Looking back on 2024

We've seen a few changes on our Board of Trustees this year, with Dr Laura Dean becoming our President-Elect and David Carew taking a place on the board as an elected trustee following member elections.

We appointed Dr Carol Cole as the new chair of the board in the autumn, and she chaired her first meeting earlier this week, and we're all looking forward to working together for the society during 2025.

Dr Roman Raczka took over as our President at our AGM, and will be the second to serve a two-year term under the new rules. I want to thank our former President Nicky Hayes for all of her hard work in the role, and wish her the best in her position on the Executive Committee of the International Union of Psychological Science.

The AGM also saw the formation of the society's first new member network for a number of years, with members giving the green light to the Environmental Psychology Section, which will be focusing on what psychology can contribute to one of the defining issues of our time.

The climate crisis is one of the big global challenges facing the new UK government and policymakers around the world, following a general election in July. Despite the surprise timing of the election, we were able to work closely with members to produce 'Psychology Matters', our own manifesto.

I thought this was a hugely important piece of work which laid out in clear terms just how government can deliver successful and effective policy which helps to improve people's lives.

We're continuing to make connections with the new government and policymakers, both in Westminster and across the devolved nations, something I wrote about in detail in last month's blog.

We've submitted nearly 30 consultation responses across all four nations during the year, on subjects ranging from assisted dying to eating disorders and government mental health strategy. These responses are only possible thanks to your input, so thank you to everyone who got involved over the year.

This is all part of our campaigning work, and 2024 saw further progress in our work calling for funding for NHS Staff Mental Health and Wellbeing Hubs, as well as the launch of a new campaign.

The success of the hubs campaign, which has been ongoing for the last couple of years, was recognised by the prestigious Chartered Institute of Public Relations awards, where it received the award for best not-for-profit campaign.

Launched this year, our latest campaign is calling for more educational psychologists in local authorities in England, to make sure every child has the support they need to thrive in education. This campaign is now underway and will be a significant focus for us during 2025, working closely with our Division of Educational and Child Psychology.

We've been delighted to welcome significant numbers of new student members into the BPS during this year, and I really hope that psychologists of the future are seeing the benefit of being part of our community right from the beginning of their journey.

Our virtual careers festival, held in November, saw a record number of attendees for the event, which had input from all of our divisions and showed delegates the fascinating range of career opportunities that exist within our discipline.

We want to help nurture tomorrow's psychologists, however young they might be, so I want to mention the publication of 'Wonders of the Mind: Understanding the Universe Inside Our Heads', a children's book by developmental psychologist Dr Francesca Fotheringham that we endorsed.

This was the first in a mini-series of four children's books explaining different areas of psychology to young children – keep an eye out for further instalments during 2025.

One final resource developed for young people that I would like to mention is a teaching resource on the history of intelligence testing in the UK education system. Made possible thanks to funding from the Academy of Social Sciences, this pilot project introduced students to the challenging history of psychology, and the relevance it still has today.

Finally, I want to thank the thousands of members who got involved in the society's work during the year in some way. This is just a small snapshot of the fantastic work that is being produced, and it's only possible because so many of you are willing to offer your time and expertise.

I hope all of you have a restful time with loved ones over the festive period, and I look forward to seeing many of you during next year.