EMCC supervision and CPD: what to arrange and what to record

Every EMCC Global Individual Accreditation applicant has to evidence three things beyond their practice hours: continuing professional development, reflective learning, and ongoing one-to-one supervision (EMCC Global EIA page, checked 11 September 2026).

Ordinary attendance at a group or peer session does not establish the required individual supervision. EMCC allows an exceptional, case-by-case group arrangement, described below.

The current numbers

CPD figures come from the "EIA Guide to Applying – Criteria" document linked from the EIA page (© March 2024, annual review April 2025, V1.1). The supervision figures come from that document together with EMCC Global's Supervision Information Document (© EMCC Global, June 2026), which states a "minimum of four hours of individual supervision per year". Requirements checked on 11 September 2026; application V1.13 confirms the quarterly hour and the Senior/Master ratio.

The 35:1 ratio is stated for experienced practitioners and is the measure used for Senior Practitioner and Master Practitioner applications. Do not treat it as a universal calculator for every applicant.

Working through the arithmetic: at 35 practice hours to one supervision hour, 140 hours of practice in a year corresponds to four hours of supervision, and 280 hours corresponds to eight. The quarterly minimum sits underneath that, so a low-volume year does not collapse into a single annual session.

Use the current EMCC criteria and application when planning CPD, rather than relying on a training company's summary.

What supervision is for

EMCC UK defines supervision as "a safe space for reflective dialogue with a practising supervisor, supporting the supervisee's practice, development and well-being", and gives it three purposes: maintaining professional standards, developing the supervisee's practice, and supporting their well-being (EMCC UK, Supervision FAQs, checked 11 September 2026).

The FAQ is EMCC UK guidance. The numerical application requirements above come from EMCC Global's documents.

EMCC UK also lists what supervision can cover beyond individual client cases: ethical dilemmas, developing as a reflective practitioner, personal strengths and development areas, well-being and psychological health, competence and professional identity, and the direction you want your practice to take. If your supervision sessions only ever review cases, you are using part of the space.

Individual, group and peer supervision

EMCC UK describes three common formats.

Individual supervision. A practising supervisor, "ideally trained and accredited", meets you one to one. EMCC UK is direct about accreditation: "When working towards accreditation, the EMCC requires you use this form of supervision because it guarantees individualised attention for the practitioner."

Group supervision. More than one supervisee, led by a practising supervisor. EMCC UK notes the advantage, which is that you get the group's input as well as the supervisor's.

Peer supervision groups. The group supervises itself, with no designated supervisor leading it. EMCC UK says it works best when participants have some training in supervision skills.

EMCC Global's June 2026 Supervision Information Document sets out the one narrow exception. Individual attention received within a group can be considered, but it is exceptional, decided case by case, and requires the group supervisor to confirm that four hours of individual supervision took place. A self-led peer group does not by itself document the individually supervised hours required for that exception. If you intend to rely on individual attention within a group, ask EMCC about the arrangement.

So arrange the individual hours. Treat a group or peer arrangement as something you do as well, and log it as what it is.

Choosing a supervisor

ESIA accredits individual supervisors; ESQA accredits supervision training programmes. EMCC Global's June 2026 document sets out who can supervise an EIA applicant: a Senior Practitioner coach or mentor, or equivalent, who has completed supervision training, or an accredited supervisor. A supervisor without ESIA accreditation needs equivalent standing, at least 120 hours of supervision practice, and supervision training equivalent to an ESQA programme, including a minimum of 100 hours of training. The document also requires adherence to the Global Code of Ethics.

Equivalence is judged against your application. A colleague describing themselves as a supervisor is not evidence of eligibility, and neither is a job title. Ask directly what accreditation and supervision training they hold, and confirm with EMCC Global if you are unsure whether it will be accepted for your route.

EMCC UK's selection criteria are a useful conversation to have on top of the eligibility question. It suggests a supervisor who is accredited and experienced as a coach or mentor, who is currently being supervised themselves, who trained in an accredited supervision programme, who can explain a theoretical framework for both their own practice and for supervision, who is committed to CPD for themselves and their supervisees, and who agrees to abide by the Global Code of Ethics.

Two questions worth asking before you commit to a supervisor:

• What accreditation and supervision training do you hold, and who supervises you?
• How do you want us to work, and what will you give me in writing that I can use as supervisor feedback in an application?

The EIA application asks for supervisor feedback, so agree how you will receive it at the start of the relationship.

If you do more than one kind of work

EMCC UK recommends that a practitioner delivering more than one form of work needing supervision raises the annual minimum from four hours to eight. It names the combination: coaching, mentoring, team coaching, supervision and organisational development interventions.

EMCC UK phrases that as a recommendation, and it is regional guidance rather than a stated Global application threshold. If you coach and also supervise, ask EMCC Global what your application needs before you assume four hours is enough.

CPD that is worth logging

Choose learning that answers something you have noticed in your practice or your supervision, then record what you did with it.

The CPD log asks for date, hours, type and competence areas. The application adds the learning focus and reflections. A fictional entry that fills that last column properly:

22 April 2026. 3 hours. Webinar on three-way contracting with organisational sponsors. Contracting and managing the relationship. I now agree what will and will not be shared with the sponsor before the first session rather than at the review meeting, after a supervision conversation about a case where that had gone wrong.

Compare that with "attended webinar, 3 hours", which records attendance and nothing else.

Keep the four records separate

Client hours, CPD, supervision and reflection are four categories with four sets of evidence. No rule permitting one activity to be counted in two categories was found in the documents reviewed. Keeping them separate is the safe default, and it also makes the totals easier to reconcile when you assemble the application. The EIA evidence checklist keeps the four logs side by side.

Supervision itself generates reflection: where five reflections are required, the application includes one on supervision. Recent validated education or credentials may change which items you submit; check the applicable exemption. Recording the supervision hour in your supervision log and the learning from it in your reflection is not double-counting. It is the same session producing two different kinds of evidence.

Before you rely on these figures

CPD schedules, supervision ratios and supervisor eligibility rules all live in documents that get revised. Open the EMCC Global EIA page, download the current criteria and supervision documents, and check their version dates against the ones quoted here. If your supervisor's standing or your mix of work is unusual, ask EMCC Global about your specific level and route before you build a year's schedule around an assumption.

Related guides: EMCC EIA levels and routes · Coaching accreditation explained.

Sources

• EMCC Global EIA and EIA application V1.13: ongoing supervision, quarterly hour, Senior/Master ratio and evidence requirements. Checked 11 September 2026.
• EIA criteria V1.1, © March 2024, annual review April 2025: CPD 16/16/32/48 and level-specific supervision. Checked 11 September 2026.
• EMCC Global Supervision Information Document, June 2026, pp. 4–5: individual annual floor, exceptional group arrangements, supervisor qualifications, 120 practice hours and 100 training hours for non-ESIA supervisors. Checked 11 September 2026.
• CPD Log and Supervision Log: record layouts. Checked 11 September 2026.
• EMCC UK Supervision FAQs: definition, formats, selection guidance and regional four-to-eight-hour recommendation. No visible revision date; checked 11 September 2026.