MDX ‘very excited to be working in partnership with Thames Valley Police’

Thames Valley Police announce new partnership to deliver the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship

Following the announcement from Thames Valley Police (TVP) about an exciting new partnership with the Police Education Consortium to deliver the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA) programme, Professor Darryll Bravenboer, Chair of the Consortium and Director of Apprenticeships and Skills at Middlesex University, said:

“We are very excited to be working in partnership with Thames Valley Police as they are an employer that has a deep understanding of the value of investing in professional learning as the very best way to ensure that the needs of the communities served are met.”

The Consortium is made up of Middlesex University, Canterbury Christ Church University, the University of Cumbria and the University of Portsmouth. Established in 2017, the Consortium has been delivering high-quality police education in partnership with police forces since 2019.

The new partnership aims to enhance the quality of police education and strives to equip officers with the knowledge, skills and experience needed to confidently progress in a career in policing. It will provide recruits with a comprehensive education, combining classroom based learning and practical on the job experience in a three-year training programme, in which they can earn whilst they learn, provided by the Consortium and TVP.

“We are very excited to be working in partnership with Thames Valley Police as they are an employer that has a deep understanding of the value of investing in professional learning as the very best way to ensure that the needs of the communities served are met.”

Professor Darryll Bravenboer

The PCDA is an ideal entry route into policing for those people who desire to become a Police Constable and have their learning accredited with a fully funded degree in professional policing practice.

The Consortium’s expert PCDA delivery team brings a wealth of experience from diverse backgrounds in policing and criminology, and as a result understand the complexities of modern policing and the pressures of learning to become a police officer. Their approach places the operational policing environment at the heart of professional learning. The Consortium’s PCDA was also recently won the 2024 Apprenticeship Guide Award for ‘Best Apprenticeship Programme in Public Services’.

Speaking of the new partnership Paul Bailey, Head of Learning & Development at Thames Valley Police, commented

“We are thrilled to embark on this journey with the Police Education Consortium. Through their proven success with other forces we are confident in our shared mission to shape the future of policing through excellence in education by delivering high-quality degrees to our student officers who choose to join us through the Police Constable Degree entry route.”

The partnership between the Consortium and TVP will welcome their first cohort of students in December 2024. Further information for people who are interested in the PCDA as a route to becoming a TVP Police Constable to make a real difference in protecting their communities can be found on the Thames Valley Police website.