The Society For The Pilates Method
FOUNDING MEMBERS:
The Society for the Pilates Method has been formed by some of the UK's leading Pilates teacher training providers.
We are committed to supporting excellence in Pilates education and teaching, and want to ensure that the full potential of Pilates is made accessible to the broadest range of clients.
Words from the Founders
Get In Touch
Whether you are a training provider, a Pilates teacher, or you have a general enquiry, we would love to hear from you.
Pilates Scopes of Practice currently in development
This update: January 2025
The Society for the Pilates Method (SPM) is currently developing 10 Scopes of Practice that reflect the different environments and applications in which the Pilates Method is taught to clients – whether in a studio, in a group class, or on a 1:1 basis.
Details of each Scope of Practice will be published shortly. Once finalised, these will be incorporated as qualification categories into the SPM Register of Teachers, so that it will be possible to see the Scopes of Practice in which each and every teacher on the Register is qualified, and to search for teachers by their Scope(s) of Practice.
The following Scopes are in development:
- Level 3 Pilates Method Matwork
- Level 4 Pilates Method Matwork
- SPM Pilates Method Matwork (‘Modern Apprenticeship’)
- Pilates Method Matwork adapted for Special Populations/Conditions
- Pilates Method Matwork adapted for Children and Adolescents
- Pilates Method Reformer (up to three clients)
- Pilates Method Group Reformer(four or more clients)
- Pilates Method Studio Apparatus adapted for Special Populations/Conditions
- Comprehensive Pilates Method Studio Apparatus
- SPM Comprehensive Pilates Method Studio Apparatus (‘Modern Apprenticeship’)
EMD UK, the recognised UK National Governing Body for Group Exercise, has already published Scopes of Practice covering Pilates-based ‘Fitness Pilates’ as taught within the mat and Reformer environments. Please see the June 2024 post below this for more details.
SPM to play a key role working with EMD on Pilates Scopes of Practice
Released June 13th 2024
The Society for the Pilates Method (SPM) is proud to be working closely with EMD, the recognised UK National Governing Body for Group Exercise, as part of the ‘Uniting the Movement’ initiative.
The outcomes of this project will provide greater transparency on a teacher’s or instructor’s qualifications; provide them with a route path to develop their skills and knowledge; allow the public to check on a teacher’s registered Scope of Practice (what they are qualified to teach); and help clubs to ensure that they are recruiting properly qualified staff.
This will be rolled out over the next 12 months and, for Pilates, will include 12 Scopes of Practice that reflect the different ways in which the teaching of the Pilates Method and the instruction of Pilates-based exercise is delivered today across matwork and studio apparatus.
The SPM has defined these Scopes of Practice in association with EMD and with input from PD:Approval, our quality assurance partner. More details will be released shortly.
In response to the recognised wider role that the SPM will play across Pilates in the UK, we will be implementing some key changes going forward in terms of the SPM Register of Teachers and Professional Membership for training providers.
One of the key aims of the SPM is to protect the integrity of the Pilates Method through the quality of education and teaching. This has not changed, and we will continue to emphasise the need for in-depth training if someone is going to be able to teach the Pilates Method to its full potential.
We recognise that Pilates is often taught in an adapted way for specific categories of clients and we want to reflect this in the new Scopes of Practice and in the SPM Register. We also recognise that there has been a massive surge in participation in higher intensity Pilates-based matwork and group Reformer classes and we will include these within the specific Scopes of Practice. We call these ‘Pilates-based’ as there is generally a limited connection to the fundamentals of the Pilates Method in these classes and in the training of the instructors who deliver them.
In conjunction with EMD, we have a busy year ahead but look forward to providing a unified and inclusive voice for Pilates in the UK – and to ensuring the best outcomes for everyone involved. As part of this, the SPM’s Directors took part in EMD’s panel session at Elevate in June 2024, where the focus was on how ‘Uniting the Movement’ will impact on the Pilates sector. We will continue to provide regular updates.
Calling All UK Pilates Training Providers!
Professional Membership of the SPM is open to all UK-based training providers who currently offer Pilates Matwork or Comprehensive (matwork plus studio equipment) training, and who are willing to adapt their programmes to be recognised against the SPM’s standards. Accreditation against the SPM standards demonstrates both a commitment to quality and to protecting the integrity of the Pilates Method.
We will be posting a ‘Getting Started’ pack here very shortly. In the meantime, you can download an Application Form or email us for more details.
The SPM Register of Teachers: New categories on the way!
The SPM already represents around 2,000 Pilates Teachers. From Autumn 2024, the SPM Register will welcome applications from individual Pilates teachers holding a ‘Level 3 Pilates’ qualification. This comes ahead of a wider expansion of categories on the SPM Register of Teachers, linked to the newly-defined Scopes of Practice that will become the reference for Pilates qualifications.
SPM Director, Leigh Robinson, said “This is a key next step in the Society for the Pilates Method becoming the natural home for UK-based Pilates teachers. Demand for Pilates is booming, so it is critical that the SPM reinforces the importance of quality in teaching in and education and, in doing so, that it represents the interests of Pilates professionals and gives them a voice.”
In due course you will be able to download a Register Application Form from the Register page on this site. In the meantime, please email us for more details.
Is your Reformer Pilates class safe?
The SPM shares concerns expressed recently in the international media (including the Times (UK) and Channel 7 News (Australia)) about an increasing number of injuries sustained in high-intensity Reformer classes with a large number of participants, compounded by class teachers often having only attended a short training course. These classes are essentially Pilates-based with only a limited connection to the Pilates fundamentals and teaching principles, but the reputation and integrity of the Pilates Method risk being undermined by them. The new Pilates Scopes of Practice being introduced in 2025 will look at how best to support the education of class instructors to ensure maximum benefits and safety for all participants. More details will follow.
Pilates in the UK: A Brief History
Much has changed since Alan Herdman first started teaching Pilates in the UK in 1969. The attached History timeline, created by Jonathan Grubb, details key milestones during the first 40 years as Pilates went from relatively obscurity to widespread recognition.