Schools and Colleges

Youth awards provide amazing learning experiences and outcomes for young people as they grow up in Scotland. The micro-credentials developed give young people skills which employers now value more highly than many formal academic qualifications, because it gives young people a rich narrative framework for demonstrating their strengths and talents that are useful in the workplace and in wider society. For learning providers it offers a tried and tested framework for experiential learning on a wide range of topics, themes, projects, research, adventures and more.

What can you do?

• Use the Award Finder to help your students identify the award(s) that might best suit their learning needs, interests or ambitions.
• Sign up to become Awards Aware and keep up to date with regular communications.
• Promote the value of youth awards within your education setting and celebrate young people's engagement in activities in their communities.
• Encourage your students to share information about their achievements and record them on their Pupil Profiles.
• Demonstrate to parents and wider stakeholders, the importance of wider engagement in positive learning experiences.
• Build local networks of support and connect young people into real world opportunities and pathways for training, qualifications and employment.

Youth awards should always be tailored to individual needs. Some have internal recognitions systems such as badges and awards. Many are levelled on the SCQF framework (from L2 to L7). This means that they carry the same currency as formal qualifications.  The Insight system gives them an international currency that individual students carry with them throughout their lives. 

Take the opportunity to broaden learning experiences within schools and community settings. 

Working with local partners in CLD and youth work can bring a host of resources, support and expertise for achieving wider success. Many youth awards can be done in tandem and lead to dual accreditation. There are often pots of funding and other resources available which can lighten the load for education providers and share the benefits of working together.