Thank you for that info. I have looked at the UK Reiki Fed site and had a look at the NOS stuff. If you are interested, the NOS were developed as part of the VSR process initiated by the government. I was part of the group that formulated the NOS. There were two members from the UK Reiki Fed on the group also. Skills for Health provided two project managers to assist us and to take forward the NOS. At the moment, the NOS do not include a syllabus or core curriculum, it is still up to the individual teachers to formulate their own syllabus that prepares their students to meet the requirements of the NOS. I have ensured my level level 1 and 2 course meets the NOS requirements. I think having the NOS will encourage higher standards of Reiki teaching and will lead to better trained and better prepared Reiki practitioners.
Thanks for your input Omega1. I'm used to teaching to NOS, having been an FE teacher for the past 20 years! As to whether they will lead to "better trained and better prepared" Reiki people, I'm sceptical. They may well lead to "better trained and better prepared" holistic therapy practitioners who can more effectively work in a therapeutic practice, but Reiki is Reiki and will work whatever the level of training of the practitioner.
To illustrate this, when I knew that being a Reiki healer was what I was called to do, I also knew I needed to know "saloncraft" - how to work in a practice. Later that year I was given the opportunity to take the VTCT Holistic Therapies course, which gave me the knowledge I'd been missing. I don't think it makes the outcome of my Reiki treatment any better, but it does make me more confident as a therapist that I know what I'm doing. And as any therapist knows, if you look like you know what you are doing, your client will believe that you do!
I'm sceptical. They may well lead to "better trained and better prepared" holistic therapy practitioners who can more effectively work in a therapeutic practice, but Reiki is Reiki and will work whatever the level of training of the practitioner.
One of the things we had to ensure was that we were inclusive with the NOS. That meant we could not have any input into the actual 'Reiki' element of Reiki teaching, the only areas we were concerned with were to do with working safely and professionally as therapists. That is a good thing because it allows each style of Reiki to remain as it is in essence, but with the added elements of good therapeutic practise. I think for some Reiki teachers it may mean teaching two sets of courses, ones that comply with NOS aimed at potential therapists and ones as they are now for personal/family/friends use. I think preparing therapists for work with the public and medical establishment is a positive step and could go a long way to getting Reiki accepted by the greater population.