Now in its 15th year of operation, awarding organisation Active IQ continues to go from strength to strength, supporting the industry with new initiatives and resources
(Left to right) Managing director Jenny Patrickson with Laura Sheasby, James Clack and Sarah Edmonds from the Active IQ team
Fifteen years ago on June 27, 2003, Norman Basson started a business called Premier IQ (PIQ). He opened his doors with one qualification and two members of staff.
Fast forward to 2018 and that business is now known as Active IQ and today the organisation has grown to offer 103 qualifications and employ 54 staff.
“The physical activity sector has changed dramatically in the last 15 years," says Jenny Patrickson, Active IQ managing director. "The diversity of services has never been better, the demands on training providers have never been so great and the scrutiny of graduates has never been more intense.
“Active IQ is constantly evolving to meet the needs of the industry and our 360-degree vision takes in everyone from learners, trainers and training providers to employers," she says, "We're also fully committed to educating and supporting the physical activity industry, by offering far more than just qualifications.
"We're assessing and examining learners and training providers and driving forward initiatives such as the Skills Hub, End-point Assessment (EPA), Professional Recognition Service and our Professional Career Development Service," she explains.
Skills Hub The Active IQ Skills Hub (activeiq.co.uk/skills-hub) offers a wealth of resources and comprehensive support to employers, approved centres and learners, allowing them to enhance their skills.
The Hub is divided into seven key areas for ease of navigation: qualification launch pad; continuing professional development; graduate tool kit; funding and policy; chief medical advisor; business and marketing tool kit and marketing tool kit. Each is a rich source of knowledge in the form of tip sheets, downloadable resources and links to webinars, videos, vlogs and blogs.
“The aim of our Skills Hub is to impart expert knowledge to support organisations and learners, and upskill around teaching, learning, funding, apprenticeships and traineeships,” says Patrickson. “Our senior management team shares its expertise alongside independent experts to create a wealth of knowledge that covers training, education, medical matters and marketing.”
End-point assessment Active IQ is one of the first EPA organisations to be approved by the Register of End-point Assessment Organisations for the physical activity sector. Its team of EPA experts ensures focused support is given to employers, apprentices and training providers, while its unique apprentices’ toolkit and employers’ toolkit helps apprentices and employers navigate the changing landscape of apprenticeship delivery and assessment.
Professional recognition The Active IQ Professional Recognition service enables organisations to display a professional kitemark for their own non-regulated training programmes.
It covers a wide range of training programmes of varying length with different content and delivery methods. Training providers and employers meeting the dual-kitemark standard are also recognised as CIMSPA skills development partners.
“New training concepts keep our industry fresh and challenging, but it’s essential that new programmes are scrutinised with care and supported where necessary to fine-tune their delivery,” says Patrickson. “Our Professional Recognition Service ensures all new products and programmes can be brought to market with complete confidence.”
Professional Career Development The Active IQ Professional Career Development service enables individuals to progress to the next stage of their career by developing their knowledge and understanding of teaching, assessing and internal and/or external quality assurance.
With many more learners seeking to gain Level 4 qualifications, Active IQ has now added additional Level 4 technical qualifications to its offer, helping trainers and assessors stay at the forefront of the industry.
The Professional Career Development service trains trainers in these areas:
• Active IQ Level 3 Award in Education and Training
• Active IQ Level 3 Award in Understanding the Principles and Practices of Assessment
• Active IQ Level 3 Award in Assessing Vocationally Related Achievement
• Active IQ Level 4 Award in Understanding the Internal Quality Assurance of Assessment Processes and Practice
• Active IQ Level 4 Award in the Internal Quality Assurance of Assessment Processes and Practice
• Active IQ Level 4 Award in Understanding the External Quality Assurance of Assessment Processes and Practice
• Active IQ Level 4 Certificate in Education and Training
• Active IQ Level 4 Certificate in Advanced Personal Training
• Active IQ Level 4 Certificate in Strength & Conditioning
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Now in its 15th year of operation, awarding organisation Active IQ continues to go from strength to strength, supporting the industry with new initiatives and resources
(Left to right) Managing director Jenny Patrickson with Laura Sheasby, James Clack and Sarah Edmonds from the Active IQ team
Fifteen years ago on June 27, 2003, Norman Basson started a business called Premier IQ (PIQ). He opened his doors with one qualification and two members of staff.
Fast forward to 2018 and that business is now known as Active IQ and today the organisation has grown to offer 103 qualifications and employ 54 staff.
“The physical activity sector has changed dramatically in the last 15 years," says Jenny Patrickson, Active IQ managing director. "The diversity of services has never been better, the demands on training providers have never been so great and the scrutiny of graduates has never been more intense.
“Active IQ is constantly evolving to meet the needs of the industry and our 360-degree vision takes in everyone from learners, trainers and training providers to employers," she says, "We're also fully committed to educating and supporting the physical activity industry, by offering far more than just qualifications.
"We're assessing and examining learners and training providers and driving forward initiatives such as the Skills Hub, End-point Assessment (EPA), Professional Recognition Service and our Professional Career Development Service," she explains.
Skills Hub The Active IQ Skills Hub (activeiq.co.uk/skills-hub) offers a wealth of resources and comprehensive support to employers, approved centres and learners, allowing them to enhance their skills.
The Hub is divided into seven key areas for ease of navigation: qualification launch pad; continuing professional development; graduate tool kit; funding and policy; chief medical advisor; business and marketing tool kit and marketing tool kit. Each is a rich source of knowledge in the form of tip sheets, downloadable resources and links to webinars, videos, vlogs and blogs.
“The aim of our Skills Hub is to impart expert knowledge to support organisations and learners, and upskill around teaching, learning, funding, apprenticeships and traineeships,” says Patrickson. “Our senior management team shares its expertise alongside independent experts to create a wealth of knowledge that covers training, education, medical matters and marketing.”
End-point assessment Active IQ is one of the first EPA organisations to be approved by the Register of End-point Assessment Organisations for the physical activity sector. Its team of EPA experts ensures focused support is given to employers, apprentices and training providers, while its unique apprentices’ toolkit and employers’ toolkit helps apprentices and employers navigate the changing landscape of apprenticeship delivery and assessment.
Professional recognition The Active IQ Professional Recognition service enables organisations to display a professional kitemark for their own non-regulated training programmes.
It covers a wide range of training programmes of varying length with different content and delivery methods. Training providers and employers meeting the dual-kitemark standard are also recognised as CIMSPA skills development partners.
“New training concepts keep our industry fresh and challenging, but it’s essential that new programmes are scrutinised with care and supported where necessary to fine-tune their delivery,” says Patrickson. “Our Professional Recognition Service ensures all new products and programmes can be brought to market with complete confidence.”
Professional Career Development The Active IQ Professional Career Development service enables individuals to progress to the next stage of their career by developing their knowledge and understanding of teaching, assessing and internal and/or external quality assurance.
With many more learners seeking to gain Level 4 qualifications, Active IQ has now added additional Level 4 technical qualifications to its offer, helping trainers and assessors stay at the forefront of the industry.
The Professional Career Development service trains trainers in these areas:
• Active IQ Level 3 Award in Education and Training
• Active IQ Level 3 Award in Understanding the Principles and Practices of Assessment
• Active IQ Level 3 Award in Assessing Vocationally Related Achievement
• Active IQ Level 4 Award in Understanding the Internal Quality Assurance of Assessment Processes and Practice
• Active IQ Level 4 Award in the Internal Quality Assurance of Assessment Processes and Practice
• Active IQ Level 4 Award in Understanding the External Quality Assurance of Assessment Processes and Practice
• Active IQ Level 4 Certificate in Education and Training
• Active IQ Level 4 Certificate in Advanced Personal Training
• Active IQ Level 4 Certificate in Strength & Conditioning
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of strength training a week may deliver some of the biggest long-term health rewards.
The UK's four Chief Medical Officers have published a refreshed edition of Physical activity
guidelines: UK Chief Medical Officers' report, updating the evidence that underpins the nation's
physical activity recommendations and placing greater emphasis on strength, balance, reducing
sedentary behaviour and, for the first time, supporting people taking weight loss medications.
Places Leisure has exchanged contracts to build and operate a flagship £60m water and leisure
destination on behalf of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.
The Republic of Ireland will become the latest market in PureGym’s expanding international
portfolio, with the first launch planned for Dublin in 2027.
Anytime Fitness opened more than one club a day in 2025 and is on track to maintain this rate
of growth this year, as parent company Purpose Brands targets further international expansion.
The £33.9 million Leighton Leisure and Community Centre has opened in Leighton Buzzard, UK,
creating a next-generation public leisure, health and wellbeing hub for the local community.
Walnuts Leisure Centre in Orpington, in the London Borough of Bromley, has reopened following
a £17m transformation designed to secure the long-term future of the public leisure asset and
reposition it as a community wellbeing hub.
The Gym Group, has announced that it's sustained positive trading momentum has continued
through the first half of 2026 and the company remains confident about the outlook.
Panatta brought together four of the most influential figures in bodybuilding history on the
stage of RiminiWellness 2026: Phil Heath, Lee Haney, Ronnie Coleman and Hany Rambod. [more...]
Active Blackpool is deploying Cornerstone Connect, a new digital interface allowing
disparate information from multiple systems to be aggregated into one dataset, to support
its focus on reducing health inequalities and improving healthy life expectancy. [more...]
