Civil Celebrancy Course

Course overview

A civil celebrant’s role is incredibly important. Clients entrust in them the planning and delivering of celebrations and services at the happiest and more difficult times in their lives. Civil celebrants are called upon to create and carry out a range of celebrations and ceremonies, from weddings, renewal of vows and naming ceremonies, to civil partnerships, memorials and funeral services.

As well as providing an in-depth introduction into the role of the civil celebrant and their responsibilities, this course will help you develop the important skills necessary to create and conduct civil ceremonies. You will learn about the origins of civil celebrancy, its development in recent decades and how to be successful in this growing profession.

Syllabus

Unit One
- Understanding Professional Civil Celebrancy in the UK
  - The Beginnings of Civil Celebrancy as a Profession
  - The Development of Civil Celebrancy in the UK
  - Celebratory Civil Celebrants and Civil Funeral Celebrants
  - The Role and Attributes of a Celebratory Civil Celebrant
  - The Responsibilities of a Celebrant
Unit Two
- Health and Safety Considerations for Civil Celebrants
  - Personal Risks Involved In Visiting Clients At Home
  - Procedure for Visiting Clients in Their Homes
  - Ceremonies in a Domestic Setting
  - Ceremonies at an Indoor (Internal) Venue
  - Ceremonies at an Outdoor (External) Venue
  - Funeral Ceremonies
Unit Three
- Valuing Equality and Diversity
  - Aspects of Equality
  - Legislation Relating to the Issues of Equality and Diversity
  - Organisational Bodies Working on Equality Issues
  - Aspects of Diversity
  - Stereotyping
  - The Social Benefits of Diversity
  - The Difference between Discrimination and Prejudice
  - Direct and Indirect Discrimination
  - Putting Equality into Practice
Unit Four
- Understanding Celebratory Civil Ceremonies in the UK
  - The Historical Background of the Different Types of Civil Celebration
  - The Development of the Registry Office System
  - The Impact of Social Changes on Naming and Couples’ Ceremonies
  - The Cultural Role of Civil Celebratory Services
  - Statutory and Non-statutory Ceremonies
  - The Limitations of Non-statutory Ceremonies
  - The Advantages of Non-statutory Ceremonies
Unit Five
- Planning and Delivering Celebratory Civil Ceremonies in the UK
  - Naming Ceremonies
  - Weddings
  - Civil Partnerships
  - Renewal of Vows
  - Commitment Ceremonies
  - Conducting Planning Interviews
  - Interview Techniques
  - Options for Civil Ceremony Choices
  - Enhancing a Ceremony
  - Maintaining a Professional Manner as a Celebrant
  - Strategies for Time Management
  - Working within the Limitations of a Venue
Unit Six
- Understanding the UK Funeral Industry
  - Key Organisations in the Funeral Industry
  - Key Staff within the Funeral Industry
  - Protocols within the UK Funeral Industry
  - The Characteristics of a Civil Funeral
  - The Definitions of Some Specific Terms Used in the Funeral Industry
  - The Process of Registering a Death
  - Some Useful Resources to Facilitate Understanding of the Funeral Industry
Unit Seven
- Working with the Bereaved
  - The Cycle of Grief
  - Denial
  - Anger
  - Bargaining
  - Depression
  - Acceptance
  - How Does Grief Impact on the Work of the Celebrant?
  - Appropriate Language and Tone When Dealing with the Bereaved
  - Arranging an Interview with a Bereaved Person or Family
  - How to Conduct the Planning Interview
  - Using Visual Aids to Demonstrate Funeral Ceremony Options
  - Appropriate Questioning Techniques
Unit Eight
- Creating and Conducting a Civil Funeral Service
  - Creating a Script
  - Converting the Delivery Script to a Presentation Script
  - Creating a Delivery Script for a Funeral
  - The Range of Funeral Service Options
  - Creating a Personalised Tribute (Eulogy)
  - Creating Tributes in Response to Unusual Circumstances
  - Components of a Typical Civil Funeral Service
  - Time Management
  - Delivering a Funeral Service in a Professional Manner

Practical training

No practical training is required to complete this course.

To complete the course, you will need to successfully:

Complete assignments at the end of each unit
Where required, demonstrate your learning by submitting recorded practical sessions (for example, a video of your session recorded on mobile phone or tablet) to show your competence in interviewing clients and delivering ceremonies and services in a professional, appropriate manner

Prerequisites

You do not need to have any additional qualifications before studying this course.

Level

On successful completion of this course you will have received professional training at level 4. This is ideal if you wish to start practising, or expand a career. Graduates of this course wishing to start their own practice can also obtain professional liability insurance. It has also been endorsed by the Quality Licence Scheme and graduates will receive the QLS Certificate of Achievement as above. This course has been designed by BSY to meet specific learners’ and/or employers’ requirements which cannot be satisfied through current regulated qualifications. The Quality Licence Scheme, endorses high-quality, non-regulated provision and training programmes.

Certification

On successful completion students will receive dual awards: Award 1- The professional BSY Diploma in Civil Celebrancy.

Award 2- Certificate of achievement at QLS Level 4 from Quality Licence Scheme. Registration through BSY is essential with this course.

How the course works

You can study in your own time, at your own pace and from the comfort of your own home. If you have any questions, or would like feedback or encouragement about your course or your studies then you can contact our friendly tutors by phone, email or post.

At the end of each unit there will be an assignment, which is submitted to your tutor for feedback. As you work through the course, you can build up a portfolio as evidence of your work. To achieve the qualification, you will need to successfully complete all units in the course. Where required, you will demonstrate your learning by submitting recorded practical sessions (for example, a video of your session recorded on mobile phone or tablet) to show your competence in interviewing clients and delivering ceremonies and services in a professional, appropriate manner.

Support

Your tutor will mark your lessons, giving valuable, constructive feedback - helping you to master each step before moving on to the next. You can contact them for support or advice throughout your studies.

You can also contact the support team who are here to help you Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

We are proud of our friendly, caring ethos and aim to do all we can to help you succeed.