Our matwork teacher training course comprises 13 tuition days, followed by a period of teaching practice (supervised teaching), two multiple-choice written exams, and some self-study work (including two short essays).
The tuition days are a mix of theory and practical – these take place through live online sessions with our tutors on Zoom. Each day will typically comprise four hours (10am-12pm and 1.30pm-3.30pm), though some will run slightly shorter.
After you have completed the online modules we ask you to come to four Contact Days at our London Centre. You will be given a range of date options for these days which will cover content that can’t be properly covered online, such as group teaching teaching techniques. Contact Days typically run from 10am to 3.30pm.
We offer two course formats to help you best fit the tuition days into your work/life schedule:
Intensive, wherein the tuition element is taken in two blocks of six and seven days, separated by typically a three-week break
Extended, wherein the tuition element is taken in two-day blocks on Saturdays and Sundays spread over a period of two to three months. There is one three-day block including a Monday or Friday.
There is no difference at all in the content and delivery of each format. You end up in exactly the same place either way, so it’s purely a question of what format works best for you. If there is a particular course that you want to join but perhaps thee is one day when you know you can’t attend, we can usually give you a catch-up option by sitting in with another group.
The elements that follow – supervised teaching culminating in a teaching assessment; multiple-choice written examinations; self-study work – are all totally flexible and can be fitted around your own schedule. Please see the page on ‘Course Outline’ for more details.
Course Duration: Most students take between 6 to 12 months to complete the course, some longer. We recognise that most of our students are often fitting their training around full-time work or family commitments and that sometimes “life gets in the way” of the best-laid plans. The key determining factor in terms of timing is a student’s availability during the supervised teaching period and the progress they make during that time ( see Course Outline). We do everything we can to help our students move through the course as quickly and smoothly as possible and our Student Support Team is on always on hand to help and advise.
Course Outcomes: You will receive your Body Control Pilates Matwork Certification after successfully completing all elements of the course. This enables you to teach 1:1 sessions and group classes (up to 12 participants). You will also receive a certificate from PD:Approval, our external quality assurance company, confirming that you are accredited against the new UK standard laid down by The Society for the Pilates Method (SPM).
Well over 95% of our course graduates set up their own classes by, for example, renting a venue; working with other Body Control Pilates teachers; or teaching in local physiotherapy clinics or similar.
‘Level 3 Pilates’? If you plan to teach classes in a health and fitness club in the UK you may be asked to also hold a ‘Level 3 Pilates’ certificate. Whilst the requirements of ‘Level 3 Pilates’ are lower than those of the new SPM Standard, you will need to take a different anatomy exam and complete a couple of worksheets. We are very happy to offer you this additional certification – please contact us for more details. Your ‘Level 3 Pilates’ certificate will be awarded by Active IQ. There will be a small additional administration and registration charge.
The Body Control Pilates Association
Upon certification, you will be invited to join the Body Control Pilates Association (BCPA), Europe’s largest professional Pilates organisation with 1,500 teaching members. All members subscribe to a Code of Practice that governs professional ethics, teaching standards, class size (maximum twelve participants) and ongoing professional development. The BCPA provides a range of services for members and actively promotes their contact details. Teachers are only allowed to use the Body Control Pilates trademark in connection with their classes if they are a member of the BCPA and sign a licence agreement.
BCPA Members are automatically entitled to appear on the Register of Pilates Teachers, published by The Society for the Pilates Method (annual membership fee applies).
