Tracy Levy, (FCIMSPA Chartered). Fellow Chartered Senior Practitioner What does this mean?

What is it and why did I do it?
How can I explain the Chartered process?

CIMSPA, the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity, is the professional development body for the UK’s sport and physical activity sector workforce. 

To stand confidently alongside doctors, teachers and health professionals, we need to demonstrate the same rigour, standards and governance. Professional status gives us that common language of credibility and it allows us to collaborate on equal terms. As an elected Trustee at CIMSPA, I witnessed the creation of Professional Status. I can see that the purpose of the process is fundamentally based on practitioners’ need and desire for recognition in a sector where we are often just considered ‘an exercise teacher’ or ‘coach’. 

Professional Status does what it says on the tin- it shows that we are professional practitioners,  progressing via both CPD and experience from being newly qualified through advanced to senior levels. 

Chartered Status 
CIMSPA is the only professional body in the UK that provides chartered status for the sport and physical sector. (CLICK HERE). Chartered status is a mark of distinction awarded to those who meet the sector standards with qualifications and experience that underpin their multiple areas of expertise and outstanding competencies.

A Chartered member will have demonstrated true excellence, innovation and impact within their field, delivering excellent outcomes for clients while also creating a significantly positive impact on the sector. Individuals can only be issued with a level of Chartered status upon completion of the Chartered assessment process.

Chartered Senior Practitioner is the highest level of professional status available. It shows that you are delivering an outstanding, specialised service to your clients and are leading the way in influencing positive change in the sector.

The Chartered process involves several key steps:

1. Application Submission: I was hesitant in applying, but after what is best described as a ‘triage’ conversation, my application was evaluated against the high criteria for Chartered Status and accepted.
2. Portfolio Creation: After approval, I needed to create a portfolio evidencing my knowledge, skills, and impact. As practitioners, we deliver all components in the sector standards while keeping everyone safe, including those with disclosed and undisclosed conditions. We employ risk stratification so everyone works within their individual protocols, supporting participants' mental and physical well-being and watching for safeguarding issues. We pick the music and deliver the exercises and teach with a multitude of Apps running in the background, but all the participants see is their teacher delivering a class they enjoy and benefit from. Unlike managers, researchers and business owners I did not have a portfolio of projects or testimonials or  photographs to use, so I had to create all of my evidence from scratch. 
3. Assessment. This assessment was not about delivering a class plan to pass an exam, but rather demonstrating, with evidence, how I professionally plan, assess, monitor, and implement my exercise programmes, and how I develop my classes, teaching style, and methodology. 

 
How did the assessment ‘work’?
There are three units, each with 3 criteria, taken over a period of 6 months and provides the opportunity and time to pause and critically reflect every aspect of teaching, delivery and professional practice. Candidates are assessed by a senior sector specialist assessor via a presentation or professional discussion.  After the presentation the assessor asks questions, dives deeper into your thought and delivery processes and questions your intentions and outcomes. 

Unit 1: planning exercise programs and planning for change.
I had to demonstrate how I professionally design and plan my two distinctly different classes, for different audiences and different scopes of practice. I had to justify my approach, how it has evolved and reflect and evaluate how it has impacted my delivery and explain why I discounted other approaches. 

Unit 2: Highlighting my impact- the opportunity to critically reflect on my professional practice and to evidence the significant and sustained impact I have on my clients. 
Building on Unit 1, I had to go deeper into my professional delivery methods, explaining how I assess participants' readiness to exercise and how I monitor their well-being. I showed how I professionally plan and deliver participant-centred classes that are fit for purpose, and the impact my practice has on participants, especially those who, for many reasons (health, medical conditions, etc.), might not otherwise take part in any other physical activity and show the value of my classes beyond physical exercise.

Unit 3: Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and Lifelong Learning.
I was required to evidence, evaluate, and reflect on the last 5 years of CPD; however, with records going back 10 years, I could show how my CPD informs my practice and my participants' exercise experience. 

The presentations were recorded and sent, along with the evidence, for internal verification and then to the Board for approval.

At the end of the process, having successfully passed all 3 Units (9 criteria), I was awarded Chartered Fellow Status as a Senior Practitioner (FCIMSPA Chartered), the highest professional status awarded by CIMSPA.
 
The outcome? Why all the effort?

How does being awarded the title of Fellow and Chartered Status make me feel?
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I am just a local teacher. Why do I need to do all of this?
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Professional status is becoming more important and my badge of achievement - Fellow  Senior Practitioner - demonstrates my level of training, CPD and lifelong learning.
The Chartered process shows that I completed the CIMSPA Senior Chartered Practitioner assessment process, demonstrating my extensive experience and sustained positive impact on the sport and physical activity sector. My practice withstands the rigour of professional assessment, enquiry, and analysis, and my investment in CPD and lifelong learning enables me to be the best teacher I can be, and benchmark myself alongside other professionals within the sector.

Being accepted and passing was not a rite of passage; it was something I thought was for those who own and run gyms and work in rehab clinics, had published papers and created exercise brands. Through a thorough and comprehensive deep dive into 25 years of teaching, professional practice, and CPD I feel as if I have passed the final dissertation at the end of a 25-year Master’s degree. Everything I have done and experienced has brought me to this point. 
It is not as an add-on or nice thing to have- it is the pinnacle of my teaching career.