Chuck Ellsworth
The CAA do not advocate full feathering during practice engine failures. The only time I have had to do that was under the FAA training syllabus.
The CAA only operate "Touch Drills". In itself, however, I have heard it said that this has set the stage for situations when in the case of a real engine shut-down, the PIC just did the touch drills!
Compromise training drill (although this is neither CAA nor FAA) is for student to fully retard the prop lever to the feather position, but instructor to intercept it before prop actually feathers. This (naturally) requires briefing to agree the procedure before hand, but this was done to me by my FAA instructor when I was doing my FAA ME CPL, after having already completed my JAA CPL. I had expressed my concern over a full feather - and he had agreed on the compromise.
Worked for me.
Turning away from the fire is standard CAA (Actually JAA nowadays) training procedure. Like it or not, you will be expected to do this during your flight test - IF the examiner elects to tell you that there is an engine fire.
But look at it this way. I agree that in SE it probably won't make a whole lot of difference, but any difference it does make is likely to be for the better. You DO want the flames (heat) outside the cowling. It's still on the other side of the firewall - but don't expect that to protect you for long. If the flames remain inside the cowling, they are closer to the fuel source of the fire, and the heat build up will melt your plane.
However, when you move up to ME, turning away from the fire is a really REALLY good thing to do, because the engine in question is (more often) beside you - not in front! So learning this drill from the start at the SE PPL level, has the advantage of "Primacy".
I.E. Things learnt first are longest remembered.