a lower level of demand and challenge.

Grade boundaries are the marks required to achieve a particular grade within a Course.

For each National Course, the Course assessment (whether question paper or coursework, or both) has an intended level of demand and difficulty which reflects the grade descriptors for the Course and the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) level at which it is set.

If the Course assessment is found to be easier or more difficult than intended, adjustments are made to make sure the national standard of the Course is maintained. In other words, to make sure that the level of difficulty required to achieve an A, B, C or D in the assessment remains unchanged from one year to the next.

We take our responsibility to uphold the high standards of Scottish qualifications very seriously.

There is no automatic fallback position at any level. The opportunity to use Recognising Positive Achievement to gain a National 4 course award was removed at the end of session 2018-19. Ask your school or college for more information.

Any candidates who receive a 'fail' or 'No Award' result, may be able to re-sit the following year. This is at the discretion of the school or college to decide whether or not to re-enter candidates for the course.

We have robust quality assurance arrangements in place to support internal assessment in National Qualifications. We use a combination of approaches to externally verify assessments to make sure they continue to meet national standards. More information is available from our Quality Assurance page.

Yes. We are currently running an Understanding Standards programme to help teachers and lecturers develop their understanding of the standards required for assessment. Further information on this programme can be found on the Understanding Standards webpage.

Courses at National 2, National 3, and National 4 levels are not graded — the units that make up the course are assessed as pass or fail.

Courses at National 5, Higher, and Advanced Higher are graded A-D. This year, certification is based on the estimated grades your school or college sent us.

There is no fallback, or other kind of automatic compensatory arrangements at any level. You cannot fail a Higher and be awarded with a National 5 course, or fail a National 5, and receive a National 4.

If you chose to undertake or repeat the course again, at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher level, you will need to re-sit all components of the course assessment — attainment from one year cannot be transferred into the following year.

For some coursework components, such as projects or investigations, it may be possible to use your previous research or stimulus material. However, in all cases you will need to undertake a new coursework assessment. Schools and colleges make the final decision whether or not to re-enter candidates.

This means that you have been awarded a final mark between 40 and 49%.

Candidates who score less than 40% are not awarded a National Course and will receive a No Award result.

Grade banding/component marks can only be obtained from your school/college. Please note, however, that even if your school/college has staff available during certification week, they may not have access to this information, as banding and component marks are issued directly to your school's or college's SQA Co-ordinator - we would advise waiting until the start of term for this information.

Yes. National 5 courses (which are graded A - D) are worth 24 SCQF credit points at SCQF level 5. While National 4 courses (which are not graded) are also worth 24 SCQF points, it has a lower level of demand and challenge compared with the National 5 course.

Courses at National 5, Higher, and Advanced Higher are graded A - D. All other courses and awards are graded as pass or fail.

Ask your school or college which level you were entered for. If you're missing a Skills for Work course, remember these courses are not graded — the units that make up the course are assessed as pass or fail.

If your certificate is missing a grade for a National 5, Higher or Advanced Higher course, you have not achieved a grade A-D.

If you're missing results, or there are results listed that you weren't expecting to see, speak to you teachers or lecturers when you return to school or college.

If National Units are listed on your certificate, that means you have passed them. If they are not on your certificate, it is possible you have failed them, or that your school or college has deferred a decision until you complete the evidence needed for a pass.

Some National Units do not have levels. These are usually the units called 'modules' or 'short courses' that were offered by SQA's predecessor bodies. Now, for certification purposes, we call them 'unlevelled National Units'.

If you're missing results, or there are results listed that you weren't expecting to see, speak to you teachers or lecturers when you return to school or college.

Candidates who score less than 40% are not awarded a National Course and will receive a 'no award' result.

Any National Units you have achieved will be recorded on a separate certificate.

If you're missing results, or there are results listed that you weren't expecting to see, speak to your teachers or lecturers when you return to school or college.

'The Detailed record of attainment is a full, detailed, breakdown of the course content for all qualifications you have achieved in your exams this year. (Group Award & Units). For certain qualifications, the it might also include a recognition statement  — for example, a statement highlighting that a Course was assessed and achieved through the medium of Gaelic.

'This part of the certificate summarises all the SQA courses, group awards and stand-alone units you have ever achieved — not just the ones you completed this current year.

'Exam Only' means that you have passed the Advanced Higher course assessment, but you have not passed all the units required to achieve the overall course award.

For English Higher and English National 5 courses, a pass result must be submitted for the compulsory English: Spoken Language component.

This means that you have not attained grades A-D in any of the external exams for the National Courses you sat this year.

If you have passed any National Units that are part of the course(s), you will receive a separate certificate for these. Please speak to your school or college for further clarification and advice.

SCQF stands for Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework. The SCQF shows how all qualifications in Scotland, such as those awarded by SQA and universities, compare with each other. There's more information on the SCQF website www.sqa.org.uk/scqf.

It supports progression or movement between different qualifications — for example:

• how Highers (SCQF level 6) help prepare learners for HNC/HND (SCQF level 7/8) or university degree courses (beginning at SCQF level 7 and awarding at SCQF levels 9 or 10)
• how learners who have achieved an HND (SCQF level 8) can often get direct entry into the third year (SCQF level 9) of a related undergraduate degree course in some universities

The level of the qualification shows how demanding it is. There are 12 SCQF levels, with level 1 being the least demanding (the introductory level of qualification) and level 12 the most demanding (for example, PhDs).

SCQF level 7 is the starting point of the higher education levels on the framework.

SCQF credit points are based on the amount of time the average learner would take to complete the qualification. As well as including the time spent learning in school, college, university or training, it also includes self-directed learning — study at home or the library.

One SCQF credit point represents a notional 10 hours of learning. So, for example, if you achieve a Higher course (SCQF level 6) with 24 SCQF credits, you will have done about 240 hours of learning.

The SCQF has been used in Scotland's schools, colleges and universities for over 16 years, and employers are increasingly aware of it. With more and more qualifications being placed on the framework, we feel that it is right to include SCQF information on your certificate.

Knowing your SCQF information can help you make decisions about what to do next. It also helps colleges and universities make decisions about entry or progression and helps employers understand how your qualifications compare to other qualifications.

SCQF information also helps people outside of Scotland to compare Scottish qualifications to qualifications on their own frameworks.

No, SCQF credit points do not relate to UCAS tariff points. UCAS tariff points are designed solely for deciding how useful a qualification is for progression into higher education. They take account of the type of qualification and the grade achieved.

By contrast, SCQF credit points measure how much learning needs to be done at a certain level to achieve a qualification, regardless of the grade achieved.

The Framework shows that qualifications are broadly comparable (though this does not mean that they are equivalent) by describing them using a common language of level and credit.

The SCQF supports the Scottish Government's lifelong learning strategy and - now that there's more mobility of learners and workers across the UK, Europe and internationally - qualification Frameworks are the method by which learning will be understood globally. SCQF information will be useful to holders of the Scottish Qualifications Certificate (SQC) so they can explain to employers and training providers how their qualifications compare to other qualifications.

The SCQF is beneficial to a wide range of people and organisations such as:

• people of all ages and circumstances who access education and training over their lifetime to fulfil their personal, social and economic potential
• employers, learners and the public who will be able to understand the full range of Scottish qualifications, how they relate to each other and how they can contribute to improving skills
• qualification providers, who will be able to describe programmes of learning that lead to qualifications and make the relationship between qualifications clearer

Other benefits will be to:

• clarify entry and exit points and support the development of routes to progress from qualification to qualification
• maximise the opportunities to transfer credit between qualifications
• assist learners to plan their progress and learning

The SCQF is managed by a partnership of SQA, the higher education sector (working through the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA), Colleges Scotland and Universities Scotland), and the Scottish Government. An industry representative also sits on the SCQF Board. However, a much wider range of stakeholders have overseen the SCQF's development, including Skills Development Scotland, learndirect scotland, the Confederation of British Industry, Confederation of Scotland's Local Authorities (COSLA), Federation of Small Businesses, Education Scotland and Communities Scotland.

No. The SCQF level shows that qualifications at the same level involve the same complexity of learning, but each qualification may differ in terms of the subject, purpose and size. For example; qualifications on the same level may have a different number of credit points, which will show that more time is needed to achieve the qualification. For example, an Advanced Higher is at SCQF level 7 and has 32 credit points, while a Higher National Certificate is also at SCQF level 7and has 96 credit points. Not only are the qualifications different sizes, but they are also different types and serve different purposes.

Yes. (And no.) SCQF credit points are all allocated on the basis of one SCQF credit point to 10 learning hours. This means that the six SCQF credit points for a Higher Unit and the six credit points for an Intermediate 2 Unit each represent 60 hours of learning. However, the credits for Higher have been gained at level 6, while the credits for Intermediate 2 have been gained at level 5. This means that the learning at level 6 is more complex than level 5.

You should aim for the programmes of learning that are best for you at different times of your life. For example, at school you might try for Highers (level 6). Later on, you might want to learn a new skill as a hobby, and that qualification could be at SCQF level 5; or during your working life you might take an SVQ at SCQF level 7.

Individual universities and colleges set entry requirements for their courses, so it is up to them to determine how relevant your learning is compared to their requirements. However, the SCQF level and credit points of your qualifications help them to make this decision.

Employers are normally more likely to be interested in the SCQF level of your qualifications than the number of points achieved. However, credit points indicate the amount of learning you have achieved at an SCQF level, and will tell the employer how big the qualification is.

The SCQF:

• helps qualification-providers describe programmes of learning that lead to qualifications and makes the relationship between qualifications clearer
• clarifies entry and exit points, and supports the development of routes to progress from qualification to qualification
• maximises opportunities to transfer credit between qualifications
• helps learners plan their learning and progress

Information about the SCQF appears on your Scottish Qualifications Certificate. Many colleges and universities mention the SCQF in their prospectus or on their website. Local authorities have been using SCQF since 2001 to report on school attainment.

SQA, colleges and universities have been working with the SCQF for some years. In Scotland, universities use the SCQF to describe their qualifications and all degrees offered by universities have been placed on the Framework. This helps learners to move and progress between programmes and institutions.

The Framework already includes some non-mainstream qualifications. For example, Midlothian Council has had its Crèche Worker training course placed on the Framework, and qualifications offered by the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland and the Scottish Police College have been included in the SCQF Framework too.

No. You will still be awarded a degree or a Diploma. The Framework doesn't replace qualifications - it simply shows how one qualification broadly compares with another.

No. Awarding and accrediting qualifications is done by SQA and other organisations like universities, colleges, statutory and professional bodies. Additionally, colleges can credit rate their own or other organisations provisions.

No. That is not part of the SCQF's purpose. The Framework is a new way of comparing and understanding Scottish qualifications. Education Scotland reviews the quality of learning and teaching in Scotland.

No. This is not part of the SCQF's purpose. Funding is reviewed by other organisations such as the Scottish Funding Council, local authorities and Scottish Enterprise.

The certificate has three sections:

• The summary of attainment, which lists all of the Group Awards, Courses and stand-alone Units that you have achieved and shows SCQF levels of the qualifications which have been credit-rated
• The detailed record of attainment gives more detail about the qualifications you've achieved since the last certificate was issued, and will include SCQF levels and credits
• The profiles section shows your current achievements in Core Skills and SCQF credits

The SCQF can help learners to negotiate their way through the lifelong learning journey. They need to know that they can use their SCQF credit points towards new qualifications, and that there are different paths they can take. For example, many learners who have achieved an HND have used this credit towards a degree - instead of entering a university in year 1 they enter into year 2 or 3. This will become even more important as more and more qualifications are included in the Framework.

On your Scottish Qualifications Certificate there's a profile page that gives you a breakdown of all the credit points you have gained and their SCQF levels.

The grades 1 - 6 showed how well the learning had been achieved within one of three levels:

• grades 1 or 2 were awarded at Credit Standard Grade - SCQF level 5
• grades 3 or 4 were awarded at General Standard Grade - SCQF level 4
• grades 5 or 6 were awarded at Foundation Standard Grade - SCQF level 3

The SCQF level is a guide to the general level of knowledge and skill needed to achieve that award. The number of SCQF credit points gained doesn't change depending on your grade - the SCQF credit points reflect how much learning you've achieved, not how well you've learned it. Your grades show how well you have done.

No, the SCQF has no effect on exam results. Level and credit are gained when you achieve individual Units and external assessments. The grading you get in an exam does not affect the SCQF level. Please see the above question above 'Why do grades A, B, C and D get the same number of credit points in National 5, Higher, Advanced Higher and Intermediate 1 and 2?'.

It makes no difference. Each individual qualification is allocated an SCQF level and you will be awarded each qualification, even if these are at the same level. For example, National 5 and Intermediate 2 are both at level 5. If you achieve these you will be awarded both qualifications and gain SCQF credit points for each. These examples have 24 credit points each, giving you 48 SCQF credit points at SCQF level 5. It's the same if you achieve two National 5s - you get 48 points at level 5.

All candidates receive the flyer 'About Your SQC' with their certificate. As well as explaining your results, this tells you what the SCQF is, how it works, and what it means for you.

All SQA centres (schools and colleges for example) have received a short guide to the SCQF called 'Achievement Counts', which is designed to help learners understand the SCQF. It is available to download on the SCQF website, www.scqf.org.uk. All SQA centres also have supplies of 'Your Exams' and 'About your SQC'. 

Copies are also available from the SCQF office, by e-mail: s.houtenfeeley@scqf.org.uk or telephone: 0141 225 2927.

All SQA Centre Co-ordinators have a Resource Pack containing copies of presentations, guides and leaflets to help explain the SQC and the SCQF to colleagues, parents and learners.

If you have any questions on the new SQC, please contact SQA's Business Development & Customer Support Team on: 0303 333 0330 or e-mail: mycentre@sqa.org.uk

Please download our Ready Reckoner (134 KB) of SQA qualifications in the SCQF.

Not directly. Entrance into college or university is at the discretion of the institution, and normally relies on learners' grades and subjects. However, the SCQF will help colleges and universities understand what learners have achieved. As more qualifications are allocated an SCQF level and credit points, the SCQF information will become important to the institutions to help make entry and credit transfer decisions.

Not directly, but the Framework diagram is a useful way to show potential employers what level of learning has been achieved. Work is continually being done to help employers understand how the SCQF can help them recruit the employees they need.

The SCQF credit points given to a qualification are 'general' credit points. They don't relate to any subject or any particular purpose - they just help people understand how qualifications relate to one another.

If the holder of an award decided to apply for a different type of qualification, he or she might be able to use some or all of the credits achieved towards the new qualification, but this would depend on the subject match. For example, an HND in Business might provide a large number of credits toward a degree in Business, but only a small number of credits towards a professional qualification in Accounting. Specific credit means credit that would count for a specific purpose - it is usually given at the discretion of the institution you're applying to.

An institution may ask for a number of credits in a specific subject area at a particular SCQF level, and may ask you to supplement your learning to gain these credits. This may be at a level below or above the general credit points you already have.

No, but the 'SCQF Handbook' contains guidance on recognition of prior learning that may help to quantify it. This can be found on the SCQF website (www.scqf.org.uk).

Individual institutions will also have their own policies on recognition of prior learning and experience.

The current Frameworks for England and Nothern Ireland are the National Qualifications Framework (NQF). The HE sector has the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications (FHEQ). In Wales, the Credit and Qualifications framework Wales (CQFW) incorporates the NQF, QCF and HE Frameworks.

The Republic of Ireland has its own Framework, the National Framework of Qualifications for Ireland which, like the SCQF, includes general qualifications normally taken at school, vocational education and higher education.

The Qualifications can cross boundaries (886 KB) leaflet shows the Frameworks of the UK and how the qualifications within them roughly compare.

Additionally there is a European Qualifications Framework (EQF). The idea behind this Framework is that each European member nation will reference their Framework to the EQF. This may act as a translation device and provide a common currency by which learners and workers will be able to have their learning compared across Europe.

SQA Units have an SCQF level and credit points. However, not all SVQs have SCQF credit points, as they are owned by the Sector Skills Councils, which are responsible for these qualifications.

The Scottish Qualification Certificate (SQC) issued by SQA reports the level and credit points of each Unit a candidate achieves, in addition to the level of the overall qualification, to which they may contribute.

Group Awards are positioned on the SCQF. However, a small number of legacy qualifications do not. These will either lapse or be replaced by SCQF credit rated qualifications.

The ready reckoner that shows the mainstream Scottish qualifications in the SCQF shows SVQs notionally positioned. The Scottish Government had previously funded a project to credit rate (the process of allocating SCQF level and SCQF credit points to be placed in the Framework) individual SVQs. This work was led by SQA and involves Sector Skills Councils (who develop the standards that SVQs are based on), and awarding bodies approved to deliver SVQs in Scotland have contributed to this work. 

SVQs are made up of different Units, and because of this, the amount of credit they are awarded varies. SVQs are also made up of mandatory and optional Units, and so some people will have the same SVQ at the same level but will have a slightly different number of SCQF credit points, depending on which optional Units they completed. 

Many SVQs have been credit-rated, with other SVQs being available for credit-rating as appropriate, such as when they come up for review or revision.

Find out more information about your Scottish Qualification Certificate.

If you didn't get the results you were hoping for, or you did better than you expected, the Universities & Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) will be happy to speak to you, and give you some guidance on what to do next.

UCAS contact details:

Telephone number:     0371 468 0468

Facebook                    facebook.com/ucasonline

Twitter                         @ucas_online

Operational hours:      Monday - Friday, 08:30 am - 6.00 pm.
Address:                      UCAS, Rosehill, New Barn Lane, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL52 3LZ

Looking for careers advice?

If you're looking for career's advice, please call the Skills Development Scotland Results Helpline, where qualified careers advisors will be on hand to offer you advice, and to discuss clearing vacancies, and alternative options.

Skills Development Scotland Results Helpline

Telephone number:     0808 100 8000
Web:                             www.myworldofwork.co.uk/examresults
Operational period:     04 - 11 August 2020
Opening hours:           Tue 4 & Wed 5 August         8am - 8pm
                                      Thu 6  & Fri 7  August          9am - 5pm
                                      Mon 10 & Tue 11 August      9am - 5pm

Has the mail been delivered?

If the mail hasn't been delivered, remember that there may be a delay due to the volume of mail. Wait until you know that the post has been delivered in your area.

Did you register to receive your results by text and/or e-mail?

If you did register, you will have received notification of your results. Please check your spam and junk folder, or contact your service provider. If the mail has definitely been delivered, you can contact your school or college when the new term starts to arrange for another certificate to be sent.

If you didn't register, please be patient and wait until the post has been delivered in your area. If your certificate doesn't arrive in the post, MySQA re-opens tomorrow at 9am. You will be able to sign up then to view your results. You can also contact your school. They have a copy of your results.

If your certificate has been damaged in the post, your school or college can request a new one for you. Speak to you teachers or lecturers when you return to school or college.

If there is an error on your certificate, your school or college can request a new one for you. Speak to your teachers or lecturers when you return to school or college and ask them to request a new one on your behalf.

If you registered to receive your results by text and/or e-mail, you will receive notification of your results - these are sent from 8am.

Please check your spam and junk folder, or contact your service provider.

If you didn't register, MySQA re-opens tomorrow at 9am. You will be able to sign up then to view your results. Alternatively, you can contact your school — they have a copy of your results.

To get a copy of your certificate, please contact your school or college.

If you're missing results, or there are results listed that you weren't expecting to see, speak to your teachers or lecturers when you return to school or college.

Your school or college will look into this for you. SQA will only send you an updated certificate once the school or college provides us with the necessary information.

You may have two different Scottish Candidate Numbers linked to your name. This could have happened if you have recently changed your name, or you've been studying at different centres where a new Scottish Candidate Number has been generated

Take both certificates to your school or college and ask them to contact SQA. We will then merge the information together on a single certificate.

We can only amend your certificate if there has been an error. If you think there has been an error, speak to your teachers or lecturers when you return to school or college.

If you're missing results, or there are results listed that you weren't expecting to see speak to you teachers / lecturers when you return to school or college. Your school or college will look into this for you. SQA will only send you an updated certificate once the school or college provides us with the necessary information.

If your school/college has registered you for the Added Value Unit, and submitted your results, it will be recorded under the National Units section of the certificate under: [subject area] Assignment SCQF Level 4.

This means that you have not been awarded an A-D grade in one or more of the National Courses you did this year.

Any National Units you have achieved will be recorded on a separate certificate.

If you're missing results, or there are results listed that you weren't expecting to see, speak to your teachers or lecturers when you return to school or college.

This year, each candidate who has undertaken National Qualifications through the medium of Gaelic will receive a single certificate displaying these qualification titles in Gaelic.

The following subjects are awarded by SQA through the medium of Gaelic:

• National 3 / National 4 / National 5: Applications of Mathematics
• National 3 / National 4 / National 5: Geography, Modern Studies, History
• National 4 / National 5: Mathematics
• Higher: Geography, Modern Studies, History, Mathematics
• Advanced Higher: Geography, Modern Studies, History, Mathematics

MySQA

If you signed-up for and activated a MySQA account, the qualifications you achieved through the medium of Gaelic will be displayed in Gaelic in the text message, and in the email you receive.

SCQF points

Qualifications undertaken through the medium of Gaelic have the same number of SCQF points as their equivalent in English.

UCAS tariff

Qualifications undertaken through the medium of Gaelic also have the same number of UCAS points as their equivalent in English.

All Gaelic medium course and unit / element titles will be reported in Gaelic on your certificate.

This includes the exam code element in the detailed record of attainment. If you do not complete the course, or receive no award, you will still see the units/elements that you have attained. These will be reported in Gaelic.

Qualification titles and units/elements that appear in Gaelic on the certificate will be followed by an English translation in brackets. There will also be a recognition statement (in English) on your detailed record of attainment to indicate that the course was assessed and attained through the medium of Gaelic (if you achieve the complete course award).

If you're missing results, or there are results listed that you weren't expecting to see, speak to your teachers or lecturers when you return to school or college.

Unfortunately, some characters used in Gaelic cannot be printed on your results certificate. We are reviewing this as part of our Gaelic Language Plan commitments.

Replacement certificates can be ordered via the Replacement Certificate Service. Only replacement certificates ordered for candidates who sat exams from 2012 onwards will display course titles and units/elements in Gaelic. Replacement certificates for years up to and including 2011 will be issued in English only.

Core Skills are a group of five skills that are key to learning and working in today's world. Employers have identified these skills as those that are most likely to be needed in any work environment. This does not mean that every job will need people who are proficient in all five core skills but it does mean that every job will require some level of ability in some or all these skills.

The five core skills are:

• Communication
• Numeracy
• Information and Communication Technology
• Problem Solving
• Working with Others

Don't worry, the Core Skills that are built into our qualifications are not always at the same level as the course or unit itself.

For more information about this, speak to your teachers or lecturers at your school or college, or visit the Core Skills page on our website (www.sqa.org.uk/coreskills)