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Guidance on supporting candidates during assessment

The purpose of this guidance note is to help centre staff who may be uncertain about the amount, type and frequency of support they are allowed to give their candidates during the assessment process. There will always be an element of professional judgement required over how much support each candidate will require at level 1 and 2 and candidates should always be encouraged to complete assessments as independently as possible. It is our hope that this guidance will help reassure centre staff by confirming the basis on which professional judgements are being made and by providing a reference point during quality assurance and standardisation activities within centres in future.

As a general rule, candidates undertaking qualifications at SCQF level 1 and 2 are likely to require more support during the assessment process than candidates working at higher levels. For the sake of clarity, the type of qualifications that are available at SCQF level 1 and 2 include:

It is important that candidates working at level 1 and 2 are given as much support as they need to engage with learning, teaching and assessment activities while still maintaining the integrity of the qualification Outcomes and Assessment Standards. For example, in Practical Craft Skills National 2, the fundamental skills of the Course require learners to show the development of skills in the use of tools, equipment and materials. This means that practical helpers may provide an appropriate level of support to allow a candidate to demonstrate the required skills, for example, holding material steady etc.  However, the candidate and not the helper must demonstrate the required skills to meet the evidence requirements.

For every candidate, the support required will be different and the approach taken by centre staff may need to be tailored and specific to each candidate’s needs. This makes it very challenging to provide general guidance to centres, about providing support to candidates during their assessment, without being overly prescriptive.

We would encourage centres to retain clear records of the type and amount of support each candidate is given to complete their assessments at level 1 and 2, although the way in which such records are kept is for centres to decide. This is explained further in the final section of this guidance note (see section headed ‘Candidate Evidence’).