Monday 17^th March marks the start of this year’s Neurodiversity Celebration Week, a worldwide initiative championing the strengths and talents of neurodivergent people who think and learn differently, and challenging misconceptions around ND conditions such as autism, ADHD and dyslexia.

As part of NCW, the NPAA is taking part in an event at New Scotland Yard in London, featuring guest stalls and speakers from organisations working with the police service to raise awareness of neurodiversity. More in-person and online events are scheduled to take place throughout the week – information and links can be found on our members’ forum and on the NCW website.

To start the week, we’d like to share an ITV News clip on the Autism Reality Experience (ARE), a new immersive training course developed by Training2Care and one of the exhibits featured at the NSY event. For more information, click on the link to visit the company’s website.

About Neurodiversity Celebration Week: NCW was started in 2018 by Siena Castellon. As a neurodivergent student, Siena encountered challenges and prejudice around her conditions, and was motivated to find a way to help ND people overcome negative preconceptions to celebrate their difference and achieve their potential.

In the clip above, Siena is interviewed with autism/neurodiversity advocate Anna Kennedy on the Chrissy B Show. ∎

The College of Policing has released an update to the Competency and Values Framework (CVF), the document describing the behaviours required for recruitment, assessment and development across the UK police service.

The CVF is typically used as a basis for designing police recruitment, promotion and selection processes. The 2024 update replaces the previous version released in 2016.

The new version of the CVF explicitly references neurodiversity and disability, and acknowledges that assessment processes should allow candidates of all abilities to demonstrate their strengths:

The CVF should be used in ways which allow for differing abilities, including those which stem from disabilities or neurodiversity. If your organisation is using the CVF as part of an assessment, the assessment should allow for different expression of the competencies and, where appropriate, allow candidates to demonstrate strengths in different areas. Reasonable adjustments should be provided for those who need them under the Equality Act (2010).

If you have a disability under the Equality Act 2010, you can ask for reasonable adjustments to the assessment to enable you to fully demonstrate your abilities. If you have a diagnostic report or professional workplace assessment, this will be helpful to the assessment team to ensure you’re given the right adjustments.

The updated CVF also states that competencies and values under assessment should be clearly signposted. This eliminates a potential source of ambiguity which has been found to adversely impact on ND candidates.

Click on the links to go to the College of Policing CVF webpage and to download a PDF copy of the 2024 CVF Guidance. (The wording above can be found on pages 10-11.) ∎

New Association aims to support dyslexic staff and promote the benefits of ‘Dyslexic Thinking’ in policing

Tuesday 20^th February 2024 saw the launch of a new UK-wide network dedicated to supporting dyslexic police officers and staff.

The Police National Dyslexia Association (PNDA) was officially launched in a ceremony at the Palace of Westminster, hosted by Lord Addington, President of the British Dyslexia Association. Guest speakers included Chief Constable Jason Hogg of Thames Valley Police, and Acting Chief Constable Jim Colwell of Devon & Cornwall Police.

The launch event featured inspiring accounts of lived experience from dyslexic police officers and staff, and concluded with a presentation at New Scotland Yard by Kate Griggs, CEO and founder of dyslexia advocacy charity Made By Dyslexia.

Dyslexia is a neurodivergent condition that primarily affects the skills involved in accurate and fluent word reading and spelling. The condition is also associated with strong creative and problem-solving skills, and can be found throughout business, science and the arts – famous dyslexic people from past and present include Sir Richard Branson, Tom Cruise and Albert Einstein. The BDA estimates that 10% of the UK population are dyslexic to some degree.

The PDNA offers free membership to all police officers, staff and volunteers, and will work alongside the National Police Autism Association, ADHD Alliance and Disabled Police Association to promote neurodiversity in policing. For more information, visit the website at pnda.org.uk ∎