Neurodiversity Celebration Week is an opportunity for us to recognise, value and celebrate the wide range of thinking styles and strengths that exist across Brandon.
According to The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, around 1 in 5 people are neurodivergent – which means this isn’t a niche topic – it’s a central part of who we are as a workforce, a leadership community, and an organisation. That means 20% of our people are neurodivergent. Let that sink in… 20%.
Qualities that help us grow
Different ways of thinking, approaching problems, processing information, and seeing the world are what make people brilliant. Neurodiversity brings creativity, insight, innovation, and challenge… all the qualities that help us grow, adapt, and better support each other and the people we support.
For me, as Chief People Officer, this links directly to the culture we’re building: a culture where people feel they can be themselves, where differences are understood rather than hidden. One where we design work, communication, and support in a way that includes everyone. Being curious, asking questions, staying open minded, and creating psychologically safe environments are all behaviours we’ve been focusing on as leaders, and they are essential for enabling neurodivergent colleagues to thrive.
As part of our commitment, we’ll continue strengthening awareness, practical adjustments, and confidence across our people. And as we move through the year, we’ll keep listening to colleagues with lived experience, so our approach reflects what people need, not what we assume.
Neurodiversity working group
We also have an active Neurodiversity Working Group made up of colleagues with lived experience, and allies They help us shape our approach, challenge our thinking, and ensure we’re creating a workplace where different ways of thinking are understood, valued, and supported. I’ll be working with Kate, our Executive Sponsor for the Neurodiversity Working Group, to ensure the voice of lived experience, allyship and leadership comes through clearly.
Kate has shared this message from the Working Group:
“The group has been involved in a broad range of initiatives that includes guidance on recruitment events through to tools for auditing. We are looking forward to the next 12 months and to the ways we can support the organisation to think about neurodiversity and share lived experiences.”
Thanks Kate and all those involved in this working group – it’s brilliant to see this developing across our culture.
Removing barriers so everyone can thrive
While neurodivergent colleagues may sometimes face barriers in how workplaces are designed or communicated, our commitment is to remove these barriers so everyone can thrive – because the strengths that come from different ways of thinking are invaluable. If you have ideas about how we can strengthen our support, make Brandon even more inclusive, or if you’d like to get involved in this work, please get in touch – we’d love to hear from you.
Thanks, and Happy Neurodiversity Celebration Week.
Donna Colley
Chief People Officer
