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YMCA Level 2 Extended Technical Occupational Entry in Exercise and Fitness: Gym Instructor (Diploma) (610/4592/5)
YMCA Level 3 Technical Occupational Entry in Exercise and Fitness: Personal Trainer (Diploma) (610/3995/0)
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Determining level of demand
When designing our qualifications, we aim to produce content that targets:
This includes careful consideration of the action verbs used (e.g. Identify, describe, explain etc) against the requirements for occupational competence and our regulators’ levelling descriptions (see Ofqual levelling descriptors). However, the overall level of each unit is only determined after its content has been finalised.
The levelling descriptors use a hierarchical ordering of cognitive skills and allocates specific levels according to the depth/detail of:
The unit is then assigned the level which corresponds to the predominant levelling criterion used by its content.
Determining the size of a qualification
The size of a qualification (Award, Certificate, Diploma) is determined by the total qualification time (TQT) assigned to the qualification. TQT is an estimate of the total amount of time – measured in hours – that the average learner would reasonably need to be able to show the level of achievement necessary for the award of a qualification.
TQT is made up of the following two elements:
Guided learning includes:
It does not include unsupervised learning such as:
Our process for determining the level and size of a qualification
1. Independent review of the qualification content by two subject matter experts
Subject matter experts review the content within the qualification specification – with reference to their own experience, similar qualifications and the Ofqual levelling descriptors – to assign values for:
Often this activity is completed using members of the YMCA Awards team, who have a lot of experience teaching and assessing qualifications within health, exercise and wellness. We supplement the decisions from our internal team with external subject matter experts we call “Technical Contributors”.
2. Standardisation with Lead Quality Manager
All subject matter experts involved in reviewing GLH, TQT and levelling meet, along with our Lead Quality Manager/Quality Manager (also a subject matter expert). They discuss their guided delivery, independent study time and level of demand values. Where values differ, the subject matter experts explain the rationale for their decision.
The Lead Quality Manager/Quality Manager applies their knowledge of our centres to support discussion of the rationales to reach consensus on the appropriate values.
3. Sign off
The Responsible Officer reviews the evidence and justification for GLH, TQT and level of demand to confirm the correct process had been followed to reach the values.
Where evidence is sufficient to support justification of GLH, TQT and level of demand values, the judgements are confirmed as signed off.
4. Ongoing review
Once a qualification has launched, we collect feedback from our centres on level of demand, GLH and TQT to ensure that the values assigned remain appropriate. Feedback can come through surveys, as part of our external quality assurance process or through other interactions with our training providers.
Where feedback suggests that we have under- or over- estimated the level of demand, GLH or TQT, we review the qualification and make changes where this is appropriate to ensure our qualifications remain fit for purpose.
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MH1 Global is the mental health movement for health and fitness professionals, delivering face to face mental health awareness/first aid training, education courses, workshops and CPD courses. We’re excited to draw your attention to MH1’s latest workshop:
Menopause in the Workplace: Let’s get comfortable talking about the menopause.
Until recently, Menopause in the workplace wasn’t spoken about, but this is changing. MH1’s workshop aims to help people feel more comfortable discussing menopause, offering three perspectives: workplace, clinical, and self/others support.
Topics and areas covered in the workshop include:
Dr Nicholle Green, a specialist menopause doctor will be the guest clinician alongside fabulous menopause consultants June Potts and Amantha King who both have extensive experience in the workplace space.
Date: Wednesday 26th June 2024 9.45-15.45
Venue: University of Bolton Arena, Arena Approach, Horwich, Bolton. BL6 6LB
(Light lunch and refreshments included)
MH1 have kindly offered a special offer of £85 per ticket, a saving of £35 off the regular price to all YMCA Awards providers.
To take up this opportunity, complete this form.
Please feel free to share with your HR team/People Managers/Workforce Managers and any other relevant team members.
Menopause in the workplace has a huge bearing on the workforce for all staff, not just the female ones. We would therefore encourage all staff members to take up this exciting opportunity.
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In the briefing, we presented our plans for replacements to the current Gym Instructing and Personal Training qualifications. We also talked through the knock-on effect of updating these qualifications to other products in our portfolio.
We acknowledge there was strong feeling around some of the ideas we presented – particularly around the addition of content to reflect current employer demand. We have always prided ourselves on listening to the passion of our training providers. We are therefore reflecting on your feedback to consider any changes that may be required (including making some content optional) before we share the updated qualifications for more detailed consideration.
As we expect to amend our proposals, we will not be publishing the recording of the session. Instead, we are committed to:
These actions will take a few more weeks to organise and we appreciate your patience whilst we work to address the feedback provided. We look forward to sharing more information in the coming weeks.
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Where learners could previously complete kettlebell training and suspended movement training alongside their Personal Training qualification, learners now have the option to complete a group exercise discipline instead!
Our new personal training qualifications were designed to provide centres with options to support the needs of their learners and your feedback has made these changes possible. Please keep your feedback coming!
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Over the past 12 months, we’ve been working on an exciting project to reimagine our qualifications, with the aim of making assessment more relevant to the job roles learners will take on when qualified.
This doesn’t mean huge changes to content, but we’ve designed our next generation qualifications to reduce the assessment burden on centres and make it more engaging for learners.
We’re excited to share more information in the new year – sign up to join our online briefing at 12 pm Tuesday 10 January 2023.
In our last email, we asked customers to share their history with the YMCA, to support our preparation for our big 25th anniversary celebrations.
We’ve loved reading your stories so far but there is still time get involved. We know that many of our customers have a long history with YMCA Awards and would love to share quotes, stories and testimonials as part of our celebrations.
In whatever way we’ve impacted the lives of you or your learners we would love to hear from you. Either complete the form below or, if you’d prefer to speak to someone, get in touch using our usual channels.
Our availability will vary from normal over the festive period. The team will be available:
| Monday 19 December 2022 – Wednesday 21 December 2022 | 9 am – 5 pm |
| Thursday 22 December 2022 | 9 am – 3 pm |
| Friday 23 December 2022 – Monday 2 January 2023 | Closed |
| Tuesday 3 January 2023 | 10 am – 5pm |
From Wednesday 4 January 2023, our hours will return to:
| Monday – Thursday | 9 am – 5 pm |
| Friday | 9 am – 4 pm |
There are no scheduled outages of the XAMS platform during the festive period, but we recommend that you do not try to schedule onscreen or eProctored assessments whilst our team our unavailable.
If you’d like to run paper-based assessments between Friday 23 December 2021 and Tuesday 3 January 2022, please schedule and print the assessments as soon as possible.
Papers can be printed from XAMS up to 10 days before the assessment is due to take place. You must ensure that papers are stored securely to maintain their confidentiality.
From all of us at YMCA Awards, I wish you a Merry Christmas and I look forward to speaking with you in 2023!
Kind regards
Simon
Simon Titley
Head of YMCA Awards
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Level 3 Diploma in Performance Massage (610/0701/8)
Level 4 Certificate in Sports Massage Therapy (Soft-Tissue Dysfunction) (610/0736/5)
Fully endorsed by General Council for Massage Therapy (GCMT) and developed in association with The Association for Soft Tissue Therapists (SMA), these qualifications align with the latest National Occupational Standards (NOS).
Yvonne Blake Chair of SMA , vice-chair of GCMT said: “The SMA is delighted to see the lead that YMCA has taken in writing new qualifications that align education and the practical skills required in our industry with the National Occupational Standards.
Yvonne continued, “It became apparent during the pandemic that a level 3 qualification alone, does not allow for a practitioner to be classified as a healthcare professional and we therefore support the distinction between the two levels. For a therapist wanting to work as a fully-qualified Sports Massage Therapist, the Level 4 Certificate in Sports Massage Therapy (Soft Tissue Dysfunction) is essential.”
The Level 3 Diploma in Sports Massage Therapy will be replaced by YMCA Level 3 Diploma in Performance Massage which “provides a valuable steppingstone towards becoming qualified as a sports massage therapist and will allow the graduate to perform massage at a fundamental level on nonpathological tissue, perhaps as an adjunct to a personal training or gym session.”
The Level 4 Certificate in Sports Massage Therapy will be replaced by YMCA Level 4 Certificate in Sports Massage Therapy (Soft Tissue Dysfunction) which “meets all the knowledge and understanding and practical learning outcomes for the Sports Massage National Occupational Standards CNH27 when taken in conjunction with the YMCA Level 3 Certificate in Performance Massage which will enable a graduate to work in the industry as a sports massage therapist on pathological tissue.”
Aligned with the health practitioner membership requirements of Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC), options upon achievement include:
Simon Titley, Head of YMCA Awards said: “The release of new NOS (CNH27 Provide sports massage therapy to clients) has allowed YMCA Awards to address the confusion that has existed within the sector for some time. Often, learners with a Level 3 Sports Massage Therapy qualification find themselves ineligible for desirable sports massage therapy jobs as they are not qualified to treat any form of injury.
These qualifications replace the existing Level 3 Diploma and Level 4 Certificate in Sports Massage Therapy which will close for registrations in the 2023/24 academic year. Funding for the existing YMCA Level 3 Diploma in Sports Massage Therapy (601/5011/7) will run until 20 April 2023.
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YMCA Level 3 Award in Nutrition for Physical Activity and Exercise (610/2286/X)
YMCA Level 4 Certificate in Applied Nutrition for Health, Wellness, Weight Management, and Sports Performance (610/2287/1)
YMCA Level 4 Certificate in Advanced Nutrition for Health, Weight Management and Sports Performance (610/2694/3)
Dave Ireson, owner of Envisage Training in Sheffield, along with several of his learners were the first cohort to complete the YMCA Level 4 Certificate in Advanced Nutrition for Health, Weight Management, and Sports Performance, which contains content from the smaller L3 and L4 qualifications. The group completed the course over six full days of learning and assessment, and they shared their initial thoughts and feedback about their experience.
The L4 Nutrition course uses digital education platform Suada to make the learning process as flexible and accessible as possible. Dave said it allowed him and his students to go into greater depth on the topic in comparison to other online learning tools, including Y-Mark.
The qualification is broken up into learning and assessment modules, covering a variety of nutrition topics such as how to calculate detailed body fat measurements and sweat loss testing. It also includes a variety of thorough case studies, which the group especially enjoyed. Although they were challenging, the learners felt a real sense of accomplishment upon completing them and gained confidence to be able to complete similar tasks with their own clients.
Dave also mentioned that the course helped him gain “a much better understanding of nutrition overall and how it applies to different client goals, including health, weight management, and sports/activity.” He found the experience quite challenging, but in a good way. According to him, it pushes learners to work hard and in turn will truly prepare them for the challenges they’ll face in the real working world.
The L4 Nutrition course is designed for the learners who enjoy a challenge and are looking to gain solid understanding of advanced nutrition in the focus area. Due to the depth of the course, the group greatly benefited from having a tutor with a strong base of knowledge and daily hands-on work experience with clients to help them reach their health and performance goals. Dave’s main piece of advice for centres looking to deliver this qualification is to ensure they have a tutor with a wide base of knowledge but who also works directly with clients to reach their health and performance goals.
Once they completed the trial run of the course, Dave’s learners said they’re excited to continue their nutrition studies. Some will be immediately applying what they learned into their own business and client base; others are looking to continue their studies by moving on to a degree in nutrition.
We are looking forward to sharing more information with you about the YMCA Level 4 Certificate in Advanced Nutrition for Health, Weight Management, and Sports Performance as well as our other upcoming qualifications. If you have any questions or would like to discuss the L4 Nutrition qualification further, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
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To make this possible, we will need our centres to confirm the details of learners expecting results for progression at two points during the year:
We expect all YMCA Awards centres to engage with the timely results process, ensuring that full and correct information is shared by our deadlines. This is to prevent delays and implications for learners, and/or possible sanctions for your centre.
Qualifications in scope
We expect the centres delivering the following qualifications to share information on learners who are planning to progress to further or higher education.
| Qualification | QN |
| YMCA Level 3 Diploma in Exercise Referral | 600/4731/8 |
| YMCA Level 3 Diploma in Exercise Referral | 603/3103/3 |
| YMCA Level 3 Diploma in Gym Instructing and Personal Training (Practitioner) | 603/2921/X |
| YMCA Level 3 Diploma in Performance Massage | 610/0701/8 |
| YMCA Level 3 Diploma in Personal Training (Practitioner) | 603/2438/7 |
| YMCA Level 3 Diploma in Personal Training (Practitioner), Outdoor Exercise and Sports Conditioning | 603/3510/5 |
| YMCA Level 3 Diploma in Personal Training (Practitioner) in Indoor and Outdoor Environments | 603/3505/1 |
| YMCA Level 3 Diploma in Sports Massage Therapy | 601/5011/7 |
| YMCA Level 3 Diploma in Teaching Pilates | 600/4015/4 |
| YMCA Level 3 Diploma in Teaching Pilates (Practitioner) | 603/3855/6 |
| YMCA Level 3 Diploma in Teaching Yoga | 600/1227/4 |
| YMCA Level 3 Diploma in Teaching Yoga (Practitioner) | 603/3617/1 |
| YMCA Level 3 Extended Certificate in Spectator Safety Supervision | 603/7364/7 |
| YMCA Level 3 NVQ Diploma in Leisure Management | 600/1911/6 |
| YMCA Level 3 NVQ Diploma in Personal Training | 501/0158/4 |
We expect all other YMCA Awards qualifications to be out of scope of the timely results process, but welcome discussions with centres if they disagree.
Requirements for the term-time checkpoint (01 March 2024 and 25 March 2024)
At the term-time checkpoint, we’ll ask centres to provide the following information for all learners expecting a result to support progression in August 2024:
Centres will also need to provide contact information for a Senior Designated Contact (SDC). This is an Ofqual requirement and they will be our point of contact to ensure results information is available on or before results day. The SDC does not need to be the existing main centre contact for YMCA Awards, but must be contactable throughout July and August to support us to resolve any issues with issuing results on time.
Requirements for the final term-time checkpoint (03 June 2024 and 14 June 2024)
At the final term-time checkpoint, we’ll ask for confirmation of information shared during the term-time checkpoint including:
We expect the information for both checkpoints to be submitted through Y-Connect and we’ll be in touch nearer the time to confirm this process.
Key dates
| Event | Deadline |
| Term time checkpoint | 25/03/2024 |
| Final term-time checkpoint | 14/06/2024 |
| Final assessments must be completed by centres | 19/07/2024 |
| Completion of external assurance deadline | 24/07/2024 |
| Latest date for certificate claims | 02/08/2024 |
| Date of final certificates released to centres | 12/08/2024 |
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This strategic collaboration between our two organisations marks a significant milestone in addressing the aspirations of the 70% of individuals undergoing menopause who aspire to lead more active lives. In practical terms, this equates to approximately 9 million people in the UK seeking enhanced support and guidance on incorporating physical activity into their often-complex daily lives.
Together, YMCA Awards and UK Women in Action are creating a transformative qualification that promises to revolutionise the role of personal trainers in supporting and empowering individuals transitioning into menopause.
The qualification, YMCA Level 3 Award in Supporting Participation in Physical Activity: Menopause, is expected to launch in January 2024 and will equip personal trainers with a deep understanding of:
The Menopausal Experience
Personal trainers will explore the stages and effects of menopause, delving into the physiological and psychological impacts of decreasing hormone levels.
Overcoming Barriers
Menopause often introduces barriers to physical activity, particularly for individuals navigating the perimenopausal and post-menopausal phases. The qualification will provide personal trainers with insights into identifying health risk factors and considerations for training, ensuring the safety of their clients.
Empowerment Through Intervention
A critical aspect of this qualification is the introduction of interventions and strategies designed to offset the effects of menopause. These encourage individuals to engage in physical activity confidently and with the knowledge that they are being supported in their wellness journey.
This qualification will utilise YMCA Awards’ next generation qualification principles to empower learners to build strong links between knowledge and skills and prepare them for the real world. It will also utilise UK Women in Actions’ ‘Midlife-Friendly™’ approach, to redefine personal training, prioritising the well-being of women in midlife through effective communication and empathy.
Co-founder of UK Women in Action, Emily Walters, says, “We are delighted to be collaborating with YMCA Awards to reimagine personal training for women in midlife. This partnership underscores the importance of comprehending the nuances of midlife. It’s not merely a chronological milestone but a profound shift in a woman’s life. To truly support and empower these women, a holistic understanding of the whole journey is essential.”
This is just the start of our journey together and we look forward to sharing more information about our partnership in the coming weeks. If you are interested in or would like to learn more about the YMCA Level 3 Award in Supporting Participation in Physical Activity: Menopause, please click here to register your interest.
