Regulatory Requirements

New Regulatory Principles 2021

We consulted on the draft Regulatory Principle changes towards the end of last year and have since worked through all the feedback to produce the final revised version.

Our Accreditation Committee approved our revised Regulatory Principles on 27 April 2021.

We have produced a ‘We asked, You said, We did’ document which we hope also sets out how we have listened to your feedback in finalising the Regulatory Principles. Details of the results of the consultation can also be found within this document.

We have now published the new RPs and there will be a period of transition from the old principles to the new principles, which will be six months in duration. Where awarding bodies are scheduled to be audited in this financial year, they can choose to be audited against the old 2014 version of the principles or the new 2021 version of the principles up to 31 October 2021.

After 1 November 2021, all future planned audits will be against the new RPs.

The regulatory requirements consist of:

Accreditation Licence
Regulatory Principles
Regulatory Directives

The Accreditation Licence, Regulatory Principles and Directives are intended for use by:

existing awarding bodies to ensure ongoing compliance
new organisations seeking approval as an awarding body
awarding bodies seeking accreditation of qualifications
providers delivering SQA accredited qualifications

What is the Accreditation Licence?

The Accreditation Licence is an agreement between SQA Accreditation and the approved awarding body. The purpose of the licence is to detail the terms and conditions of the arrangement.

What are the Regulatory Principles?

Our Regulatory Principles have been designed to encompass the five key principles of better regulation to ensure that we are transparent, accountable, proportionate, consistent and targeted in carrying out our regulatory duties.

The Regulatory Principles define the standard which awarding bodies must meet in order to be compliant. Awarding bodies must decide what evidence they want to provide in order to demonstrate how they meet these principles. The Regulatory Principles document includes supplementary information exemplifying how you might choose to meet the principles.

What are the Regulatory Directives?

The Regulatory Directives have been developed to define the mandatory requirements which awarding bodies must meet in order to be compliant.

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