ukactive launches The Active Standard for facility operators

Industry body, ukactive, has officially launched The Active Standard (TAS), a new certification aimed at unifying and raising standards within the physical activity sector.

TAS has been designed for all operators – private, public and independent – and is a baseline certification aligned with the industry’s existing standard schemes, FITcert and Quest.

To achieve The Active Standard, operators are assessed by a third-party assessment body against strict criteria, covering requirements for health and safety compliance, professional standards, safeguarding measures and data protection.

Certification lasts three years before re-assessment is required to ensure standards are maintained.

TAS will complement both Quest and FITcert, providing a new entry route and pathway through the standards world for many operators, while reinforcing the commitment of those further along in their journey. Plans for The Active Standard were first announced at the Active Uprising Conference in 2020, where Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson set out a commitment from ukactive to drive improvement and professionalism across the sector.

Since then, the standard has been tested with a representative sample of operators during a multi-year pilot, assessed by Right Directions, to ensure the certification works for organisations of all types and sizes.

The pilot included a cohort of sites developing musculoskeletal health programmes (MSK hubs) to demonstrate that high standards can support the integration of our sector into health care pathways with the NHS.

Development of The Active Standard syllabus has been supported by ukactive’s Standards and Legislation Committee, which has helped scrutinise the criteria.