How our coaching helped RAF families feel confident and informed

The RAF is one of the UK’s most operationally complex employers – and is leading the way in making parenthood more supported and sustainable for both serving personnel and their managers.

Life in the RAF is anything but ordinary. Service personnel juggle demanding roles with family life, especially when transitioning into parenthood.

For RAF parents, navigating pregnancy, parental leave, and family-related policies can be complex, and for line managers, supporting their team members confidently and consistently requires clarity and guidance.

Proactive and Inclusive Approach

The RAF Parenting & Wellbeing Team has taken a proactive and inclusive approach to parenthood support across the organisation. Through listening directly to the experiences of serving parents, the Team identified key areas where families needed clearer information, reassurance, and more accessible support.

They developed a suite of accessible resources, including:

  • Managing Your Pregnancy and Maternity Leave
  • Supporting Your Staff During Pregnancy
  • Managing Shared Parental Leave: A Guide for Service Personnel
  • Managing Your Adoption Journey and Leave
  • Supporting your staff during their Adoption Journey and Leave
  • Managing Paternity Leave

The RAF Parenting & Wellbeing Team, who lead the initiative, explains:

“Parents make up a large proportion of the workforce in the RAF and it’s important they feel valued and supported. By engaging directly with serving parents and learning about the challenges they face, the RAF Parenting & Wellbeing Team can actively seek areas of improvement from a strategic, policy and support perspective.”

The RAF was recognised for its work in this area at the Working Families Awards, winning Best for Mothers in 2024, Best for Fathers in 2025 and placing top 3 in the 2025 Best for Mothers category.

Coaching-Style Workshops

To strengthen this support even further, the RAF partnered with Parent & Professional (P&P) to trial the delivery of targeted Parental Transition Coaching. These sessions are designed to support RAF personnel before, during, and after parental leave, offering dedicated time for reflection, practical tools, and mindset shifts.

P&P’s tailored, coaching-style workshops include:

  • Preparing for Leave – Helping individuals feel supported, informed and ready ahead of parental leave (2-hour workshop)
  • Preparing to Return to Work – Offering emotional, confidence-boosting, as well as logistical support to make the transition back smoother (2-hour workshop)
  • Working Parents – Ongoing support for parents juggling operational demands with home life (2-hour workshop)

These interactive sessions complement the RAF’s broader strategy by encouraging open conversations, and ensuring parents feel seen and equipped throughout every stage of their journey.

The Results – A Family-Friendly Culture in Action

By embedding support into the core of their approach to people management, the RAF is leading by example, demonstrating that even in high-pressure, operational environments, it’s possible to create a culture where parents feel valued, informed, and supported.

Feedback from delegates highlights the impact of this work:

“It’s good to know we’re not alone.”
Many participants shared how reassuring it was to hear from others facing similar challenges, helping reduce the isolation often felt by working parents.

“The RAF feels like a genuinely parent-friendly organisation.”
Attendees appreciated the wide range of resources available and felt supported knowing that parenthood is being recognised and openly discussed.

“Insightful and practical.”
The workshops were praised for offering real-life, relevant guidance that could be applied immediately, helping parents feel more prepared and understood during this important life stage.

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