March 2017

 
Welcome to the latest edition of the Institute Update
 

A very warm welcome to our newest members:

Tracy Ward, Lynn Parker, Amanda Bode, Carolanne Waters, Elaine Skinner, Sue Lawther-Brown, Gillian Philips, Nicky Greenacre, Chris Knight, Faith Cross, Carol Burgess, Georgina Bartlett and Vivian Drake.

Council Matters

Last week we had a very productive council meeting and we were very pleased to welcome Viv O'Neill who brought her vast experience to the discussions. If anyone would like to join us at a council meeting please let Barbara know (barbara@iocf.org.uk) - everyone is welcome.

We are always looking for new members, so if you are able to spare a day once a quarter please let a member of Council know.

The next Council meeting is on Tuesday 23rd May starting at 10.15.

 
Insurance

The Institute's financial situation remains very good, and so we are hoping to be able to offer IoCF members professional indemnity insurance alongside the public liability insurance already included as a membership benefit.

This is something that funeral directors will appreciate, I'm sure, and is another benefit of belonging to the institute. More details as we have them.

 
Seminar Day - Saturday 8th April

You will have seen on Facebook notification from Barbara of the seminar day at Beaconsfield - Greenacres Chiltern is a very beautiful place so please come and join us. Further details will be sent separately.

 
'Simple' Funerals

Funeral Directors are under increasing pressure to offer 'simple services' at a reduced cost; it is becoming apparent that celebrants are also thinking of ways to reduce the amount of work involved in producing a ceremony to enable them to offer their services at a reduced price too.

Whilst your charges are, obviously, your business, can I remind you that you should not at any time compromise the ethos of the IoCF in 'setting the national standard'.

It is against the code of conduct to offer services without a family visit (although we do recognise there are some occasions when meeting a family is not always possible). Suggesting to families that they can choose from a template of set options would breach copyright as CCL template materials are not to be republished. There will be occasions where families are in real hardship and celebrants will be asked to reduce their fee but Council's suggestion would be to take this on a case by case basis rather than offer a one fits all 'simple service'.

There are parts of the country where Funeral Directors will only use an IoCF member because the Institute stands for best practice and this is the message which will be emphasised in articles for the trade press. It is becoming a very competitive market for civil funerals and it is important that IoCF members stand out.

 
Goodbye

Finally, it is with great sadness that we say goodbye to Jo Donlevy who is retiring as a Civil Funeral Celebrant. Jo has been a committed member of the IoCF and will be greatly missed not only locally by her colleagues but at IoCF events too. Her contribution to discussions was always very welcome. We wish her the very best for the future and many relaxing days to look forward to.

 
Karen Hopkins
Chairman
 

 
Admin
 

Easter Closing

The office will be closed from 5pm on Thursday 13th April until 9am Tuesday 25th April. The phone lines will be covered. In case of emergencies please contact Karen Hopkins on 07757 795364.

Usual office hours are 9-5 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Occasionally days may alter due to scheduled meetings.

 
National Funeral Exhibition 9th-11th June

The National Funeral Exhibition at Stoneleigh Park is taking place from 9th-11th June. This is always a great experience and a very busy weekend. As usual the IoCF will have a stand and we would be very grateful to any members who could spare the odd hour to 'man the stand'. This would allow people who are on duty for most of the time to have a short break. Please contact Barbara if you are able to help.

This year we hope to book a separate room with refreshments on the Saturday from 11.00 am - 1.00 pm (ish) to allow members attending the exhibition to have a private area for meeting with each other.

 
Conference 20th-22nd October

Plans are well underway for the conference in October and we will be returning to Hillscourt for the event over the weekend of 20th-22nd October. More details in due course.
 

 
Website / Facebook
 

Website

Over the last few months initial discussions have been taking place to redesign the website. It was felt that the current website is a 'tired' and no longer fit for purpose. Navigation of the website is more crucial that it has ever been, and the design needs a facelift.

As indicated by the members at the A.G.M. the target audience will be the general public, however FDs will still be a focus. A members' area will be available providing an archive of material along with policies and other resources.

 
Facebook

The Facebook page continues to be a very useful resource and it is great to see so many discussions taking place, along with sharing of ideas and poems.

The Institute is often invited to different events across the country and it is not always convenient for council members to attend. A recent example of this is the SAIF Associates lunch in Harrogate in March. Following a post on Facebook, Annette Jones very kindly offered to attend. Further events will be posted in this way so if you are available and would like to attend any future events please let Barbara know.

If you are not currently a member of the IoCF Secret FB group and would like to join, please contact Barbara and she will invite you to join the group.

 
Jo Donlevy
 

After nearly 2000 funerals and 13 years working as a Civil Funeral Celebrant, Jo Donlevy is retiring in March. Instrumental in establishing Civil Funerals in East Anglia, Jo was a registrar when she trained with Civil Ceremonies to become one of the earliest celebrants; is a Founding Member of the Institute of Civil Funerals, and is probably the last of those who set the standard we are so familiar with today. In recognition of her exemplary work Jo received the Marilyn Watts Award in 2014.

Jo has so many plans for her retirement and it sounds as if she will be very busy. She wants to spend more quality time with her family and friends and with 7 brothers and 2 sisters she has plenty of catching up to do. Her first real treat will be to fly to her sister-in-law's home for a 5 week wind down in Florida which is planned just4 days after her last ceremony.

Jo has completely redesigned her garden and has someone coming in to transfer those plans from paper into reality. Jo will be project managing the project and is looking forward to spending time in the garden once it is complete.

Other plans include getting through all those jobs around the house that have been neglected due to her busy workload.

Jo will be greatly missed in East Anglia and conferences won't be the same without her. We wish her every happiness for her 'retirement'.

Viv O'Neill.

 
Training
 

Training referrals: a message from Anne Barber

When new people ask us about training to be a funeral celebrant, with the permission you gave us at your training course, we occasionally may give them your mobile number so that they can contact you to ask how you found the training. We are very grateful for you doing this.

Please be assured that we ONLY tell them to ask you how you found the training course. We never say more than that. So, if anyone asks you if they can meet you, or asks to see a funeral ceremony that you conduct, wants you to mentor them or wants you to do anything other than tell them about the training, then this is most certainly NOT something we have suggested at all. It is up to you whether you do anything further but please do not feel obliged to do so.

Thank you.
Anne

Forthcoming Courses:

- Level 4 Advanced Practice Advanced Bereavement Interviews - 28th March 2017

- Level 4 Advanced Practice Tribute Writing Techniques - 29th March 2017

- Level 4 Advanced Practice Voice & Delivery Skills for Funeral Celebrants - 5th April 2017

- Level 4 Advanced Practice Child and Baby Funerals - 6th April 2017

You do not HAVE to take the full qualification for these courses; you can just attend and receive all the coaching, resources and training information. For the qualification, you complete distance learning after the one day session and submit for assessment within 6 weeks. This work is at Level 4 standard and full certification is included for each separate course. If you achieve 3 of the Level 4 qualifications, Civil Ceremonies will also award you with an Advanced Practice Diploma.

IoCF members receive 10% discount on fees.

Further details on the CCL website.

 
Diary Dates

 
And finally ...
 

Congratulations to the following members who have reached another milestone in their work, ranging from 50 to 1900 funerals (in no particular order):

James Duke, Lindis Pattison-Tadman, Kevin Bending, Gill Warwick, Padraic Cawley, John Culling, Jean Martindale, Chris Howe, Jenny Gibbs, Nicki Hallett, Kate Barker, Jo Donlevy, Helen Cook, Di Lightowler, Anne Wellings, Chris Mills, Louise Goode, Bill Wilde, Christine Ogden, Peter Martin, May Andrews and Sally Randell.

 

Thank you for reading.
Barbara