Latest news
New time limit for REPs' provisional membership
The Register of Exercise Professionals is to change the way provisional membership will be used in the future.
From 1 January 2006, provisional membership will last for one year only, timed either from acceptance to the Register or, for existing provisional members, from the next re-registration.
At present there are a number of reasons why provisional entry will be given, but they all mean that at the point of first registration, the person could not demonstrate adequate compliance with the technical criteria used by the Register to grant full entry.
Having provisional entry does not prevent that member from working nor from obtaining insurance, but employers and members of the public must be made aware of their status.
From 2006, several options will be available to allow provisional members to convert to full status and the REPs' team will be contacting individual members to outline the best plan of action for their particular circumstances.
The main groups affected are:
The assistant instructor category of level 1 who are currently unqualified but will be under close supervision by another qualified and registered exercise professional. Level 1 members should complete at least a level 2 qualification within the next year. Level 1 members will not, in the future, be given a registration certificate. They do not need to have public liability insurance cover, nor a CPR certificate, nor to complete CPD as this is achieved through the gaining of a level 2 qualification in exercise and fitness.
For members holding some level 3 categories (units), but where their principle qualification is only at level 2, they will need to complete the level 3 advanced instructor theory paper examination. This especially applies to members who have completed an exercise referral qualification, but were level 2 instructors. From 1 january it will not possible to take an exercise referral qualification unless already registered at level 3.
Members with overseas qualifications (not recognised through reciprocal arrangements with other registers) should complete either the level 2 or 3 theory paper exams depending on their level of provisional entry. For non-UK qualified instructors wishing to join from 1 January - see below.
Graduates who are currently registered with provisional entry should supply references from two members of the Register at level 3 who will need to testify to this member's competence, when re-registering (i.e. having completed a minimum of one year professional practice - 1,200 hours of contact time). For new graduates wishing to join from 01.01.2006 - see below.
For all other members who have been given provisional entry they will need to complete either the level 2 or level 3 theory paper examinations, depending on their current level of entry, and within one year of re-registration. This especially applies to those who have provisional status because they hold older qualifications.
“When the Register was first set up there were no national standards for qualifications for many disciplines and we had little or no guidelines on how to compare the standards of training providers,” said REPs Registrar Cliff Collins.
“Because of this, a large number of our members could only be offered provisional status while consultation processes, like those for yoga and pilates, went ahead. However, now we have a greater framework of reference the need for provisional membership is diminishing.”