The Credit and Qualifications Framework for Wales: a qualitative review of its impact

Main findings

• Stakeholders generally have good levels of awareness of the CQFW and its goals.
• The CQFW is strongly embedded in certain sectors, notably higher education and adult and community learning where it is closely aligned with qualifications outcomes and organisational standards.
• Stakeholders from all sectors considered one of the main impacts of the CQFW to have been its role in allowing for greater recognition of prior and informal learning through the Quality Assured Lifelong Learning pillar.
• However, there was widespread opinion among stakeholders that, despite the aims and ambitions of the CQFW, it was not being used in practice as much as had been hoped across the education and employment sectors.
• The large majority of stakeholders from across all sectors support the continuation of the CQFW and its embedding at the heart of the ongoing design, delivery and use of qualifications in Wales.
• For the large majority of stakeholders the design and content of the CQFW was largely satisfactory. Its flexibility and adaptability was seen as a key current strength and something to build on.

Background

The CQFW was formally adopted by the Welsh Government in 2002 and launched in 2003. Its implementation phase has run from 2003-2014.  It is an over-arching structure designed to provide greater clarity on the qualifications system and includes higher education, regulated qualifications and quality assured lifelong learning.