To become a full member, you will need to have qualified with one of our accredited training providers.

Please complete the membership application and send it to our membership secretary or if you have been trained by another training provider, contact our membership secretary for details of how you can become a full member.

Click here to download the membership application form

The guild is the professional body that unites positive-touch teachers in the UK

Join the GICM and make a difference

Individual Membership

A Professional Body for Qualified Teachers of Positive Touch

Setting the standards for the safe, professional practice of positive touch and developmental movement with infants, children and young people

The GICM encourages professionalism delivered with sensitivity.  The infant massage and baby yoga teachers and the massage in education facilitators have privileged access to parental/infant and child holistic well-being and have the opportunity to be of influence. Therefore, these practical skills have to be safeguarded and enfolded in professional, well trained and competent hands.

The GICM is the self-regulatory body for positive touch teachers and facilitators in the United Kingdom.  The committee is committed to working towards raising the standards of courses and practice within the UK and is actively lobbying parliament in order to maintain these standards.

The GICM offers membership to teachers of positive touch in relation to the nurturing of a child’s holistic development and well being.

Types Of Membership

Full Membership is offered to those individuals that have qualified with and graduated from a GICM accredited training provider and receive full membership benefits.  There is an annual subscription, of £35 which is renewed 1 April each year.  See conditions below.

Student Membership is offered to those individuals that are currently studying with a GICM accredited training provider.  The annual subscription is £20, however, once qualified, student members will automatically be upgraded to Full Membership status upon receipt of certificate of qualification, copies of insurance certificate and CRB disclosure.  This will be at no extra cost to the member if application is sought within the year of applying for student membership. Thereafter conditions are as for full membership.  See conditions below.

Honorary Membership is offered to those individuals that are positive touch teachers, but have not qualified with a GICM accredited training provider.  Also, individuals or professional bodies who are not directly involved with positive touch teaching, but who make a contribution to supporting the work of positive touch in its role to enhance child and family well being.  Honorary membership costs £20 per annum. See conditions below.

Professionals currently accepted for membership are:

• Infant Massage Teachers
• Baby Yoga Teachers
• Massage in Education Facilitators (peer-to-peer)
• Music, Movement and Rhyme Teachers

Benefits Of Being A Member

The GICM supports its members by giving them the opportunity to be part of an organisation dedicated to supporting the professional and appropriate facilitation of positive touch teaching.  Membership offers:

• The opportunity to belong to a network of people with similar interests
• Affiliation with a professional body that sets high standards
• Attendance at conferences, study days and workshops at a greatly subsidised rate for professional development and networking
• Voting rights and decision making at the AGM (full members)
• The informative quarterly newsletter – Connections
• Use of  the GICM logo on promotional material (full members)
• A referral system, providing the general public with contact details of teachers in their area (full members)
• Networking opportunities with other members on an open chat web forum
• The opportunity to partake in committee work and further the objectives of the GICM (full members)
• Access to the support the GICM committee/professional council offer
• The opportunity to express ideas and opinions by contacting the committee and writing to the Newsletter
• Sharing of good practice, experiences and possible research outcomes so that other members may gain from your professional expertise
• The opportunity to get involved with Government policy, local forums and other professional groups (full members)

Conditions Of Membership

Requirements for Full and Student Membership are as follows:

• That you hold (or are working towards) an acceptable qualification in Anatomy and Physiology or that it is part of your course acceptance criteria
• That you abide by the GICM Code of Ethics
• That you pay an annual subscription fee
• That if teaching privately you have adequate indemnity insurance, those working in the public sector may be insured by their employer; we advise members working in these fields to confirm their insurance status with their employer
• That you endeavour to participate in continued professional development by engaging in appropriate skill acquisition
• That you accept that the Membership Certificate issued by the GICM is the property of the Guild who can exercise the right for it to be returned if membership conditions and Code of Ethics are not adhered to
• That you obtain a CRB disclosure (self-employed practitioner only – see information below)

Honorary Membership

Honorary Members benefit from all of the entitlements of being a Full Member, apart from

1. Having a right to vote on Guild matters
2. Displaying their contact details on our referral list
3. Advertising themselves as qualified or accredited members

Honorary members do not need to hold a qualification in positive touch teaching as they are not permitted to promote themselves as a qualified member.

Scale Of Membership Fees

Our membership fees are calculated from 1 April  - 31 March on a pro-rata basis as follows:

These will be reviewed in April 2010.

Criminal Records Bureau Disclosure

As the professional role of infant massage teacher requires you to be in contact with children, the GICM feels it is necessary for full members to obtain a Standard Disclosure through the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB).

This does not apply to Health and Childcare professionals who have already gone through this
process in their professional capacity.  

However, if you are a self-employed practitioner then you will have to obtain the CRB Disclosure through our ’Umbrella’ organisation Due Diligence Checking Ltd. 

 Tel:                       or E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

We do not accept Disclosures older than 3 months.