What we've been up to
National police wellbeing survey 2025: Still time to enter
This year’s survey has been redesigned in partnership with Leapwise, a specialist policing consultancy, to be shorter, more focused, and easier to complete — taking around 10 minutes. It aims to provide faster feedback on the issues that matter most to the workforce, both locally and nationally.
The survey is open to EVERYONE in policing - all officers, staff, volunteers and specials across all roles and ranks and so far over 20,000 of you have taken part. It has been shaped through extensive consultation with people across policing – including wellbeing leads, HR professionals, staff associations, unions and chief officers – to ensure it reflects the real experiences and priorities of those doing the job.
Why your views matter
The more people who take part, the stronger the evidence base to drive meaningful improvements. Past survey responses have led to tangible national action – including the creation of the Police Health and Wellbeing Strategy, a national Sleep, Fatigue and Recovery programme, and the development of the Police Health Observatory.
How to take part
Each participating force is promoting the survey internally, so please look out for QR codes, posters and emails sharing how to access it. The survey is mobile-friendly and can be completed on any device, whether you’re on duty or in your own time.
Your information is confidential and protected
We understand that being honest in a survey like this requires trust.
- The survey is independently managed by Leapwise, who are responsible for its design, data collection and reporting.
- You will not be asked for your name, collar number, or any directly identifying information.
- Your force will not see who said what – only grouped data is reported.
- If any response data could potentially identify someone, Leapwise will not share it.
- Data will only be reported where there are 30 or more responses in a group, to protect individual confidentiality.
This means you can speak openly and confidently, knowing your identity is protected while your input helps identify the right support and interventions.
The survey closes on Monday 9th June
Help shape the future of policing
This is more than just a survey – it’s about improving the experience of working in policing for everyone. Your voice matters, and we’re listening.
Watch this short video from National Police Wellbeing Service Director, Andy Rhodes about why the survey is important.
National police wellbeing awards: Now open for entries
The national police wellbeing awards are now open. These awards are your opportunity to recognise work that’s made a real difference to the wellbeing of officers, staff and volunteers across policing.
If your team, force or service has delivered something that’s had a clear impact—however big or small—we want to hear about it.
This year, we've taken a fresh approach to our awards categories. We have done this based on feedback from forces and with the aim of making it easier to shout about the work you're doing and connecting it to national approaches.
The new categories:
- Peer support
- OK9 wellbeing dogs
- Operation Hampshire
- Healthy living (sleep and fatigue, physical fitness, nutrition)
- Occupational health
- Trauma support and suicide prevention
- Support for police families or police leavers
- Staff engagement
What we’re looking for
We’re not asking for long or polished submissions. We want short, clear entries that show, what was delivered, how it was done and what changed as a result
We’re particularly interested in how local initiatives have used national tools and resources, or contributed to wider good practice. You don’t need a comms team to write this. We just want to understand what you did and how it helped.
How to enter
You'll find all the entry criteria for each of the categories and a downloadable application form on our 'How to enter' page. The closing date is 31 July 2025 and the winners will be announced at our Annual Conference in November.
A prospectus for change
This document produced by the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) and Oscar Kilo the National Police Wellbeing Service is now available.
Prospectus for change is aimed primarily at decision makers and change agents, it scopes out how Police Occupational Health needs to change to keep in line with proposed police reforms, to support the policing vision 2030 and to help deliver the UK government’s ‘safer streets’ mission. Occupational health is an important component of the health and wellbeing offering and the delivery of occupational health needs to be planned in relation to the new national health and wellbeing strategy.
The challenge of this project should not be underestimated, it will be complex and time consuming, work will commence in Spring 2025 and aims to complete in 2027.
Download a prospectus for change
Operation Hampshire update
Dave Brewster, Operation Hampshire lead has been out and about this month sharing the working he is doing nationally. He attended the Leadership in Counter Terrorism conference in Dublin, where he talked about the impact of violence and aggression on police officers and staff and had the opportunity to present Op Hampshire to an international audience of police leaders.
He was special guest at Avon and Somerset Police's quarterly police assaults insights panel, a great example of bringing frontline supervisors together with senior leaders to look at the data around officer/staff assaults, to discuss best practice, concerns and areas for improvement
What's coming soon
Oscar Kilo conference and awards 2025
Our 2024 Oscar Kilo Conference and awards ceremony is being planned for 17-19 November and will take place at Crewe Hall Hotel and Spa, Crewe, Cheshire.
As last year we will be combining the conference with announcement of our Oscar Kilo awards. From feedback gather from attendees last year we will be moving the announcement of the Awards and celebratory gala dinner to the late afternoon/early evening of day one (Monday 17 November) to enable more time for the sharing of ideas and making those important connections with your peers.
We are currently emailing invitations with full details, if you have not received an invite and think you should be on the list please get in touch.
Family sleep videos
We are currently working with Nicole Ratcliffe the founder of Baby2sleep to provide additional support for families with very young children.
From the significant amount of work we have done on sleep, fatigue and recovery, we know how crucial sleep is to mental and physical health.
Often for new parents sleep can be in very short supply, making it a real challenge to cope, especially when returning to work. Working with Nicole we have produced a number of short videos which we hope will make life a little easier for families with young children. These videos will be available on our families' hub in June.
Major incident guidance update
We are due to publish an update to our major incident guidance in the next month. The updated guidance does not replace the existing ‘Police wellbeing and major incidents’ guidance. It seeks to add to it, to provide a more practical and accessible prioritisation list for leaders operating at gold, silver and bronze levels.
Neighbourhood policing week of action
The College of Policing are joining police forces up and down the country to celebrate the achievements of neighbourhood policing and provide opportunities and support for officers and staff throughout the 2025 week of Action.
Starting on Monday 23 June, they will highlight the vital work that neighbourhood officers, police community support officers (PCSOs) and volunteers do to protect the public and keep people safe.
During the week they will be hosting a wide range of online webinars and learning, one of these is a session by our Strategic Comms Lead, Jenna Flanagan "What can the National Police Wellbeing Service do for you?".
Find out about all the sessions and book your place on the College of Policing website.
Events
Over the coming months we will be at the following events, if you are attending, please come and say hello.
- Blue Light Show - 18-19 June, London Olympia
- Light the Lakes - 20-21 June, Cumbria
- Emergency Services Show - 17-18 September, NEC Birmingham