Unit 3: Inclusive action and legal responsibilities
Session 3: Action planning
This final session gives you time to reflect on your learning and build a short, meaningful action plan that helps you take what you’ve learned forward into your next shift, your team conversations and your wider practice.
Inclusion isn’t a fixed outcome. It’s an ongoing commitment.
Now it’s time to ask yourself: ‘What will I do differently as a result of this learning?’
Personal action planning
Use the prompts below to create a short, practical action plan. You don’t need to overhaul your entire approach – you just need to commit to small, specific steps that feel realistic and relevant.
Step 1: Choose one thing that you’ll start doing straight away
What simple behaviour, phrase or habit can you start using now that supports inclusive policing? Examples include:
- ‘I will pause before repeating instructions to allow time for processing.’
- ‘I will switch from saying “Bear with me” to “Give me a moment” to be more literal.’
Step 2: Identify one situation where you’re likely to apply this
Where in your role do you most often engage with members of the public who may be neurodiverse? For example, it could be during custody bookings when the person seems unusually anxious or repetitive, or on the phone when someone is talking quickly or going off track.
Step 3: Think about what support you might need
Do you need reminders, resources or team support to embed this change? Examples of what you could note here include:
- ‘I’ll share what I’ve learned at my next team briefing.’
- ‘I’ll keep a printed copy of the communication tips in my pocket notebook.’
Step 4: Set a goal for the next four to six weeks
What would success look like for you? Examples include:
- ‘I want to use inclusive strategies in at least three interactions and reflect on the outcomes.’
- ‘I’ll introduce a short inclusion prompt at the end of our team debriefs.’
Long-term ideas
Once you’ve embedded a few small changes, you can build on your practice by:
- encouraging peer reflection or ‘inclusion wins’ in team meetings
- suggesting inclusive prompts or scenarios in training or briefings
- sharing articles, videos or resources about neurodiversity with colleagues a
- asking a supervisor to support inclusive practice goals in team planning.
Inclusion spreads through small conversations and everyday behaviours.
You’ve now completed three units of learning about neurodiversity and inclusive policing.
But training is only the start. Now it’s up to you to put what you’ve learned into action.
What you’ve learnt
On this course you’ve explored:
- what neurodiversity means and how traits may show up in policing contexts
- why some individuals may struggle with standard procedures, environments or communication styles
- how to recognise early signs of stress, shutdown or sensory overload
- simple, practical strategies to improve communication and prevent escalation
- your legal duties under the Equality Act and what reasonable adjustments look like in practice
- the importance of team culture, consistency and shared learning.
We hope that you enjoyed this short course and that you found it useful. Understanding neurodiversity and applying that understanding to your daily practice really will make a difference to neurodiverse people who you come into contact with. It will also help portray a positive image of modern policing and the individuals who work within it.