The Registration Academy
Excellence in training
The Registration Academy, hosted by East Sussex Registration provides professional training and assessment to Local Registration Services in England and Wales.
What we offer
Our training is delivered by experienced, senior registration practitioners who are experts in their field, providing:
- Exclusive training modules, designed to bring new officers online as quickly and effectively as possible
- Advanced training to give existing officers the chance to improve their skills and understanding
- Assessor and IV (Internal Verification) services, to guide your officers through the NAP (Registrar General’s Nationally Approved Qualification)
- Training delivered at your premises (subject to suitability), our purpose-built training suite at Lewes Register Office in East Sussex, or remotely, via MS Teams
Further modules and services are currently in development, and we would be happy to discuss your requirements with you.
Email the Registration Academy to arrange a no-obligation chat.
The candidates are now confidently registering.
Book your course
To book a training course, or discuss options and prices email the Registration Academy.
Booking of the training package was very comprehensive and straightforward.
Terms and Conditions
Terms and Conditions for local authority registration services engaging The Registration Academy. This document is a key part of our contract with you.
Personnel
The Registration Academy has been created and developed by Registration Service professionals who are passionate about improving standards in our industry.
To discuss your training needs please email the Registration Academy.
Training delivery
All of our training is delivered by practising Registrars.
Karen Barr
Karen is Lead Registrar for Learning and Development in East Sussex and an experienced Local Authority Registrar. She has several years of experience as an educator and trainer in a variety of industries. Having joined the Registration Service in 2017, Karen has quickly become a multi-skilled registrar, working in both Ceremonies and Life Events disciplines.
Karen has a customer-driven focus towards registration and is one of our Internal Verifier for the NAP qualification for Registration Officers.
Kerry Mizen
Kerry is a Team Leader for ‘Life Events’ within East Sussex, tasked with overseeing a large team who offer the public birth and death registrations and notices of marriage and civil partnerships.
Prior to working for the Registration Service, Kerry had a successful 20 year career as a fully qualified teacher of further and adult education. She has brought this experience and passion for effective teaching to the Registration Academy.
Kerry has completed the NAP qualification for Registration Officers and uses this experience as an Assessor for this course.
Karen and Kerry will tailor our training modules, to suit your service needs, and lead our team of skilled trainers to deliver the courses you require, either online, at your premises or at our bespoke training suite at Lewes Register Office.
Executive Board
The Executive Board oversee the work of The Registration Academy, ensuring that the training we deliver is accurate and accessible to all Registration Services across the country:
Steve Quayle
Steve has led East Sussex Registration since 2012, and is the Proper Officer for Registration.
Steve has a keen interest in the professional development of all Registration staff, and ‘world class’ customer service. Under Steve’s leadership the service won the LRSA Award for ‘Excellence in Service Delivery’ in 2017.
Anna Goddard
Anna is Superintendent Registrar for East Sussex.
Anna was also one of the first people in the UK to successfully complete the NAP qualification for Registration Officers, during its pilot in March 2014. Anna has a very strong focus on continuous improvement and has recently implemented a process of annual CPD for all Ceremonies staff.
Mike Bendell
Mike is the Registrar for East Sussex, responsible for all 4 sub-districts in the county.
Mike is instrumental in leading the development of his ‘Life Events’ staff, working towards the long term aspiration of all registrars becoming competent in performing every Registration discipline as a ‘technical expert’.
Susan Allison
Susan is a Team Leader for ‘Life Events’ within East Sussex, tasked with overseeing a large team who offer the public birth and death registrations and notices of marriage and civil partnerships.
Susan has worked within the Registration Service since 2008, following a distinguished career in social work and also the civil service.
Susan is an Assessor for the NAP qualification for Registration Officers.
Training modules
We have constructed the Academy training modules with a clear focus on them being intensive and fast-track (even for brand new staff) to enable them to be delivered at a cost that local authorities can afford.
| Course Title | Duration | Content |
|---|---|---|
| Birth Registrations | 3 days* | All the information and ‘hands on’ training needed to ‘go live’ registering births, attesting declarations and understanding of the theory of more complex cases. |
| Death Registrations | 3 days* | All the information and ‘hands on’ training needed to ‘go live’ registering deaths, attesting declarations, recognising what to look out for on MCCDs and inquests. |
| Advanced Births and Deaths | 2 days | Available for registrars who have some experience of birth and death registration. This course will explain the processes of Space 17 name changes, Corrections, Re-registrations and Stillbirths and allow for practice of these processes in a safe, classroom environment. |
| Notice of Marriage/Civil Partnership | 5 days | All the information and ‘hands on’ training needed to ‘go live’ taking notices including those subject to immigration control and understanding of the theory of more complex cases, including foreign divorces and RGLs. |
| Marriage Ceremony – Conducting and registering | 1 day | Public speaking, crowd control, tailoring your script, questioning the couple and dealing with unforeseen circumstances. |
*When booked together, births and deaths training is a 5 day course.
We have rigorously tested and re-tested our training modules to ensure they are fit for purpose, and are delighted that following this training, brand new registrars can comfortably and accurately register alone within 30 minute appointment slots during their first week of going live.
Further modules are currently under development and we would be happy to discuss your requirements with you. Email the Registration Academy to arrange a no-obligation chat.
What's included
Each module includes:
- Training from experienced and currently active practitioners
- Interactive presentations
- Example scenarios
- Role-play and or live practice
- Reference materials for delegates to take with them
Training can be provided online via MS Teams, at your premises (subject to suitability) or at our purpose-built Training Suite at the Lewes Register Office in East Sussex, complete with live customers for delegates to practice their skills on, under the close supervision of our professional trainers.
See our How to make the most of the Registration Academy, guide to help you achieve the best outcomes for your delegates.
You can also take advantage of our optional follow-up consolidation package where one of our trainers will revisit each delegate after a few weeks in the role and technically assess them in a live environment to consolidate their learning and identify any areas where re-training may be required.
Competency assessments
The Registration Academy can also provide skilled, independent assessors to evaluate your registrars and provide structured feedback to you and your team.
Available in 1 day packages including assessment of up to 4 registration activities with pre-assessment management briefing and post assessment debriefs for both the registrar and line manager.
Book your course
To book a training course or to find out more email the Registration Academy.
Terms and Conditions
Terms and Conditions for local authority registration services engaging The Registration Academy. This document is a key part of our contract with you.
NAP qualification
NAP Assessor and Internal Verifier services are available to candidates from all Local Authority Registration Services.
Email the Registration Academy to book.
What's included?
| NAP Activity | Assessor | Internal Verifier |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction to the NAP Meeting (within ESCC or via Skype) | 4 hours | 4 hours |
| 1.5 hours marking per month | 36 hours | N/A |
| 1 DIP test per quarter | 8 hours | N/A |
| 1/2 hour meeting every other month on Skype | 6 hours | N/A |
| Internal Verifier’s oversight – two hours per quarter | N/A | 16 hours |
| TOTAL | 54 hours | 20 hours |
This service is charged at a cost recovery rate of £200 per quarter for the two years of the qualification.
We are happy to accept this payment in advance either quarterly, annually or for the full two years.
Our fee is calculated on the basis of all meetings with the candidate taking place either within East Sussex or via Skype.
If the candidate extends their deadline past the two years then we will continue to charge £200 per quarter to cover our extended costs until they complete the qualification.
We have a team of passionate and experienced registrars delivering our NAP Assessor and IV services:
Assessors
Kate Price
Kate is a Team Leader for ‘Life Events’ within East Sussex, overseeing two register offices with teams who offer the public birth and death registrations and notices of marriage and or civil partnerships. Kate has worked within the Registration Service since 2005, following 15 year career as a pre-school practitioner and leader.
In 2017 Kate completed the NAP qualification for Registration Officers and has since become a NAP Assessor.
Philippa Windsor
Philippa is a Team Leader for Ceremonies in East Sussex, overseeing the Hastings team that facilitate all ceremonies in the Hastings and Rother regions of the county. Philippa has worked within the East Sussex Registration Service since 2010 and before this for London Borough of Hackney from 2004. She has worked across most areas of registration during this time.
Prior to Registration, Philippa worked in the private sector.
Philippa became a NAP Assessor in November 2021.
Susan Allison
Susan is a Team Leader for ‘Life Events’ within East Sussex, tasked with overseeing a large team who offer the public birth and death registrations and notices of marriage and or civil partnerships. Susan has worked within the Registration Service since 2008, following a distinguished career in social work and also the civil service.
Susan is also a member of The Registration Academy Executive Board.
Kerry Mizen
Kerry is a Team Leader for ‘Life Events’ within East Sussex, and one of our Lead Trainers.
Kerry has completed the NAP qualification for Registration Officers and uses this experience as an Assessor for this course.
Kerry is also a member of The Registration Academy Executive Board.
Internal Verifier
Karen Barr
Karen has several years of experience as an educator and trainer in a variety of industries. Having joined the Registration Service in 2017, Karen has quickly become a multi-skilled registrar, working in both Ceremonies and Life Events disciplines.
Terms and Conditions
Terms and Conditions for local authority registration services engaging The Registration Academy. This document is a key part of our contract with you.
How to make the most of the Registration Academy
- If possible, please provide your delegates with the chance to observe live appointments before their training. We have found this helps to develop their understanding of the processes they will need to adopt once they are registering themselves.
- If you have any local practices that you wish your delegates to be trained in, then please can you provide us with full details at least two weeks in advance so we can adapt our training modules accordingly.
- We regret that due to the intensive nature of the training we offer we are only able to accommodate up to four delegates at a time. We firmly believe that maintaining low classroom numbers better enables our trainers to focus on each delegate’s individual needs.
- If we are providing training at your offices the training room must be equipped with a PC or laptop for each delegate, alongside access to a printer. We would also respectfully request that the room is not used by other staff or customers for the duration of the training as this tends to distract delegates from their intensive training.
- Our training modules involve the use of PowerPoint presentations, and so if you have a screen available for our use this would be perfect, alternatively a blank wall space will suffice if a screen is not available.
- Our training days normally run from 9.30am – 4.30pm approximately with a half hour for lunch. The trainer should arrive at your offices no later than 9am to set up for the day.
- Please can we ask that all delegates have been granted access to RON’s test site, the GMC website (for death registrations) and the GRO Registrar’s Handbook before they begin their training with us.
- We have found our training modules work best if delegates are allowed to use their newly learned skills on live appointments during the final day of their training with us, under the watchful eye of our trainer. If these appointments could be made and earmarked for the delegates this would help us to ensure they are competent in a ‘real world’ scenario.
- We would strongly recommend that delegates are afforded slightly longer appointment slots during their first few days of registering alone following the training as this is the period when they are consolidating the knowledge they have just received and due to inexperience, we have found they feel less pressured and more able to cope if they are not subject to the normal tight time constraints.
- If training is required for more than one registration discipline, we would recommend a short gap between each training module to allow delegates to practice their newly learned skills and consolidate this knowledge before moving on to the next registration discipline.
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