Understanding Standards: Nominee Training Event, Health and Food Technology National 3-Advanced Higher

2. Understanding Standards: Nominee Training Event Health and Food Technology National 3-Advanced Higher

3. Aims of the Day To support Nominees in their understanding of national standards by: • Sharing lessons learnt from session 2015-2016 • Discussing the Review Report for Health and Food Technology • Reviewing the National 4 Added Value Unit (AVU) • Reviewing Portfolio evidence for National 5 • Reviewing Combined evidence for Higher • Looking at Understanding Standards materials and outlining how they can support you in your role as a Nominee

4. Why Verify? • Centres Internally verify: • Centres are responsible for the internal verification of their own unit assessments. • Centres should have an internal verification system to ensure this process is robust and consistent. Further advice and guidance on IV can be found on the SQA website www.sqa.org.uk/IVtoolkit. • SQA Externally verifies: • To ensure national consistency of assessment decisions. • Carried out by Local Authority (LA) Nominees who are experienced teachers with good, recent experience in the delivery and assessment of Health and Food Technology. • Is a valuable Quality Improvement tool for centres.

5. Key lessons learnt from session 2015-16 • Most centres using valid approaches to assessment: more portfolio and combined evidence submitted. • Large number of centres received an Accepted or Accepted* decision for Health and Food Technology. • For centres delivering Higher many candidates appeared to have found it easier to provide evidence to meet the assessment standards if they used a simple pro forma designed by the centre (this applied to the assignment too). • No evidence submitted for Advanced Higher but numbers of candidates has increased as this offers ideal progression from Higher.

6. Review Report • SQA carried out two pieces of research : • Policy and guidance documents that shaped the new courses, internal SQA discussions, NQST focus groups, online SQA teacher survey, surveys undertaken by other stakeholders, and the approach taken to unit and course assessment. • Visits to over 40 schools (local authority, independent and special) to evaluate the first phase of implementation of the new courses. The visits included separate focus groups of S5 and S6 pupils, teachers and senior managers.

7. Review of Health and Food Technology • SQA reviewed Health and Food Technology using feedback from the National Qualifications Support Team together with insights from teachers gathered through the online survey and by SQA’s Subject Implementation Manager and PV. • SQA gathered intelligence from reviewing the quality assurance of internal and external assessment. • We specifically looked at ensuring we had reliable and robust assessments as well as sufficient time for learning, teaching and assessment — 160 hours.

8. Changes to UASPs for session 2016-17 • In a drive to avoid over-assessment of candidates, a number of changes to UASPs have been approved for session 2016-17. • These will be valid for this session, however, when we complete verification Round 1, the previous UASPs will also be valid.

9. What do these changes look like? The main changes are outlined below, but will be discussed throughout today’s session as we look at the new JETs and candidate evidence which has been chosen to reflect these: FFH: Reduction in number of pieces of evidence required, eg reduction to two benefits to health of a balanced and varied diet at National 5. Reduction in duplication of information required in AS 2.3. FPD: No changes CFI: Reduction in number of pieces of evidence required, eg reduction to two contemporary food issues affecting consumer food choice. Removal of Outcome 2 at National 4/5 and removal of AS 1.4 at Higher.

10. Workshop 1 : National 4 Added Value Unit (AVU) Review the evidence for the candidate against the assessment standards in the JET (in your pack). Discuss the evidence and decide whether or not the candidate has achieved or not achieved each of the assessment standards.

11. National 4 AVU : Feedback and discussion • Demand at N4 compared to other levels. • Investigations: the wording for National 4 AVU AS 1.2 has been altered so that the first sentence in paragraph 2 reads 'The candidate should present appropriate and relevant information from investigations’. • From 2015 centres can write own AVU briefs, use existing briefs or use National 5 briefs. • As before, be aware of malpractice, similar dishes and investigations.

12. Workshop 2: National 5 Review the evidence for the candidate against the assessment standards. Discuss the evidence and decide whether or not the candidate has achieved or not achieved the assessment standards.

13. Workshop 3: Higher Review the evidence for the candidate against the assessment standards. Discuss the evidence and decide whether or not the candidate has achieved or not achieved the assessment standards.

14. The role of the Nominee: 3 ‘Cs’ • Following this event the expectation is that you will: • CASCADE the information learnt today to all of your teaching colleagues in your Authorities. • COMMUNICATE the key messages in this training and be the first point of CONTACTin your Authority for any Health and Food Technology related questions. • If you cannot answer these questions you should contact Graeme Findlay at SQA graeme.findlay@sqa.org.uk • You may wish to run a training session during your network time with authority colleagues: Understanding Standards materials will be useful for this.

15. Understanding Standards • 2 sources of information and supporting documentation: • SQA Secure Site: password protected • SQA Open Site • http://www.understandingstandards.org.uk/

16. Next steps Round 1 verification: you will be notified if you have been deployed for Round 1. Centres will be notified if they have been selected in December, uplift January, verification in February. Round 2 verification: you will be notified if you have been deployed for Round 2. Centres will be notified if they have been selected in March, uplift April, verification in May.

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