What CPD recognition with EMD UK looks like in practice

When HFE launched a new Reformer Pilates training course, Managing Director Lee Cain knew a robust CPD recognition process was essential. Here he explains why EMD UK was his clear choice.

At EMD UK, CPD recognition is designed to do more than approve learning. It exists to support training providers, protect instructors and raise standards across group exercise by ensuring continuing professional development is safe, credible and fit for purpose.

When Lee Cain, Managing Director of HFE, took HFE through CPD recognition with EMD UK for the first time, his experience offered a clear example of how the process works in practice and why its structure and depth matter.

Why CPD recognition, and why EMD UK?

HFE is a long-established training provider, delivering CPD and regulated education across the fitness sector for many years. For Lee, CPD recognition is not about external validation for its own sake, but about working with a governing body whose values and standards aligned with his own. 

“When I saw EMD UK’s Scope of Practice for Reformer Pilates,” he explains, “it dealt with a lot of the issues that we were already dealing with.” In particular, EMD UK’s focus on clarity, scope of practice and professional integrity reflected HFE’s own concerns about consistency and quality across the sector.

This alignment was especially important given the nature of the training being recognised. HFE was seeking CPD recognition for its Reformer Pilates training course, and Reformer is a format that demands high levels of competence, oversight and responsibility from training providers. For Lee, that made the quality of the recognition process non-negotiable.

A process that is robust by design

From the outset, the CPD recognition process was clearly structured and thorough. Documentation, mapping, assessment criteria and quality assurance processes were all explored in detail. For HFE, this was a positive experience.

“Actually, for us, it was really easy, because all we had to do was share what we already had,” Lee says. HFE already had schemes of work, lesson plans, assessment frameworks, tutor standardisation and learner resources embedded as standard practice. For training providers who are less experienced, this level of rigour provides a supportive framework from which to build high-quality training. 

What Lee appreciated most was the depth of engagement behind the paperwork. “They asked the right questions,” he notes, “and that gave me confidence that they were looking for the right things as well.”

This is a key part of EMD UK’s approach. CPD recognition is not simply about whether content exists, but how it is delivered, assessed and supported in real-world group exercise environments.

A CPD recognition pathway that is supportive, not superficial

A common misconception about CPD recognition is that it is either purely bureaucratic or unforgiving. But, at EMD UK, we pride ourselves on supporting providers through the process, and as Lee advises:

“If you engage with the process, you can learn so much from the people who are actually going through the quality assurance with you.”

For newer or smaller providers, this process is designed to guide organisations through expectations, highlight gaps where they exist and help providers strengthen their delivery, rather than simply issuing a pass or fail.

When CPD recognition leads to real improvement

One of the most valuable outcomes of CPD recognition for HFE was not the approval itself, but the insight gained through discussion. Even where criteria were met, EMD UK encouraged deeper reflection on how systems were working in practice.

“Even just in discussions we’d be asked ‘have you thought about this?’ ‘Do you do that?’ and that sparked ideas for me in terms of how we can improve the product for tomorrow.” advises Lee, highlighting learner feedback as a clear example: HFE already collected detailed evaluation data, particularly quantitative scoring across different elements of the learner journey. However, EMD UK prompted further consideration of how qualitative feedback was reviewed and used.

“We did collect it,” Lee explains, “but we weren’t really coding it or spotting themes.” Those conversations led to internal changes, including more structured analysis of qualitative feedback and clearer mechanisms for acting on emerging patterns.

This kind of outcome sits at the heart of EMD UK’s CPD recognition ethos. The process is intended to raise standards not only at the point of approval, but over time, through continuous improvement.

Genuine regulation, that’s more than a tick-box exercise

Having worked with multiple regulatory and quality assurance bodies, Lee is well placed to compare experiences. He recognises that some processes can feel like “a box-ticking exercise.” In contrast, he says, CPD recognition with EMD UK felt purposeful.

“Some value came out of it,” he says. “I could see the point of it.” That sense of meaning matters, particularly in a sector where quality assurance should directly impact safety, professionalism and learner outcomes.

What CPD recognition is really for

At EMD UK, CPD recognition is not about outcomes alone. It is about collaboration, shared responsibility and raising the bar across group exercise education.

Lee summarises this mindset clearly:

“Don’t focus on getting qualifications. Focus on what you can become along the journey.”

For training providers considering CPD recognition for the first time, this experience demonstrates that EMD UK’s process is robust without being rigid, supportive without diluting standards, and designed to help providers deliver better CPD, not just prove that they do.

And that is exactly what CPD recognition should achieve.

Thinking about CPD recognition?

If you are a training provider delivering continuing professional development for group exercise instructors and would like to explore CPD recognition with EMD UK, get in touch.

Whether you are an established organisation or newer to the process, CPD recognition can help you:

• demonstrate quality and credibility
• align with sector standards and scope of practice
• give instructors and employers confidence in your learning
• strengthen your internal systems and delivery over time

To find out more or to start a conversation about CPD recognition, contact us today.