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SIPP Promotion FAQs Answered

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SIPP promotion FAQs

The College of Policing are redesigning the way police officers get promoted to Sergeant and Inspector. This new SIPP scheme may be one of those policing initiatives ‘doomed to succeed’. As I’ve outlined before, it is intended in time replace the NPPF.

Despite SIPP being the biggest change to police promotion in decades and officers desiring information, published information is distinctly lacking from the College, besides ambiguities and generalised press releases. Some details of the plans have been released in response to FOI requests I’ve submitted.

Aspiring officers are concerned about the change. The Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) is fully engaged in the scheme, but many officers are still clueless about what’s going on, even those in trial forces. To get the message out better, I’ve done extensive research to piece together available SIPP information and intelligence.

Consider this blog your own personal intelligence briefing. It’s the most comprehensive and informative SIPP FAQ you’ll find, answering dozens of important questions I know officers have about SIPP. All information is based on that released by the College, formal stakeholders, and other sources, summarised in an understandable format.

Things have already changed since I first broke the news about SIPP, so note this is as things stand now. I’m keeping it updated regularly as new information comes out. If you have any additions for this list, questions or answers, and if anyone at the College wishes to correct anything here, please get in touch and I’ll keep it updated (or just publish the info).

So let’s get to it, starting with the basics then working our way through some of the details…

What is SIPP?

SIPP stands for the Sergeant and Inspector Promotion and Progression framework. It has been designed to replace the National Police Promotion Framework (NPPF), for the purpose of increased fairness, simplicity, and accessibility of promotion. SIPP is currently in a testing phase with four pilot forces.

Will SIPP replace NPPF?

Most likely, yes. SIPP is already being trialled, and we know that in policing, trials are either successful or “doomed to succeed”. It’s evident the College have put years of work into this already, and it’s part of their ‘professionalisation’ agenda. The NPCC and Federation clearly want change and are loudly positive about SIPP. So the likelihood of all these plans being ditched is small.

Assuming it goes ahead after the trials, SIPP will probably be rolled out nationally in 2027-2028.

What’s wrong with the NPPF?

“Feedback from officers indicated that the existing process is overly complex, lacks focus on leadership skills, and deters candidates due to the time and resources required for exam preparation.” – PFEW

The College have previously surveyed officers and forces, highlighting the lack of perceived fairness of the NPPF, the lack of leadership development incorporated in the process, and how the exam puts many people off. The Casey Review of the Metropolitan Police also criticised the complexity of current promotion processes and the lack of emphasis on leadership skills.

“Leadership is not being taken seriously, and people are not being promoted according to their talents.” – Baroness Casey

The College and Fed argue that “the exam-centric approach favours those with the time and resources to prepare over frontline officers.” They argue the current system (implemented in 2015) disadvantages underrepresented groups from advancing, hindering diversity.

Legal exam results show higher pass rates among women over men, and White candidates over Minority Ethnic groups. The College and forces want to remove these differences. A myriad of positive action schemes for this step have done nothing to close this gap; in fact it’s widened. In their original SIPP designs released last year, the College had removed the front end legal exam, in an effort to reduce the disparities observed and seeing it as a barrier to aspiration. (The exam has since been reintroduced.)

It’s worth remembering the critique of the lack of work-based assessment in NPPF isn’t actually a weakness of the NPPF itself, but how forces apply it. In fact, Step 4 of the NPPF is technically a 12 month temporary promotion and work based assessment. But it’s rare for officers to fail this part in practice.

If you’re interested, here’s the specific rationale (as identified in 2015 Police Regs) as to why NPPF replaced the prior OSPRE system. They say history doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes…

“The NPPF is intended to give forces better control over the number of officers eligible for promotion in order to manage their workforce more effectively. The College of Policing has assessed that the NPPF is less bureaucratic than OSPRE, provides better standardisation across forces, more support post-promotion and gives officers a recognised and transferable qualification. It has a significant work based assessment element, moving away from the previous single national assessment centre.”

And to finish this section, here’s the College CEO at the time, Chief Constable Alex Marshall, explaining the benefits of implementing the NPPF just 9 years ago:

 “The introduction of the NPPF is the first significant change to the promotion process for many years. It will provide newly-promoted sergeants and inspectors with the necessary operational and leadership skills, developed in their local environments, to deliver a high quality service to the public.”

Why is SIPP being introduced?

The key goals conveyed in latest communications are for the new promotion process to be fairer, simpler, more standardised, and more accessible than the NPPF. In essence, it is touted as the solution to the problems perceived with the NPPF. SIPP’s purpose and broad objectives are summarised in the recommendations made to, and approved by, the NPCC (below).

An additional reason is the wider ‘professionalisation’ agenda as part of the PEQF, with the College at the centre of all developmental material at every rank. The College’s own self-inspection indicated they need to become more relevant and connected with the professional development of officers. Mandating a modular leadership curriculum, pitched at a higher level of academic learning and mirroring a university-style approach to education, is part of the agenda.

The College may also see this as an opportunity to push more cops towards their leadership materials and their online learning system (commonly referred to as NCALT) and proposed ‘licence to practice’ (funded by member contributions).

What do the Police Federation think about SIPP?

The PFEW say it is working “alongside the College to develop the system”, so they are deeply involved in its creation and are fully supportive of it. Local Federations are also keen (e.g. Hants).

“The Sergeant and Inspector Promotion and Progression (SIPP) process, currently in a test phase, aims to create a fairer, more accessible path to promotion by focusing on leadership skills, professional development, and practice-based evidence. This new approach moves away from an overly complex, exam-centric system, helping to ensure that officers with the right qualities and leadership potential are promoted.” – PFEW

Sergeant Paul Matthews is the Federation’s Professional Development Lead, sitting on both the national PFEW Board and the College of Policing’s Board as a Non-Executive Director. As the spokesmen for the Fed on the matter, he states they want “a process that recognises and rewards talent, as opposed to gratifying those who simply navigate their way through the promotion pathway.”

These broad aims are difficult to argue against. It’s why Rank Success exists completely independently, helping level the playing field so that great, practical cops can also get promoted in these more theoretical processes.

Of course, the devil is always in the detail as to whether the new SIPP scheme will satisfy these shared, broadly-stated goals. Only time will tell.

How exactly will the new scheme make promotion fairer, simpler, and more accessible?

Such details are not yet known or communicated. As yet no tangible predictions have been made, explanations provided, or comparisons (SIPP vs. NPPF) attempted, to theorise how exactly elements of SIPP is or will be better for fairness, diversity, or its other overall noble objectives. If you know of any such comparisons or some sort of clear business case, please get in touch.

In terms of its aims to generally improve equality, diversity and inclusion of underrepresented groups, an Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) has not yet been completed either. The EIA would detail precisely how the new approach and its particular aspects are anticipated to benefit or hamper inclusion of different groups. It then gets updated as new information arises or as ‘plans hit reality’. As such, the EIA is normally conducted and exists before £multi-million trials and big changes like this are commenced. The lack of an EIA therefore remains a massive gap, given such EDI goals are central to SIPP’s justification.

Original SIPP designs (released under FOI) removed the legal exam from the front end. This element is seen as a key barrier to aspiring officers and accessibility for under-represented groups, thereby hindering diversity within the leadership ranks. The main reason cited for reduced diversity is the need for time and resources to study effectively to achieve the exam pass mark.

The current process has reintroduced the legal exam, pass marks, and associated need for study, despite these being cited as a central part of the rationale for change. Here’s a point candidates must affirm as part on their ‘promotion readiness’ in Stage 1 (see “What does the SIPP process entail?” FAQ later)…

“I understand there will be a time commitment required to complete the personal study, learning and assessment requirements as part of the promotion process, in addition to my core duties.”

In terms of the ‘simplicity’ goal, it’s currently hard to see how that will be achieved. The process overall is longer, has more tangible steps, more complexity, involves more assessments and paperwork, and requires more investment from forces than the NPPF to make it work. It could be that forces are able to deliver this complexity in a way that feels simpler to candidates; feedback from officers in the evaluation will be key.

How many steps are there to SIPP vs NPPF?

The NPPF has 4 steps:

SIPP has three stages, but these contain a total of over 10 identifiable steps, all of which must underpinned by regular and recorded PDRs with your manager:

So while comparing the NPPF 4 Steps to SIPP 3 Stages sounds simpler (3 is less than 4, right?), the devil in the detail to any objective observer demonstrates far more complexity and a longer process for candidates to reach substantive promotion.

How will success (or otherwise) of the trials be determined?

The College say they will evaluate the SIPP process throughout the trials and complete the evaluation by September 2026. They don’t yet elaborate on how exactly, but state that feedback from participating officers will be incorporated. It is not known whether opinions of other officers outside the trials (but who will be subjected to the new scheme thereafter) will also be considered, other than indirectly via the PFEW’s feedback.

Some relevant measures of success against the core purpose of SIPP might include:

Given the low number of officers involved in the trials, those trials covering just a few forces (some of which are only trialling for just one rank), and that the trials are so variable, effective comparisons for effective evaluation will be severely hampered.

For example, it will be impossible to meaningfully compare the diversity and experience of SIPP for minority ethnic officers against that for NPPF, because the numbers are simply too low to reach higher rungs on the College’s ‘ladder of evidence’ standard for evidence-based policing. They will likely therefore rely on anecdotal commentary from candidates between each scheme.

But given the massive time, money and resources both the College and forces are investing with this, the support it has among all key parties (NPCC, Federation, etc.), along with the political drivers to ‘make it happen’ to try and realise its perceived benefits, it’s easy to predict this scheme is doomed to succeed and will be implemented nationally in a few years.

Does SIPP involve a legal exam?

Yes. It is often referred to as a “legal knowledge assessment”.

Exams for those in pilot forces were first conducted in late 2024, coinciding with the NPPF Sergeant and Inspector exams in October and November respectively. For example, on 9 September the College tweeted on X:

“Registration for the national police promotion framework (NPPF) and Sergeant and Inspector Promotion and Progression (SIPP) inspectors’ exam is now open. Exam date: 5 to 7 November. Deadline to register: Thursday 10 October.”

(Sept 2025 updated note: It turns out there was no Inspector SIPP exam in 2024, and one Sergeants SIPP exam. The latter had just 13 candidates complete it and a pass rate similar to NPPF, at just over 50%. The Spring 2025 SIPP exams for both ranks also had pass rates similar to NPPF, or slightly lower compared to trial forces when they ran NPPF exams).

Like the NPPF too, SIPP gives candidates two chances per year, coinciding with the NPPF online exam dates. The Sergeants’ SIPP exams are scheduled for March and October, while Inspectors’ exams are scheduled for May and November.

SIPP exams closely mirror the NPPF Step 2. A pass for the SIPP legal exam is will be valid for five years.

What do the SIPP Sergeants’ and Inspectors’ legal exams entail?

The Sergeants’ exam consists of 80 scenario-based, multiple-choice questions within a two hour time limit. The Inspectors’ exam has 40 multiple choice questions, to be completed in one hour. Candidates will receive their results and feedback on performance within 3 weeks of the exam.

The SIPP exam syllabus has apparently been scaled back in compared to NPPF, as part of the ambition to make the legal knowledge test more relevant to the role aspired to. The syllabus was approved by the NPCC in March 2024.

Like NPPF, the syllabus covered adheres to the 2025 Blackstone’s Police Manuals. This is the only source the College recommendeds for study, as it does for the NPPF Step 2 exams. Candidates will still need to buy these manuals for themselves and invest in their own study time, though it may be your force offers some sort of support scheme, so enquire with your HR department.

What are the SIPP exam pass marks?

For the Sergeant SIPP exam, the pass mark is 55%. Of the 80 questions, 5 are removed from the marking process. So to achieve 55%, candidates must score 41/75 questions correct. Those with a score at or above 80% will be graded ‘exceptional’.

For the Inspector’s SIPP exam, the pass mark is 65%. Of the 40 questions, 5 are removed from the marking process. So to achieve 65%, candidates must score 23/35 questions correct. Those with a score at or above 85% will be graded ‘exceptional’.

All that said, the following is an interesting statement in the College’s SIPP exam documentation released under FOI:

“The NPPF debrief panel reserves the right to alter the pass mark of the SIPP test legal knowledge assessment in exceptional circumstances if they have evidence to show that a change in the pass mark would result in a fairer outcome.”

Can I still get promoted if I fail the SIPP exam?

No. You will need to pass the exam, or you cannot do any in-force process (e.g. interview) nor proceed to temporary promotion and the additional steps that entails.

What steps does the SIPP process entail?

SIPP is made up of three broad stages: Development, Selection, and then Temporary Promotion. As such, SIPP is being marketed as simpler, because the NPPF has four stages, not three.

It sounds simple, right? However, the details belie a more comprehensive, complex, and longer-lasting schedule of hurdles and hoops for officers to jump through. There are robust formal assessments at every stage, with continual monitoring of candidates throughout.

The College have produced hundreds of pages of guidance and instructions for forces, assessors, and candidates themselves about this new SIPP promotion scheme. This presents an additional element of complexity to the process, with multi-layered and bespoke assessments throughout.

The increased complexity and resource-intensiveness clearly requires a big time/resource investment from forces to implement versus NPPF. This may be a reason why six of nine forces have backed out of the trials.

To try and simplify things here, the specific steps from Stage 1 to 3 are sequenced as follows:

Who will assess police promotion candidates?

With the exception of the legal exam, forces must assess candidates themselves at every stage. They must do so in accordance with detailed assessment criteria, guidance and bespoke training given by the College. Given the increased intensity and duration of assessment, forces will likely need to increase the resources they put to this vs. NPPF. Forces will also need to assess each candidate’s 5000-word national application form.

Assessors for any step of SIPP must be substantive at the target rank or above. For example, if you’re going for PC to Sergeant, you may be assessed by Sergeants. Normally under NPPF, forces choose those at least a rank above (e.g. Inspectors+ assess PC to Sergeant, Superintendents assess Sergeant to Inspector).

Will I need to do an interview, presentation, and/or briefing?

This is up to local forces. SIPP doesn’t appear to deal with the competition inherent to promotion (more aspiring people than available posts). So forces will need to continue with some sort of local assessment. It’s a postcode lottery whether your force chooses to do interviews, briefings, presentations, psychometric tests, and/or other assessments from the myriad of options.

Whichever you may face, Rank Success materials offer you the best possible preparation to massively boost your knowledge and confidence going into the process.

What are the leadership learning modules all about?

Before being substantively promoted, candidates must conduct the College’s leadership learning modules. For Sergeants, there are six modules forming the First Line Leaders (FLL). For Inspectors, there are five modules to the Mid-Level Leaders (MLL) curriculum. You must build a ‘portfolio’ of documented evidence to prove that you have done the modules and can demonstrate your knowledge of them.

Each module is extensive and will take significant time to complete. Your knowledge of each module’s learning outcomes will be assessed against various criteria. Forces will choose how to assess you, but will often be based on your written evidence. Your written evidence demonstrating knowledge across the various criteria may amount to thousands of words. This is akin to doing a university dissertation or a mega application form, but done in bitesize chunks over many months.

There’s a mix of ‘formative’ (academese for informal) assessments as you are doing the module, then ‘summative’ assessment (academese for pass/fail) at the end of each. Candidates must pass ALL modules for the rank. The base pass mark is 40%, following the College’s other university degree related content. A mark of 60% or over is considered a ‘Merit’.

The College describe the following as warranting an automatic fail, as a warning shot to those who may be tempted to make stuff up, copy stuff, or otherwise act in a dishonest manner for their promotion bid:

“Work which contains evidence of, or reference to, unlawful, unethical, unsafe, or dangerous practice, embellishment or unauthentic account of what the candidate did or evidence of plagiarism or any other form of cheating eg, the work not originating from the candidate will result in an automatic fail. Under these circumstances the candidate will be reported to their line manager and professional standards who will take forward any further necessary action.”

Below are extracts of the College’s broad assessment criteria and example evidence a candidate must provide at the Sergeant level, towards two of the six FLL modules and to satisfy the curriculum.

For over a decade, Rank Success has been providing succinct, impactive and user-friendly leadership development to aspiring police leaders and promotion candidates. These College modules now seem to emulate some of the important CPD areas covered in my masterclass and promotion guides. So if you want an alternative angle to excel in the completion of your modular assessments, my bespoke toolkits come in handy here too.

Have police officers themselves been consulted?

The College say they are consulting with the PFEW, officers, forces, NPCC, and other key stakeholders. However, it is unclear how much of a say officers themselves have had. Most seemed to have never heard of SIPP when I first broke the news about it, and many remain in the dark of what it looks like now (hence these blogs to help raise awareness).

“It would seem that, yet again, the consultation did not involve any of the practitioners. The first I heard about this was whilst chatting with a candidate whilst doing a PC-PS assessment yesterday.” – Rob, Twitter

Details of exactly who have been consulted and how have not been published. However, the College’s 2021 Review of Police Promotion and Progression (released under FOI) was the precursor to SIPP and indicates the groups it tends to consult on such matters…

Here’s one of the College’s ‘Key Findings’ from that 2021 consultation:

“We also found that prospective candidates can be put off entering the promotion process as a result of the time required to study for the pre-requisite legal exam, by the relationship with their line manager, and the perceived administrative burden of the overall current NPPF process.” – College

How involved are line managers in the SIPP framework?

Heavily and at every stage. Throughout the SIPP process, the line manager is central and far more involved than in NPPF to support police promotion candidates. Regular PDR discussions are an important mechanism required throughout. They are also key to supporting the candidate build their portfolio of leadership evidence.

“The responsibility for developing an individual’s career is their own, however, forces and line managers also have an important role in providing individuals with constructive feedback and support… Line managers will require the relevant skills and support to engage in career development conversations with individuals, ie, knowledge of, and the information required to, progress to the next role and the confidence to support officers in relation to their promotion readiness reflection tool outcomes.” – College SIPP guidance

Therefore, this brings back complications relating to line manger availability and relationships with officers into the promotion system.

Why can’t I find detailed information on the scheme?

The College does not proactively publish any details about the SIPP trials and methods on its website. There are a few headlines in the form of brief news announcements and a ‘soundbite’ approach to comms.

Reactive responses to FOI requests submitted by Rank Success (and others) however give more details about the scheme and exam pass rates to date. These source documents and other intelligence form the basis of blogs such as this, attempting to provide more transparency around this controversial and seismic change to promotion, while making sense of the complexity in the absence of published information.

If you’re in a SIPP trial force and want details on the scheme, you will need to ask your force or the College themselves for the latest documentation, which amounts to 100s of pages.

Where can I get independent support?

For the exam, the Blackstone’s Police Manuals are the official curriculum study materials. Companies like Checkmate Training offer ‘crammer courses’ and study guidance to help you pass.

For support with your leadership development and wider police promotion, including the application form, promotion boards, in-force assessments, understanding the CVF, the role, and much more, Rank Success provides comprehensive and rank-specific support to guide you through to success.

In summary, I’ll support you with everything except the exam, with leadership CPD and clarity on the role which transcends whatever promotion process or framework exists (they often change!). Comprehensive digital toolkits, supplementary podcasts, and personal coaching/mentoring are the main services I offer.

“I read over and over the material you made available and no doubt much of it stuck.  I applied aspects of it when preparing my examples beforehand and when preparing myself (know thyself!). I think one of the most significant pieces of learning that stuck with me was – What is an Inspector?  A simple question but with so much behind it. You provided some clear explanation, but also added value with the global leadership aspects of the role. I took a lot from this. Thank you. I would definitely invest in another masterclass if I ever decide to put myself through this again. Keep doing what you’re doing and see you at the next one!” – Ben (Passed Inspector Promotion Board First Time)

How long does it take to get promoted under SIPP?

The time from Stage 1 through to Stage 3 of SIPP (and ultimately substantive promotion) is not precisely defined. But given Stage 3 (temporary promotion) alone takes between 6 to 18 months, I’d estimate overall 1-2 years end to end to achieve substantive promotion. It all depends on factors like how quickly you can pass the leadership modules, the national promotion application form, the timing of the exam and your in-force promotion selection process, access to CPD opportunities, your relationship with your line manager and how much time your supervisor can devote to supporting you.

The intensity of the work put in during this timeframe appears high (e.g. the national application form will amount to thousands of words, plus the additional written evidence for your portfolio). Clearly this may present issues around operational and family commitments.

The equivalent ‘temporary promotion’ step 4 of the NPPF is 12 months. However in reality, the ‘work-based assessment’ element is often seen as more of a tick box exercise; it’s rare for NPPF candidates to revert to square one after passing a board in NPPF Step 3.

What happens if I fail the assessments of my evidence during Stage 3 (temporary promotion)?

If you fail the assessment of your portfolio of leadership evidence, you will go back to your substantive rank.

Does SIPP apply to Fast Track or Direct Entry candidates?

No. Released FOI info from the College (Dec 2024) confirms that SIPP is not applicable to Fast Track or Direct Entry Inspector candidates, exams or otherwise.

When is SIPP scheduled to go live in my force?

If you’re in Avon and Somerset, Leicestershire, or Lincolnshire, it’s already live now as a trial. If these trials are deemed a ‘success’, current plans are it will replace NPPF nationally from April 2027. Trials in Northumbria and Northamptonshire are scheduled for later in 2025.

Who decides whether SIPP is rolled out nationally?

The College will make recommendations following the trials. But ultimately, the go / no go decision will be made by the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC).

What does the Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) of SIPP say?

An EIA has not yet been conducted nor published for the SIPP framework. Nor are there any apparent details or evidence yet as to how exactly the SIPP framework will achieve its aims of improved equality, diversity, and inclusion better than the NPPF.

Should I wait until SIPP is implemented before going for promotion?

NO! Never let external uncertainties hold up your career aspirations. I’d encourage you to take opportunities as they arise in your career, whatever process is in place. If you have a goal, make a plan and stick to it.

Does SIPP involve more academia?

Yes. There’s far more emphasis on your written communication skills. The SIPP national application form for example amounts to thousands of words. Then there’s the legal exam plus additional written evidence for your leadership modules, mirroring the approach of attaining a formal leadership qualification.

The College advise that promotion candidates should be given ‘protected learning and assessment time’ as part of the SIPP process and given the extra work entailed versus NPPF. And my application and evidence guides of course will give you guidance and support with application forms and what good evidence looks like.

Will I need to do online training?

Yes. Hours of online learning will be involved in several parts of each of the leadership modules, but it’s up to forces how much they do online versus in person. Given the far more resource-intensive nature of SIPP for forces, it’s likely forces will need to do quite a bit online.

Does SIPP provide a formal qualification?

No. While much of the learning and assessment is at degree level, there is not a qualification at the end of it. The College do however suggest candidates can convert learning into “credits” towards some other qualification they’re doing.

“Although not accredited, we aim to develop a programme of learning and development that can readily be converted into recognisable academic credits towards achieving a qualification.” – College

For comparison, NPPF provides a formal Level 4 management qualification to Sergeants and a Level 5 one for Inspectors.

Is SIPP being trialled before being introduced everywhere?

Yes. The two year trial phase began in April 2024 and ends in 2026. Five forces in total have agreed to trial, two of which start in late 2025. The College aim to complete their evaluation of the effectiveness of SIPP over NPPF by September 2026.

Which police forces are involved in SIPP trials?

Avon and Somerset, Gwent, Leicestershire, and Lincolnshire are the named forces already trialling SIPP, amounting to several hundred officers. More recently, Northamptonshire and Northumbria have been added to trials and will commence with SIPP later in 2025.

It was originally announced as nine forces, but the others backed out for reasons not published. So any force not mentioned above is using NPPF.

Under 4% of all promotion candidates are represented by trial forces. For context, when NPPF was being trialled just over a decade ago, more forces were involved representing over 30% of all England and Wales officers. These were: Avon & Somerset Constabulary, Bedfordshire Police, Hertfordshire Constabulary, Merseyside Police, the Metropolitan Police Service, Sussex Police and Thames Valley Police.

Are the pilot forces trialling SIPP in the same way?

No. While the College state that SIPP is being introduced to standardise promotion processes, there’s a postcode lottery in how it’s being applied.

For example, there are differences between when forces choose to make candidates sit the new legal exam, how long candidates await assessment to convert temporary into substantive promotion, and while some forces are implementing SIPP for both Sergeant and Inspector promotion, others are only trialling SIPP for one of the ranks or just some elements from SIPP.

Not to mention, some forces requiring additional elements to the national process (e.g. local competitive process, enhanced leadership learning modules), there will be variation in which roles/ranks forces choose to assess candidates (e.g. a dedicated expert team of 5 assessors roaming the force vs. a ‘pool’ of dozens who must make time around the day job), and of course variation in whether forces give line managers extra time to support aspiring officers through the 18-24 month process.

What about forces not in the trials?

For forces not in the SIPP trials, NPPF applies.

I’m in a trial force. What do I do?

Ask your HR department for the extensive candidate guidance and documentation. Read it carefully!

What if I transfer forces during promotion for the SIPP trial period?

You will be subject to the promotion process your new force uses.

Police regulations on promotion revolve around NPPF. How is SIPP legally accounted for, in terms of officer ability to challenge and such?

The Police Promotion Regulations (2015 amendment) covers the current NPPF promotion process, not the SIPP trials. Given SIPP therefore currently sits outside Regs, there’s a risk of legal challenge to forces involved in trials. Trial forces must ensure they closely follow all the detailed guidance and specific standards to minimise this risk. The apparent risk might be another reason why forces chose to back out of the trials late on.

“It should be noted that during the test phase this substantive promotion will be outside the existing regulatory framework and as such carries and as such may be open to legal challenge. However, this risk is minimal provided the force have adhered to all guidance as set by the College and met all the required learning standards.” – College SIPP guidance to forces

Can I appeal assessment decisions under SIPP?

Yes. There is an appeals process for the exam, for which you should read the candidate guidance. Beyond the legal exam, each force must create and manage its own appeals process for all other parts of the scheme, in which case you’ll need to ask your HR or L&D department for information on this.

Will officers be supported with Protected Learning Time to complete this more time-intensive process?

It is for individual forces to decide how much time they afford to aspiring officers for their CPD. They sometimes choose to do this as part of their Positive Action schemes for underrepresented demographic groups.

What are the latest rumours around SIPP?

Rumours in policing spread fast, especially when official answers are seemingly scarce. Some rumours have landed in recent conversations with interested parties and aspiring officers looking to the next 2-3 years of their career progression. One such rumour is that Gwent are another force that have recently pulled out of the scheme, now leaving just three in the trials. (Update Jan 2025: Confirmed Gwent have withdrawn, though not stated why publicly.)

If you are involved with the scheme and have any further non-sensitive information you would be happy to share confidentially, please get in touch to help me get accurate information out there and build a complete picture.

Why don’t the College publish SIPP exam results?

Don’t know. The College publish exam success rates and other statistics by demographics after every NPPF Legal Exam on their website, which I often summarise in my blog. E.g. see latest Inspector’s exam and Sergeant’s exam. Such results have not been published pertaining to the 2024 SIPP exams.

Oddly however, trial forces are included in the October (Sergeant) and November (Inspector) 2024 results for the NPPF Step 2 legal exams. It is not clear whether the College have mixed SIPP/NPPF results together in these reports and mislabelled them all as ‘NPPF’, or indeed if those in trial forces ended up actually doing the NPPF exam last minute instead.

Please let me know if you have any accurate information on this. Were you one of the candidates?

(Update Sept 2025: Some results are now being published in response to FOI requests.)

Is SIPP fair?

Whatever promotion process has been in place, it will be argued as being ‘unfair’. SIPP may well not be any different in this respect.

For example, while the exam syllabus has been reduced, there’s greater involvement of the line manager and PDR. The supervisors also have heavy involvement in the new SIPP evidence portfolio for assessment against the leadership modules. This could be argued as removing some safeguards introduced under NPPF.

Time and formal evaluation will tell if officers consider this process fairer than NPPF (assuming they are asked).

A Final Thought: What’s the BEST and most FAIR promotion process?

There is no such thing as a perfect system. Every officer has a different opinion, junior or senior. That’s why it’s currently a postcode lottery.

Some argue there’s no issue with exams and such knowledge is important, especially for certain roles (e.g. custody, investigation). Some people prefer written application forms, others think applications are brutal and instead value the interpersonal approach of interviews.

Another option is on-the-job assessment, whereby if you can show you can do it, you get the job. But this ignores the fact that promotion positions are over-subscribed and highly competitive.

Neurodiversity has been another complicating factor around fairness raised in recent years. But even with that, there are no “best” methods, and you can’t avoid there being winners and losers. The simple fact is that neurodiversity is diverse! Some individuals prefer in-person methods, because their written skills are at a disadvantage. Others are disadvantaged in their interpersonal skills, so prefer written applications over interviews.

There are endless options. Each has pros and cons. Whichever system is in place will have its winners and losers – that’s life. What would you choose and why? Let me know and I’ll do a podcast summarising and proposing the ‘holy grail’!

“Competition exists to choose who gets the prize when the prize can’t be shared.” – Andrew Harvey

Kind Regards, Steve

Seeking police promotion? Want a MASSIVE head start right now? Hit the ground running with your personal digital promotion toolkit, and/or my market-leading Police Promotion Masterclass. There’s nothing else like it to effectively prepare you for success in your leadership aspirations. You can also contact me to arrange more personal coaching support. Or try my podcast for your ongoing police leadership CPD covering a range of fascinating subjects.

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