FAQs regarding the School of Civil Celebrancy

It is very important to choose a course that leads to a nationally recognised qualification, awarded by an awarding body. We offer nationally recognised qualifications from the National Open College Network (NOCN), formerly known as the Open College Network (OCN).

The number of Celebrants has increased greatly over recent years due to an increased demand for our services and the increase in courses available.  At the School of Civil Celebrancy, we strive to drive up and maintain the quality standards of our services, making us measurable and giving our clients reassurance that our services exceed their expectations at the important milestones in life.

The Wedding and Funeral industry operates to high professional standards and at the School of Civil Celebrancy. We believe each Celebrant should meet the same standards.

As Celebrants, we love what we do, we are good at what we do and we want to feel proud to be part of an industry with exemplary standards.

Taking the external qualifications is to pursue continued improvement and take personal responsibility for exemplary standards in your practice.

This depends on the level of qualification taken, your experience as a working Celebrant and the time you are prepared to commit. We allow you:

NOCN Level 3 certificate in Civil Celebrancy – six months

NOCN Level 3 Diploma in Funeral Celebrancy – ten months

NOCNLevel 3 Diploma in Naming and Family Celebrancy – ten months

NOCN Level 3 Diploma in Funeral Celebrancy and Naming and Family Celebrancy – twelve months

To complete each course you enrol on but this can be completed quicker.

Please note that you must log into the Learners Portal within 60 days; otherwise, the portal will mark your course dormant. Please see the Booking Terms and Conditions for further information. No attendance is needed to complete this course.

All the training team at the School of Civil Celebrancy are fully qualified, holding the NOCN Level 3 Certificate in Civil Celebrancy, NOCN Level 3 Diploma in Funeral Celebrancy, NOCN Level 3 Diploma in Celebrancy: Naming & Couples Ceremonies along with teaching, assessing and IQA qualifications. We are also members of the AOIC which is the Association of Independent Celebrants and follow the Celebrant Accord. 

It is extremely important that the information you give us is complete and correct. If you require any help with learning, this needs to be declared at the time of booking. If you have an Educational Report Statement or an Educational Health Care Report/Plan, outlining your learning needs, this needs to be submitted prior to starting the course, so that the relevant help and support can be discussed and put in place. If we are not able to facilitate your requirements, we will work with you to help try find a suitable training school which will be able to facilitate your requirements.

No all our courses are assessed my portfolio of evidence, made up of written assignments and vocational effidance.

We operate a system of continual assessment, monitoring your progression throughout your course.

Diplomas focus on a specific subject but typically cover this topic in greater depth than certificates. There is noting wrong with a certificate but the diploma is the higher qualification. 

If English is not your first language and you feel that you may have difficulties understanding parts of the course, please discuss this with us prior to the course so that we can help to make it as beneficial as possible for you. Please note that all training material is produced in English.

Certification will be posted to you once you have completed your course and the assessment process has been completed and that NOCN are satisfied that all learning outcomes have been reached. 

The School of Civil Celebrancy doesn’t produce trading manuals. We have an every growing resource section within our Learners portal. We do however recommend the Complete Celebrant Handbook by Han Hills. This is great resource and starts from £9.99.

The School of Civil Celebrancy started teaching learners in 2023. The team however have many years teaching experience and working within the education system and also 26 years of ministry and celebrancy experience. We have become well known for our standard of education and celebrancy training during this time. For us, a training school, we are incredibly passionate that every learner meets their full potential to become the best celebrant they can be, with the best qualification they can have.

Over the years we have won awards for our education standards and the service we offer our learners. Our training team are handpicked because they have shown the qualities we believe make them good tutors. Each tutor must have a minimum of three years of experience in the modality they are teaching.

During your time with us, we make sure that all learning outcomes have been reached comfortably, ensuring that you have the confidence to deliver the modality you are studying. 

Here at the School of Civil Celebrancy , we believe in not rushing your course. You will see some training providers offer a level 3 qualification 2 weeks. We allow you ten months to complete your course

It is important that when you are studying that you are learning and understanding what you are doing and not just learning to pass an assessment.

The NOCN Level 3 Certificate in Civil Celebrancy in the UK is designed to provide learners with an understanding of the profession of civil Celebrancy. Learners will gain knowledge and skills relating to the creation and conduct of both civil funeral services and distinct celebratory civil ceremonies.

The qualification will provide learners with an opportunity to:

• Understand the cultural relevance of civil Celebrancy in the UK.
• Know the role of professional celebrants.
• Gain the knowledge and skills required to be able to create and conduct civil funeral services and distinct celebratory ceremonies.
• Achieve a standalone qualification that offers recognition of practical skills and theoretical knowledge.
• Progress onto the NOCN Level 3 Diploma in Funeral Celebrancy or the NOCN Level 3 Diploma in Celebrancy: Naming and Couples.

The NOCN Level 3 Diploma in Funeral Celebrancy is designed to provide learners with the skills, knowledge, understanding and competencies required to become a self-employed Funeral Celebrant.

• The qualification will provide learners with an opportunity to:
• Develop a comprehensive understanding of the UK funeral industry.
• Utilise sensitive verbal and written communication techniques.
• Create and deliver a suitable funeral script.
• Understanding health and safety issues relevant to funeral ceremonies.
• Recognise and respond appropriately to diversity and inclusivity challenges related to the creation and delivery of a funeral ceremony.
• Understand and be able to advise regarding funeral ceremony choices.
• Understand the structure and content of both civil and secular funerals.
• Develop necessary business management and IT skills.

The NOCN Level 3 Diploma in Celebrancy: Naming and Couples is designed to provide learners with the skills, knowledge, understanding and competencies required to become a self-employed Naming and Couples Celebrant.

The qualification will provide learners with an opportunity to:

• Develop a comprehensive understanding of the framework in the UK surrounding naming and couples’ ceremonies.
• Understand the structure and content of both naming and couples’ ceremonies.
• Be able to offer advice and guidance regarding available ceremony choices.
• Be able to plan ceremonies with clients.
• Create and deliver suitable naming and couples’ ceremony scripts.
• Manage ceremony venues.
• Understand relevant health and safety issues.
• Recognise and respond appropriately to diversity and inclusivity challenges related to the creation and delivery of ceremonies.
• Develop necessary business management and IT skills.

We now offer the Dual Diploma option for best value and flexibility in your chosen career.

We don’t currently offer the Level 4 Funeral Celebrancy qualification. Whilst we fully encourage CPD, in fact we believe it is a vital part of professional Celebrancy, we also recognise that different celebrants have widely different development needs. We acknowledge that our diverse celebrant colleagues work in a variety of ways and have a multitude of specialisms. To incorporate all these wonderful, advanced and specialised attributes into one Level 4 qualification would be unworkable! So we can see that necessarily the Level 4 qualification has had to limit the advanced training to a few key areas.

There might not be a qualification available for your chosen specialism or for the area in which you are developing. Individual study via reading, training, mentoring and multi-media resources can be used to achieve the required level of skill or knowledge. As an NOCN accredited organisation, we recommend that you maintain a log of your ongoing professional development including dates, methods and summary of learned content. This way all learners are able to upskill using the learning method most suitable to their learning style.

The Level 3 Diploma in Funeral Celebrancy remains the best qualification in which you demonstrate your skill as a fully rounded funeral celebrant. It’s challenging, even for experienced celebrants. Once achieved, celebrants are confident they are highly qualified and have reached a level of expertise that far exceeds the Certificate in UK Celebrancy.

Established celebrants will find themselves gravitating to a certain niche, specialism or ways of working. Some choose to specialise in specific rituals. Others offer beautifully handcrafted stationary and mementos as part of their standard service. Some write their own poetry.

Some choose not to offer baby funerals (this can often be due to deeply personal reasons). Some work in teams or partnerships, playing to their strengths. These are just a few examples and they may not be for every celebrant. As long as Funeral directors and bereaved families receive an excellent service, we believe celebrants should work in their own unique way.

In our view, the Level 4 qualification is currently on-the-one-hand necessarily limited, but on the other too disparate. For advanced CPD, we would prefer to see a wider range of specialisms available from which celebrants may choose 4 or 5 to achieve the qualification. This would recognise a far broader range of gifts, talents and chosen specialist areas.

It would also allow for celebrants who work in partnerships or teams to concentrate on improving their specific skill set and / or niche.

With the possibility of future regulation for funeral celebrants, it is important that the recognised highest standard for a rounded funeral celebrant is the Level 3 Diploma in Funeral Celebrancy, and that the celebrant industry remain united on this point to avoid splintering into a profusion of niches.

The Level 4 qualification will suit some celebrants as their next step for CPD however, it is not for everyone and remains one option. There are a plethora of others to suit experienced, Diploma qualified funeral celebrants.

The School of Civil Celebrancy are not currently a CPD training organisation however we will keep this under review.