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NAFD News
Monday 4th - Wednesday 6th July 2022
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In July 2022, the NAFD will host its second, exclusive three-day residential Summer School at St Chad’s College, Durham University, with the renowned anthropologist and theologian Professor Douglas Davies.
Designed to support professional development and inspire blue-sky thinking about the future of the funeral sector, the second NAFD Summer School will build on the themes of ritual, bereavement and the future of funerals, with topics including poetry, grief and remembrance, changes in funeral practice and alternative forms of disposal, including resomation.
Professor Douglas Davies trained in Anthropology (Durham and Oxford) and Theology (Durham) and is now Professor in the Study of Religion and Director of the Centre for Death and Life Studies, at Durham University and a regular on BBC Radio 4.
Professor Davies holds Oxford’s higher doctorate D.Litt., and an honorary doctorate from Sweden’s Uppsala University.
He is an elected Fellow of The Academy of Social Sciences, The Learned Society of Wales, and The British Academy.
His books include:• The influential Death Ritual and Belief, first published in 1997, with a third edition published in 2017; • Mors Britannica: Lifestyle and Death-Style in
Britain Today (2015); • Natural Burial (with Hannah Rumble, 2012); • Emotion, Identity and Religion (2011); • The Theology of Death (2008); and Professor Douglas Davies
• The Encyclopaedia of Cremation (with Lewis
Mates, 2005).
His Brief History of Death (2005) has been translated into numerous languages, including Greek and Japanese.
Professor Davies is a regular contributor to discussions on death ritual and belief in the media, considering the topics from religious, theological, health and welfare, public policy, historical and social science perspectives.
Get ready to book
Places will once again be strictly limited to 30 delegates. This year, the NAFD will be offering residential and non-residential options. Places on the 2022 Summer School are priced at £395 for the seminars and evening meals only and £545 for bed and breakfast, seminars and evening meals.
Professional Development: NAFD’s newly accredited funeral directing programme earns promotion in title
Newly accredited by OneAwards as equivalent to a Level 4 Higher National Certificate, or the first year of a foundation degree, the NAFD has secured confirmation that the qualification formerly known as the Diploma in Funeral Directing should bear a higher level title and so will be known as the Level 4 NAFD Higher Funeral Directing Programme. To ensure consistency, students who successfully complete the course will continue to earn the title of ‘Diplomate in Funeral Directing’ and so will still be able to use the post-nominal DipFD after their name. OneAwards, which delivers learning accreditation services on behalf of NOCN, one of the UK’s leading Awarding and Apprenticeship Assessment Organisations, has accredited twelve of the new DipFD learning units at Level 4. The accredited units are: • Funeral Directing within a Commercial
Environment • Standards of Professional Practice and
Premises • Maintaining and Monitoring Health and
Safety • Care, Preparation and Presentation of the Deceased • Managing Communication • Bequeathal • Repatriation • Burial at Sea • A Funeral for more than one Deceased • Final Planning prior to Conducting the
Funeral • Manage and Conduct the Funeral • Exhumation of Human Remains This is another important milestone in the development of the NAFD’s suite of qualifications. During 2022, there will be further work to develop the DipFD syllabus, learning materials and assessments to make sure all aspects of the course requirements meet level 4 standards. Karen Van-Richardson, Director of Education and Development said: “This is welcome confirmation of the enhanced value of the new, accredited course to students and employers. The old Diploma
in Funeral Directing was broadly equivalent to a Level 3/AS Level in England, whereas the L4 DipFD is more comparable to the first year of a university foundation degree course or Higher National Certificate, due to the number of credits available to students following successful completion. Similar standards apply in the other home nations, but qualification levels are different. “The new title for the qualification ensures that students are recognised for achieving the higher levels of knowledge and understanding in their work as funeral professionals – but without losing the post-nominal of Dip FD which we know is a much valued tradition for NAFD students.” Higher National Certificates are designed to meet the needs of employers and are developed in partnership with colleges, universities and industry. They provide both practical skills needed for a career and the theoretical knowledge an employer will expect candidates to possess and are broadly equivalent to the first year of a foundation degree course.
NAFD Lifetime Achievement Award 2021 was Nigel Lymn Rose, Company Chairman of A.W. Lymn
SEIB and the NAFD launch search for 2022 Lifetime Achievement recipient
For the second year running, SEIB Insurance Brokers has joined forces with the National Association of Funeral Directors to celebrate the dedication that goes into being a funeral director.
The winner of the SEIB and NAFD Lifetime Achievement Award 2022 will be announced at the SEIB Awards luncheon this summer.
SEIB’s Deputy Chairman, Barry Fehler, said: “We are humbled to be supporting this award. Funeral directors play such an important role at a time when families are grieving. The dedication and expertise of funeral directors in helping others, particularly through some very challenging times in the pandemic, have been truly second to none.”
The public are invited to put their nominations forward for the funeral director they would like to see recognised for their longstanding achievements in and for the profession.
Nominations are now open for the 2022 SEIB and NAFD Lifetime Achievement Award at
www.seib.co.uk/lifetime-achievement. The nominating window will close at 5pm on the 30th May. The winning funeral director will be announced at the 2022 SEIB Awards luncheon.
The winner of the inaugural SEIB and NAFD Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021 was Nigel Lymn Rose, Company Chairman of A.W. Lymn. The Family Funeral Service. Nigel has over 50 years’ experience in the funeral industry, and his name as the first on this award has set an exceptionally high standard to follow for this year’s recipient.
The SEIB Awards began in 2018, and will be running for the fifth time this summer. The Awards have been set up to celebrate excellence across several of the industries that SEIB provides specialist insurance cover for. At the SEIB Awards, in addition to the SEIB and NAFD Lifetime Achievement Award, ten charities will benefit from a total of £50,000 in the SEIB Charity Awards.
Always known for ‘putting something back’, SEIB is a commercial business with a charitable purpose. The company insures numerous charities and not for profit organisations.
To find out more please visit: www.seib. co.uk/lifetime-achievement.
The NAFD team evolves to meet the challenges ahead
NAFD Chief Executive Jon Levett has begun the process of reshaping the Association’s small team around the challenges of the future.
The foundation of the NAFD’s planning is its bold five-year strategy, which is designed to ensure that the NAFD delivers unrivalled support, services and professional development for its members; builds on its wide network of stakeholder relationships; champions a national conversation about funerals and bereavement; and shapes the policy environment in which the sector operates.
Jon’s first move has been to create a senior team, responsible for internal and external leadership of the key areas of the NAFD’s strategy: member services and support, education, and policy and public affairs. The senior team will drive the NAFD’s delivery across events, education, member benefits and support, policy development, communications, complaints, finance and government relations – and much more.
The senior team is comprised of Rachel Bradburne, previously policy and public affairs manager, who becomes Director of Policy and Public Affairs in recognition of the important leadership role she plays in campaigning, stakeholder and policy development. Karen Van-Richardson, who is the architect of the Assocation’s new Education Framework, expanded range of qualifications and new online CPD learning hub, becomes Director of Education and Development and the team is further strengthened by the appointment of a new Commercial Director, Elaine Walder, a seasoned trade association insider with a track record of delivering member services,
systems improvement and commercial growth in both not-for-profit and private organisations – including the NHS Federation, the National Housing Federation, and the Confederation of British Industry.
Jon also continues to be supported by Wordsmith Communication on strategic communications activity and planning.
Said Jon: “Since my arrival, three and a half years ago, the NAFD has essentially been on a war footing – dealing with the first CMA market investigation, and then the pandemic and the enforcement of the Funerals Market Order.
“We are a very small team of staff and it’s a great achievement of this team that the NAFD is often assumed to be much bigger than it actually is! However, for far too long, we’ve been working at full pelt to support members during a very difficult and uncertain period and, although the external affairs agenda for 2022 is already huge, it is time for us to return to a more proactive, strategic and measured way of working that will enable us to properly deliver on the challenges of the future for our members.
“In Rachel, Karen and Elaine - and supported by Wordsmith as our strategic communication advisors - I have a strong senior team who can lead and develop the Association’s daily activity; enabling me to devote more time to engaging with members, building partnerships with key stakeholders, shaping the long term policy agenda and developing new opportunities for the Association.”
It’s time to register for NFE 2022!
Friday 10 – Sunday 12 June 2022, Stoneleigh Park
The anticipation and excitement for the 2022 National Funeral Exhibition, now just a couple of months away, is building – with thousands of visitors already booked to attend the show.
A respected global platform for the funeral profession and the largest trade show for the sector in the UK, NFE 2022 will showcase the latest, innovative products – inspiring thought leadership and business networking opportunities to 4,500+ funeral sector professionals.
Suppliers as diverse as vehicle fleets, coffins, caskets, professional equipment suppliers, printing and stationery companies, online memorial services, charities and business advisory firms will be hosting bold and eyecatching stands, demonstrating equipment and showcasing the latest products and skills and services for funeral businesses.
There’s a focus on the visitor experience for the 2022 show, to make sure a trip to the NFE is enjoyable and productive from start to finish. New for NFE 2022, will be the NFE Dining Club: an outdoor food court, surrounded by a tempting range of food stalls offering speciality pizzas, traditional fish and chips, handmade burgers and more – plus an ice-cream vendor in the hope of some early summer sunshine – to ensure there’s something for every taste, whether you’re grabbing a quick break or meeting a prospect for lunch.
Join the thousands of others getting ready for NFE 2022. The website is open to reserve your complimentary ticket. Visit www. nationalfuneralexhibition.co.uk today.
