"London CRC in Special Measures - Inspection uncovered many cases which haven't been seen for months!"I am aware there is some social media speculation about the current HMIP inspection of London CRC, and there maybe more in the coming days.
"Have you heard London failed their HMIP inspection? Like properly failed. No redeeming features."
As you know, the inspection team is currently spending time with us and while that work is continuing, it is not appropriate to comment on any possible conclusions that the inspectors may come to. However, I want to be as open as possible with you about the current situation, and changes ahead.
As I said last week in my Ambition 20/20 update, for several months we have been planning significant changes to address concerns many of you have raised about caseload levels and management issues. You will also have heard me say that we need to improve skills and data integrity to meet our Ambition 20/20 goal to be the best at reducing reoffending.
Ambition 20/20 Change Plan
I assure you that these are not vague aspirations, but real plans to deal with substantial variations in workload across our cohorts.
Ambition 20/20, the London CRC Change Plan which is being lead by Paul McDowell and his team, is detailed and comprehensive. It addresses the immediate concerns of high caseloads, offender managers’ skills, leadership and managerial accountability, and data integrity.
Our plans have been shared with NOMS who have been supportive and are content with the approach we are taking to address the concerns we share.
You can find a summary of our plans, plus the latest Ambition 20/20 news and progress, on London i.
Focusing on our future
There will be much more information about the outcome of the inspection in the coming weeks, and I will share as much detail about progress as possible, as my approach is to be as open as I can be.
In the meantime, please treat speculation and rumour with great caution, as we will need to work positively and without distractions to ensure we achieve the results we all want and to focus on the needs of our service users.
Helga Swidenbank
Director of Probation
--oo00oo--
According to the posters up in every London office:-
Only 50%* of our service users have an OASys Sentence Plan!
*April's figures
Great commentary and leadership proving the load of bollox on this blog. If I blogged that I was a current CEO on this thing it doesn't make it true. Plus anyone who goes through an inspection will know results are not released til time after so I doubt the weasels making claims of a failure are right.
ReplyDeleteBoom - you've all just been destroyed
Thing is, 20:15, If the inspection is happening in your office it is quite easy to gain a feeling as to how things are going by what is being said or asked by the Inspectors. The response from Helga is bland go say the least, and unnecessary if this is just mischief making as the truth will out in the final report, and will be available for all to read on the HMIP website.
DeleteI cant wait to be inspected to try and tell them what its really like on the front line and it aint good
DeleteNice to see Mr McDowell has found a role for himself in the private sector since his fall from grace. With Mrs McDowell running Sodexo & Mr McD leading the 'London CRC Change Plan', does this give the McDowell household the most significant influence in CRCs? It must surely eclipse that other CRC power couple, Nigel & Andrea Bennett?
ReplyDeleteHelga knows it's not going well.
ReplyDeleteI heard a number of people have already been suspended and managers are flapping around pretending they have only just discovered what a huge mess all the cases are in.
ReplyDeleteAll nonsense. Clear off. All is fine
Deletetell us who you are and how you know all is fine 22 17. Anyone could say what you've just said. Is your name Helga by any chance? As you know, we would all be relieved muchly if what you say is true, please give us hard evidence.
DeleteIf they had their time again I wonder how many of the CRC owners would have bid. I have little sympathy for them, but they they have put themselves in an impossible position. I don't think it will be long before more of them have to admit it openly or find a face saving way of ducking out. Having taken on these contracts they find themselves as central to the problem - unworkable contracts in a sector which should never have been privatised on ethical grounds.
ReplyDeleteyawn! why do we do this. The armchair mood hoovers are just empty vessels as all of it's just speculation until the report has been published. I come back to the question time and time again. If people are so unhappy why not leave?
ReplyDeleteWell lots don't stay. Others do cos they have mortgages. Or inertia or loyalty to an idea that is dead. Or hope it will improve. Nobody l know has stayed because they embrace TR.
DeleteOne or two appear to embrace TR but privately believe it's a bottomless crock of guano that only serves to pay the bills until they can hop on another failing cash cow. Having long battled with prison staff the owners of CRCs regard probation staff as a softer target. They are part of the problem and just an extension of the states aparatus of suppression.
DeleteI wonder how long Helga has got before the axe falls on her own neck. Maybe some other chancer from the prison service would like a go. The boys with the bionic badges from Utah will not be impressed by incompetence chaos and failure. Believe It Or Not It's Crap.
ReplyDeleteHelga, unfortunately, is like a cockroach in that she will survive even the apocalypse and go on to another well paid job she doesn't have the skills for
DeleteAn email has been sent across London detailing an Alert. This is in relation to the inspection and the concerns that have been raised by the inspectors around enforcement issues. All individual officers have to book a slot with their SPO to go through every single case on their caseload next week
ReplyDeleteThe first of many emails. Lots of talk about incompetent middle managers and frontline staff showing their dissatisfaction by doing sod all to attain targets. This is probably the biggest protest in any CRC against the privateers. Well done LondonCRC staff. Sock it to 'em where it hurts. They are planning to make you redundant anyway.
DeleteHow big is London and Thames Valley's case load? Because MTCNOVO haven't risk assessed or initiated sentence plans for 50% of offenders. I heard from a close pale (ACO) they are in special measures losing money. If I had shares I'd dump them before they become toxic...
ReplyDeleteSome PSOs in certain Cohorts with 140 cases in London and POs dealing with DV and Child protection cases with caseloads in high 80s-90s.
ReplyDeleteOnly 50%* of our service users have an OASys Sentence Plan!
ReplyDelete*April's figures
That's actually a better ratio than you'll find in prison where someone can go an entire sentence and not see OMU let alone have an OAsys done