Celebrating innovation, creativity and excellence across the care sector.
Behind every great care experience is a person who made it happen – an activity provider with the patience to coax out a memory, a team that built something extraordinary from a small budget, a service whose creativity changed lives.
The National Activity Awards exist to give that work the recognition it deserves. From individual practitioners delivering exceptional engagement, to whole organisations transforming how care is delivered, the awards celebrate the innovation, dedication and excellence that defines our sector at its best.
This award celebrates an individual who consistently provides good quality activity provision, demonstrates compassion, creativity and dedication and has the willingness to learn new skills and go the extra mile.
*Nominations open to NAPA Association Members and NAPA Registered Activity Providers Only.
This award recognises an individual who has truly embraced their role and demonstrated enormous potential for career progression.
This award celebrates a team of people whose commitment to activity provision deserves particular recognition. A team who are open and innovative in its approach and have demonstrated excellent teamwork to deliver the best outcomes for the people they support.
This award recognises a setting that has shown a commitment and passion for embedding arts based activities and has demonstrated the difference they can make to people’s lives.
This award recognises a service that has gone above and beyond to improve the lives of people living with dementia through the integration of activity, art and engagement into everyday care and support.
This award recognises a service that has gone above and beyond to improve the lives of people living with dementia through the integration of activity, art and engagement into everyday care and support.
This award recognises an exceptional project, programme, initiative or event that has placed culture at the heart of care. The winner will demonstrate how cultural activity has been used to enrich lives, strengthen connection and enhance wellbeing for individuals or communities.
This award recognises exemplary collaborations between researchers and Activity Providers that drive innovation and improvement in the field of activity provision.
This award recognises an exceptional Activity Provider who has made a career long contribution to activity provision. This person will have made a significant contribution to the development of activity provision as a profession that is valued by the sector.
This award recognises an individual who is a role model to others, demonstrates a high level of commitment and is dedicated to excellence in activity provision.
This award recognises an exceptional service, project or initiative that actively promotes positive ageing.
This award recognises an outstanding external provider that delivers high quality activity services.
This award recognises the innovative and ethical use of digital tools, technology and social media to enhance engagement, connect communities and enrich activity provision.
This award recognises an exceptional project, initiative or approach that uses life story work and reminiscence to celebrate identity, strengthen relationships and enhance wellbeing.
This award recognises an outstanding project or initiative that brings different generations together in meaningful and enriching ways.
This award recognises outstanding efforts in promoting movement and physical activity, contributing to improved wellbeing and confidence and independence.
Use the criteria above to identify the right category. You can nominate for as many categories as you like – just complete a separate form for each.
Describe what makes this person, team or service deserving. Minimum 500 words is – we’re looking for substance, not length.
Optional but recommended: photos, testimonials, feedback, impact data, examples of outcomes. Anything that shows the work in action.
Nominations close on the 31st August, finalists will be contacted shortly after for interview.
The National Activity Awards ceremony is held on the3rd Friday in January. It’s a gala dinner – black-tie, sector-wide, and one of the highlights of the year for everyone who works in activity provision.
Finalists and their guests are invited to attend, with discounted tickets available to NAPA members. The ceremony brings together hundreds of practitioners, care leaders, sector partners and academic colleagues – all celebrating the work that defines our profession.
Members get a discount!
Head to the Member Portal to get your code.
Sponsoring the National Activity Awards is a powerful way to align your organisation with a respected national charity and demonstrate your commitment to meaningful activity and engagement in care.
Sponsorship packages include category sponsorship (your brand attached to one award category), table sponsorship at the gala dinner, and headline programme sponsorship. Past sponsors include leading care providers, suppliers to the care sector, and academic institutions.
Anyone who meets the criteria for the category can be nominated. We welcome nominations from across the activity, care, health and wellbeing sectors, celebrating individuals, teams and organisations that are making a real difference.
Absolutely! We actively encourage self-nominations. This is your opportunity to showcase your achievements, share your story, and celebrate the impact of your work.
Yes. You are welcome to submit nominations for multiple categories if you feel you meet the criteria for each one. Simply ensure that each nomination is tailored to the specific award category. NAPA reserves the right to move a submission if we feel it is better placed in a different category.
If you’re shortlisted, you’ll be invited to take part in a friendly online group interview where you will meet the other finalists in your category and share good practice with a panel of experienced judges. There’s no need to be nervous the interview is designed to be supportive, welcoming, and conversational. It is a wonderful opportunity to tell us more about your practice, share your achievements, and help the judges understand the impact of your work.
No, attending the ceremony is not a requirement for winning. However, we would love to celebrate with you and strongly encourage attendance if possible. We understand that travel, work commitments, and other circumstances can sometimes make attending difficult, and this will not affect the judging process or your chance of winning.
There is no charge to submit a nomination, entering the awards is completely free.
If you would like to attend the awards ceremony, NAPA members receive a special discounted ticket price of £99 per person, while non-member tickets are £139 per person.
The ceremony is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate excellence, recognise outstanding achievements, network with colleagues from across the sector, and be inspired by the incredible work taking place throughout our community. We would be delighted to welcome you.
A strong nomination helps the judges clearly understand the impact of your work and why it deserves recognition. We encourage you to provide as much supporting evidence as possible, including:
The strongest nominations tell a compelling story, provide real-life examples, and clearly demonstrate the difference that has been made. Don’t be shy about celebrating your achievements, this is your chance to showcase the incredible work you do.
Take five minutes to recognise the people whose work changes lives. Nominations for the 2027 Awards close 31st August 2026.
