Cadwyn achieves QED Award
Cardiff-based housing provider, Cadwyn Housing Association, has been successful in achieving a prestigious and nationally-recognised equality and diversity mark for social landlords.
The QED Award, developed by Welsh housing charity, Tai Pawb, provides a comprehensive framework for improving the equality and diversity impact of an organisation. Awarded by an independent panel, it considers on strategic areas such as governance, leadership and culture as well as customer-facing service provision, including access and tenant involvement.
Staff and Board members from across the organisation, as well tenants, contractors and partner organisations engaged in the 12-month accreditation process which included staff surveys, engagement with tenants, on-site visits, a review of policies and procedures and the production of an action plan. The award includes an annual check-up over three years where Tai Pawb will monitor progress on Cadwyn’s action plan and offer or refer to support to meet challenges.
Cadwyn – which manages around 2,000 homes primarily in the Cardiff area – joins Melin Homes, Merthyr Valleys Homes, Cynon Taff Community Housing and Merthyr Tydfil Housing Association as the fifth social landlord recipient of the award in Wales.
Commenting on its success, Chief Executive of Cadwyn, Kath Palmer, said:
“Cadwyn provides good quality homes and builds communities through partnership and innovation and we have a vision of achieving thriving communities. Embracing equality, diversity and inclusion is essential to us achieving our vision and meeting the QED accreditation is a step change for us as an organisation to help us improve in the way we offer services and embed our values of honesty, respect, fairness and kindness.
“We want Wales to be a fairer place to live, we want to achieve equality in all we do, and for people to have positive experiences of services, inclusive and meaningful engagement and we know we need to continuously improve.
”Achieving this award has not been easy however we know it will help us in our journey of improvement and to help make a Cardiff that has interconnected communities respecting and celebrating difference, to strive for equality of outcomes for those experiencing discrimination and to be proactive, and ambitious in creating sustained change”.
Alicja Zalesinska, director of Tai Pawb, added:
“We are delighted to see another housing association in Wales receiving the QED award.
“Cadwyn deserves congratulations – from staff through to management and board members – for having demonstrated a clear commitment to improvement and evidencing innovative thinking throughout the review process. Staff in particular were open-minded to change and transparent about existing work as well the challenges that lie ahead in taking forward actions.
“In every part of the organisation, there was enthusiasm for the programme of work and a genuine willingness to learn from others, and there is a strong basis of good practice in a number of areas.
“The award is testament to the high regard with which the organisation holds equality and diversity and marks the achievement of a key milestone on a journey to embedding equality, diversity and inclusion into everything that Cadwyn does”.