Across three sunny days in Durham, in July, the second NAFD Summer School brought together leaders from across the funeral profession for sessions on the future of funeral service that were rich in ideas, discussion and both personal and professional experience.
“The seminars and subject matter this year were enthralling,” said Natalya Mclackland, of Regent Funeral Services, who was attending her second summer school. “The learning and development is compelling. The Summer School forms an important part of Continuous Professional Development and can help anyone to learn and inspire themselves in their current roles and beyond. Like any course, the more you put into it, the more you get out and with the Summer School I truly believe that you must be able to give a part of yourself in this three-day course to get back something really meaningful,” she added.
Summer school was led once again by Professor Douglas Davies, one of the countries most respected theologians. Professor Davies leads the Centre for Death and Life Studies (CDALS) at Durham University, which exists to foster and conduct research into life-values, beliefs, and practices that relate to living and dying. This year, Professor Davies brought CDALS colleagues and students along to contribute to the sessions on topics ranging from funeral poetry, to funerals and death online from the perspective of Jonathan Lethaby, a 21-year-old undergraduate student.”
Also during the summer school, PHD student Georgina Robinson, who is studying Resomation (alkaline-hydrolysis), explored its introduction in other countries, her field trip to the USA and the progress towards it being introduced into the UK. Each evening, guests were invited to enjoy a relaxed dinner and conversation, enabling the group to build a very strong bond across the three days.
Shirley Deighan, of Deighans Funeral Parlour, said she thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. “I found all of the seminars very interesting and feel I have taken a lot away with me – I will never look at a poem in quite the same way! I also thought that it was also good to meet so many like-minded people, I will look out for a few faces next time I attend an NAFD event and I am sure will have a catch up with them. It was nice to do something for me! Unfortunately in our profession we seem to not prioritise ourselves.”
Newly elected President of the Yorkshire Area Federation Leanne Rookledge was also attracted to the blend of learning and networking: “I’m a sucker for academics, so being at Durham University for a few days certainly attracted me, but I was also interested in the topics which were due to be discussed, particularly resomation and the impact of Covid on direct cremation; the discussions which arose within the group in relation to these matters were very insightful and it was great to hear perspectives from funeral directors working within different regions and across various company types.
“I was also attracted due to the networking and social opportunities available as a result of the intimate size of the group. Although attending other NAFD events is also great for networking, the small size of the summer school encouraged deeper conversations between members who may not have otherwise had the opportunity to meet.”
Dates are already being discussed for the 2023 Summer School and, with only a maximum of thirty attendees, the places are likely to be snapped up quickly. If you’re interested in finding out more about NAFD Summer School, email Karen Burton on [email protected] and she will put you on the mailing list for updates.
Further reading
We have a longer feature about the Summer School. You can find a recent feature article from FDM on this link.
Continue your professional development
The NAFD’s revolutionary new learning platform – the NAFD Learning Hub – sits at the centre of the NAFD’s bold two-year plan for the introduction of mandatory Continuous Professional Development (CPD) within the NAFD, in line with the likely next steps that the Government will take. There is still time to secure a place in the NAFD Learning Hub pilot to help us shape this resource.