Day 7 of the Dyfed-Powys Police Annual Awards roundup: Family Matters

On the penultimate day of the Dyfed-Powys Police’s Annual Awards roundup, we are celebrating pregnancy, parenting and police family life as we catch up with the winners of the 2020 Diversity in Action award- the Parenting Project team.

The Parenting Project team, comprising of Miranda Bryant, Sarah Howells, Karen Caulfield, Chief Inspector Louise Harries and newbie Chief Inspector Christin Fraser, are responsible for steering organisational change that has improved the support for the Dyfed-Powys Police employees embarking on parenting journeys.

The Parenting Project team began by bundling all things childcare related together and created the new ‘Parenting Pitstop’, a one-stop shop Dyfed-Powys Police intranet page that provides advice and guidance for staff and their managers.

The team also introduced a toolkit to encourage better planning and communication between managers and parents-to-be.

HR officer, Sarah Howells said: “It is important that staff feel supported at each stage of their parenting journey.

“Staff members going onto maternity, adoption or shared parental leave may be feeling anxious about their time away from the workplace. Whilst an exciting time it can also be daunting.”

The team developed peer-to-peer support opportunities, with new Dyfed-Powys Police Parenting Champions being introduced across the force to provide basic guidance, signposting and support to other employees in the organisation.

The Parenting Project, which celebrates diversity and advocates inclusivity within the workplace, was recognised as ‘best practice’ in the national Gender Equality for Policing 2019 Annual Report, with other police forces across the UK implementing Dyfed-Powys Police's new practices.

Superintendent Ross Evans commended the group, saying: “the Parenting Project team acted upon a cause that they felt strongly about, taking bold steps to make sure colleagues received even better support in the future.”

The Parenting Project team were thrilled to receive the Diversity in Action award and continue to champion inclusivity, productivity, creativity and wellbeing within the force’s policing family and beyond. 

DIVERSITY IN ACTION AWARD, SPONSORED BY | The Police Federation- one of the UK's largest staff associations proudly representing police constables, sergeants and inspectors (including chief inspectors) since 1919.