SQA

N5 Assessment Period: 30th November - 18th December 2020

S5/6 Higher/Advanced Higher/Practical N5 Assessment Period: 18th - 29th January - postponed (see parent communication below)

Advice upon issue of Assessment Period timetables

• Ensure you have an ongoing revision timetable in place for all National Qualifications you are working towards.

• Ensure you are a member of class and year group Google Classroom/Microsoft Team for all relevant information and updates.

• Highlight the appropriate subjects (speak with class teachers to confirm the date/time/location of your assessment).

• The initial assessment period is the first opportunity for evidence gathering under SQA assessment conditions. If you do well, you will have to continue to demonstrate you are working at this level through the remainder of the course. If you underperform, you should work on feedback to identify ways in which you can improve. There will be ongoing continuous assessment opportunities at different times/dates, which will be based on subject-specific guidance.

• If you are absent due to COVID-related reasons, you will be given another opportunity to sit the assessment.

• If you have to self-isolate at any point, we recognise this is through no fault of your own, you are simply following government guidance. Staff will be updated and identify you as "vulnerable" when determining provisional results, dependent upon the volume of content you have missed.

• Individual class teachers will identify a time for you to sit rescheduled assessments.

Parent/Carer Communication 30.12.20

Dear Parent/Carer

I hope you have had a good holiday period so far, despite the testing times we are in.

Although we still don't have all the answers by any means, I write to provide you with a little detail which should give some reassurance both for you and for young people in S5/S6 in your family.

With the anticipated date of physical return to school of 18th January, we do not think it would be right to begin Higher/AH assessments as soon as S5/S6 students return to physical lessons. So our plan will be:-

* Should physical return remain at 18th January, the assessment schedule would start (with the same pattern) from 25th January.

* If Scottish Government advice results in a further delay, our commitment will be that there will be at least one week of physical learning prior to assessments commencing. Again, the pattern would remain the same with commencement of assessments delaying until a week of physical learning has taken place.

I hope this provides some clarity, and we will be in touch as further information becomes available.

Best Regards

Mr M Jones

Head Teacher