Public servant who dedicated career to families and safeguarding awarded MBE
Pier Pritchard, 62, was named in the King's Birthday Honours list on Friday, June 13 for services to children and family care.
She grew up in Jersey but moved to Salisbury as a teenager in 1982 to pursue voluntary opportunities in the field and has stayed ever since.
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Pier was nominated for the award by Wiltshire Council's senior leadership team and received the good news around a month ago.
She said: 'It was a real surprise. I'm absolutely delighted and touched. One of the hardest things was not being able to tell anyone.
'I have been absolutely overwhelmed since then by kind messages from friends, family and colleagues. I'm very thankful to those people.'
Pier received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the National Children and Young People Awards in October 2024 (Image: Wiltshire Council) Pier had not planned to have a career in social work but became 'hooked' when she started volunteering with children.
She later moved into safeguarding and spent most of her 40-year career working for Wiltshire Council, leading innovating work that supported families and protected children facing challenges in their lives.
Pier also supported colleagues through significant change after Ofsted judged Wiltshire's Children's Service as 'inadequate' in 2012. The service was rated 'outstanding' in 2023.
'I'm very steadfast and determined,' Pier said.
'I really want to support families. The satisfaction of that work comes through supporting families through tough experiences.
'You need to have passion and want to see families and their children do well. The most important thing is them staying together as families.
'It's important to be open and honest with people. Social work can have a bad press, but I've really enjoyed it.
'I've valued the support that I've had within the council and multi-agency groups, and friendships have developed from that.
'I've worked for Wiltshire Council for almost all those 40 years. They're such a good employer.
'It's important to work within an organisation that supports their staff.'
Pier retired from her senior management position in April 2025 and hopes to spend more time with her family, reading and enjoying nice weather, but she plans to stay involved in safeguarding through fostering and adoption panels.
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Wiltshire Council chief executive Lucy Townsend said: 'This honour is a fitting way to celebrate Pier's extraordinary work in children's social care.
'With over 40 years of dedicated service, Pier has been a tireless advocate for safeguarding and family support in Wiltshire.
'Her leadership in pioneering initiatives like Family Group Conferences, PAUSE and the Family Drug and Alcohol Court has been vital in the success of our services and, on behalf of everyone at the council, I would like to congratulate Pier on receiving her well-deserved MBE.'
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