Purpose and Audience of the old NRA

Launched in 1991 originally for the school sector, the National Record of Achievement (NRA) was designed to help people summarise and communicate their achievements and aspirations at key points in their lives. The NRA also provided a structure around which to plan for the future.

All young people were entitled to leave school with an NRA and most schools encouraged and provided guidance for its use.

Reasons for Change

It had become increasingly apparent that the NRA could be a useful tool to support all individuals in personal, academic and vocational areas of their lives. Consultation following the Dearing Review of 16-19 qualifications in England and Wales recognised this, and it was recommended that the NRA should be reviewed, restructured and relaunched to support individuals throughout lifelong learning.

The NRA was reviewed during the winter of 1996 and a report of the review was published in January 1997. The report recommended that a new National Record of Achievement should be a system for people of all ages - from secondary school onwards - to record their achievements, analyse and record their progress, and to plan their future. It should be the source from which they can draw information for applications for jobs, training, college or university places as well as for career development interviews, appraisals and other opportunities.

An implementation plan was drawn up in 1997 with a pilot to trial new materials and approaches,

with a new name 'Progress File'. The evaluation of these was used to support the development of the revised format and new guidance materials designed to support individuals at all stages of their learning.

Outline of Pilots, Evaluation and Case Study Resource

51 Schools, 22 Colleges, 15 Employers / Trainers, 3 Community Education Centres took part in piloting the new materials and completed evaluations and case study reports.

The external consultants who were responsible for evaluating the pilot completed reports which included conclusions and recommendations. The majority of these recommendations were taken on board when the guidance materials were rewritten.

Also, as a result of the pilots and the case study reports, 4 case study resources have been produced for Schools, Further Education, Employers / Trainers and Community Education. Each resource contains an introduction to Progress File, the guidelines that were given to the case study writers, a selection of case studies and exemplar materials used in the pilot, and a summary of the evaluation findings.

Introduction to New Materials