2026/27 academic year
We will be delivering CiLCA mentoring over the 2026/27 academic year. This includes 6 sessions starting with an introductory session plus 5 other sessions for each of the 5 course Units. All learners must attend the training sessions to satisfy the CiLCA course requirements. Subject based additional training, described below, is also strongly recommended.
For potential CiLCA students we have arranged An Introduction to CiLCA session on Mon 7th Sep at 6pm on Zoom, for more information and booking on this event see An Introduction to CiLCA. Attendees at this event are not obliged to sign up to the CiLCA qualification as the evening is designed to provide information to enable potential students to decide if CiLCA is right for them.
Once you have attended an Introduction to CiLCA, and if you have decided you wish to study during the 2026/27 academic year you can book onto our set of 5 course unit sessions. These will take place between Oct 2026 and May 2027. So far we have dates scheduled for Unit 1 on Mon 5th Oct at 6pm and Unit 2 on Mon 16th Nov at 6pm. The remaining three dates will be confirmed during Oct/Nov. You can book onto the five mentored units at CiLCA mentoring sessions 2026/27. For registration onto the actual qualification please do not do this until you have attended our Introduction to CILCA.
CiLCA is the town and parish council sector’s benchmark qualification, see SLCC | Certificate in Local Council Administration (CiLCA). It is a distance learning course administered by the SLCC (Society of Local Council Clerks) for which there is some support provided through our locally arranged CiLCA mentoring as described above. It is a Level 3 course (A level equivalent) and usually takes 200-300 hours of study. Registration costs £495 (for clerks at <£25,000 councils see note below) and there is a time restriction of 12 months for completion once registered. We recommend new clerks undertake ILCA first and commence CiLCA after about a year in post. Do not register for CiLCA until after attending the Introduction to CiLCA training. You need to be familiar with what’s expected without undue time pressure as once registered, the 12 month clock is ticking. You need to organise yourself to set time aside for studying and complying with the timeframe. This is often a key challenge for learners.
CiLCA registrations are processed on a bi-monthly basis, on the first Monday of each Feb, Apr, June, Aug, Oct and Dec.
Future subject based training dates aligning with CiLCA units
The mentoring described above is about being provided with assistance on how to successfully tackle the qualification. Although it will touch on the subject matter of each unit, we organise other, wholly subject based courses which align with the units for Units 1-4 (Unit 5 content is encompassed in the mentoring session). These courses are open to all involved in parish and town councils as the content is core knowledge for officers and councillors. These training sessions cost £20 each.
Bookings for these courses must be made separately to the mentoring and bookings will go live about 6-8 weeks prior to each course. Booking information can be accessed at Co Durham and Cleveland CTP training courses.
- Tues 22nd Sep 2026 Local Councils: The basics (Unit 1).
- Oct 2026 date tbc Finance/budgets (Unit 3).
- Tues 3rdNov 2026 Managing meetings(Unit 2).
- Feb 2026 date tbc Managing Assets, Staff etc (Unit 4).
For Co Durham and Cleveland clerks of councils <£25,000 threshold
For clerks in County Durham and Cleveland, the County Training Partnership has agreed also to fund the cost of CiLCA registrations from clerks of councils under the £25,000 threshold and will be payable on successful completion of CiLCA. Please be in touch if you are interested as we would expect you to notify us in advance of registering.
If you’ve any queries, you are welcome to be in touch with us at cdalc@durham.gov.uk.
