From yesterday's Napo bulletin:-
OASys reviews have been a regular source of enquiries from members. The EDM issued by HMPPS demanded a review for each client. We have heard of reports from some NPS areas who are demanding that staff set a standard Supervision Plan objective to comply with social distancing (which is ridiculous).
There has also been a good deal of feedback from members on the workload issues associated with doing a review in each case. Many have told us that what practitioners should be doing is making a conscious decision on each case about whether a review is needed, and recording the decision on Delius, and then doing the review if it is necessary.
OASys reviews have been a regular source of enquiries from members. The EDM issued by HMPPS demanded a review for each client. We have heard of reports from some NPS areas who are demanding that staff set a standard Supervision Plan objective to comply with social distancing (which is ridiculous).
There has also been a good deal of feedback from members on the workload issues associated with doing a review in each case. Many have told us that what practitioners should be doing is making a conscious decision on each case about whether a review is needed, and recording the decision on Delius, and then doing the review if it is necessary.
Same for SPOs and middle managers who are expected to do all this, plus chase the demands and step in as a PO too.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of a standard Supervision Plan objective to comply with social distancing. Pointless when they are required to attend probation offices where social distancing is impossible.
Napo and Unions, their action is too late because there have already been deaths, sadly.
Where are probation offices still open?
Meant to say WHY are probation offices still open?
DeleteBecause the unions Napo have failed to consult members on seeking support for formal industrial action on health and safety grounds not being satisfied. No risk assessments no proper conditions to meet a written risk assessment. No compatible working areas being tested. The general secretary not up to the job and national officers not skilled or confident enough to do what needs to be done to protect members. To protect yourselves from this go sick.
DeleteWhy have a standard supervision plan objective for every case?
DeleteThis means every oasis is updated.
When can I get the service user to have sight of their supervision plan. We have no printers, we aren’t seeing them face to face to show using electronic means and if we were we’d be breaking social distancing.
It insults the intelligence of the majority who will be practicing social distancing. Those who won’t, will not care anyway.
Does this mean they can be breached for not complying with the objective if they have symptoms of covid19, how can this be enforced when they could effectively get it from the postman delivering a letter from NPS.
To me this is a back covering exercise to satisfy inspectors and management. I’m confident every Pso and Po will be having the conversation about health, well being and social distancing in their telephone calls with clients.
Why use up a precious resource getting this embedded into Supervision plans with oasys, when staff are adjusting to working from home, suffering fatigue and sleepless nights, worrying about not being able to stay safe, trying to continue to deliver a good service.
An additional sentence plan objective will achieve nothing I’m afraid.
MoJ page:
DeleteSchedule of Requirements
Supervision - Regular sessions with an offender manager to help you stop offending
Unpaid Work (Community Payback) - You will work in the community, paying back for the harm you have caused
Programme - A course to help you change so you stop offending
Drug Rehabilitation - To help you overcome your drug problem by treatment and testing
Alcohol Treatment - To help you overcome your alcohol problem
Curfew - To stop you going out between agreed house, sometimes with electronic monitoring
Residence - You must live at a place agreed by the court
Activity - An activity to improve your skills or spend time with the victim of your crime
Exclusion - To stop you going somewhere because you have committed an offence there
Prohibited Activity - Bans you from something such as attending a football match or using the internet
Mental Health Treatment - Professional medical help for problems which led you to offend
Attendance Centre (for under 25s) - You must go to an attendance centre for set hours
_____________
2015 Nat Stds
The plan is completed and includes the following information:
* The offender is engaged as an active participant in preparing the plan and understands its content and purpose. Relevant sources of information are used to inform the plan
* The plan is augmented by information from the offender’s home and social environment
* The plan includes an analysis of the risk of re-offending, particularly re-offending likely to cause serious harm and focuses on what is required to reduce re-offending particularly re-offending likely to cause serious harm.
* In cases which qualify for statutory/ discretionary victim contact account is taken of the victim’s views in respect of release, and release arrangements
* Where the plan indicates a risk of re-offending, particularly re-offending likely to cause serious harm, information is shared promptly with relevant parties
* The work of all those involved in delivering elements of the plan is coordinated and information is exchanged e.g. where there are child or adult safeguarding plans
* The plan sets out how the purpose of the sentence specified by the court will be met The initial plans for high risk of serious harm cases are prioritised.
* The sequence of the objectives form manageable steps for the offender and those working with them Contributions and planned outcomes are discussed and agreed between all providers and personne
* The plan uses an appropriately validated tool and is recorded in the approved forma
* Officers must consider whether an Approved Premises placement is appropriate at the earliest possible opportunity
The amount of bullshit that goes into sentence plans and objective, what harm is there having one on social distancing if it encourages the offender to be safe and avoid going out and getting stopped by the police.
DeleteDoes take much effort to send to a colleague in the office to print and post.
*doesn't*
DeleteStaying at home and away from others (social distancing)
DeleteThe single most important action we can all take, in fighting coronavirus, is to stay at home in order to protect the NHS and save lives.
When we reduce our day-to-day contact with other people, we will reduce the spread of the infection. That is why the government has introduced three new measures.
Requiring people to stay at home
Closing certain businesses and venues.
Stopping all gatherings of more than two people in public.
***Every person in the UK must comply with these new measures, which came into effect on Monday 23 March.***
_______________________
Come on, probation people, get creative like we did in t'olden days. As 09:20 says, you already fill the plans with plenty of other meaningless shite, so why not quietly do as you're told & put 'social distancing' measures on the supervision plans?
How can people report to the office when its on their supervision plan to stay at home? :)
If the unions won't act in your best interests, then use what's available to protect yourselves.
DeleteI'm surprised and shocked that the previous few posters don't seem to grasp the importance and significance of a purposeful/individualised set of sentence plan goals in which the service user is properly engaged....it's the bedrock of my practice and if you read any research literature, should be the bedrock of yours. It so upsets me when people pay lip service to goal setting, "writing meaningless shit" into goals for the benefit of nobody.
DeleteI know we have the benefit of hindsight and the ability to analyse these pronouncements when they are made, but I sit and wonder if senior managers ever consider how foolish they look and how little confidence the workforce have in them.
ReplyDeleteThe great ‘three car home visits fiasco,’ is my favourite example from recent times but sadly, they appear to have learned little.
Where do they recruit these people from? They appear to have little knowledge of the practicalities of the job and are ardent followers of the ‘do as I say, not as I do ‘ school of practice.
I am sick of being bombarded by e mails from people trying to justify their existence and often end up receiving the same unwanted message three or four times.
I am fed up with the bureaucratic practice of duplication, triplication and quadruplication of information from one document to another in order to save time for someone important who can’t be bothered to look it up.
These by the way are the people being paid £1500 per month EXTRA to create the shambles that is the modern probation service.
£1500 is for their “leadership” !
Delete1st April 2020:-
ReplyDeleteGMB demands Marks and Spencer steps in to ensure safe social distancing is enforced
GMB Union has called on Marks and Spencer to protect workers from coronavirus after distribution staff staged two walk outs over safety fears. The union has condemned DHL, which runs the Swindon warehouse on behalf of M&S, for its cavalier attitude to health and safety.
Around 80 GMB members downed tools on March 24 and 26 to remove themselves from dangerous working conditions, and lack of precautions over coronavirus.
Andy Newman, GMB Branch Secretary, said:
“Our members are extremely frightened. GMB shop stewards challenged managers about the impossibility of maintaining a two metre distance, the lack of hand sanitiser and PPE and the practice of passing equipment between staff without hygiene precautions. Sadly, they were shouted down. One DHL manager agreed if staff didn’t feel safe they could leave the site - this led to a walk out. But now DHL are saying that they will not pay staff who don’t turn up for work, even though the staff don’t feel safe.”
“Workers then removed themselves from what they saw as a dangerous situation, as they’re entitled to do under the Employment Relations Act. GMB demands Marks and Spencer steps in to ensure safe social distancing is enforced, and work practices are modified to meet government guidelines to prevent virus contagion.“
https://www.gmb.org.uk/news/mands-workers-stage-walkout
3rd April 2020 Coronavirus: A joint statement between HSE, the TUC and the CBI
ReplyDeleteThis is an extremely worrying time for firms and workers. We know many workers, union reps and employers have questions and concerns about safe working – especially for those continuing to work away from home.
This joint statement between the Health and Safety Executive, the TUC and the CBI is intended to clarify the position. The health and safety of workers remains paramount. Employers are and must continue to provide workers with information about risks to their health and the actions their employers must take.
Social distancing is a key public health measure introduced by Public Health England to reduce the spread of infection. Most employers are going to great lengths to ensure social distancing wherever possible. The HSE, CBI and TUC wish to publicly support these efforts. Firms that can safely stay open and support livelihoods should not be forced to close by misunderstandings about government guidance.
But If it comes to the HSE’s attention that employers are not complying with the relevant Public Health England guidance (including enabling social distancing where it is practical to do so), HSE will consider a range of actions ranging from providing specific advice to employers through to issuing enforcement notices, including prohibition notices.
Where a worker has a genuine concern about health and safety which cannot be resolved through speaking with their employer or trade union, they should contact the relevant enforcement agency – either their local authority, or the HSE through https://www.hse.gov.uk/contact/concerns.htm
For firms who are unsure about the guidance, please visit https://www.hse.gov.uk/news/social-distancing-coronavirus.htm
It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.
DeleteCovid19 is certainly exposing the best and worst of people.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2020-04-06/branson-shifts-1-1-billion-galactic-holding-between-tax-havens
'Getafix
Richard Branson moved assets from the U.S. to the British Virgin Islands, highlighting his use of tax havens at a time one of his businesses sought a state bailout because of the coronavirus pandemic.
DeleteFilings show a Delaware-based company for his $1.1 billion stake in Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. transferred shares in the space-travel firm on March 16 to the Caribbean territory where Branson, 69, lives. Residents in the BVI pay no income or capital-gains taxes while the U.S. state is known for preserving the privacy of its corporate owners.
Virgin Galactic became the first publicly traded space-tourism firm last year after merging with a listed investment vehicle, and the Delaware holding company was set up for that transaction.
The move is unrelated to Branson’s request for British backing for Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd., and many of his businesses do pay U.K. tax. He’s also pledged $250 million to support his group’s operations since transferring his shares in Virgin Galactic.
“This is as an internal reorganization that has no effect on our ownership interest,” a representative for Branson said. “Rather than continuing to hold the shares indirectly, we undertook this exercise to eliminate indirect ownership through that subsidiary, as the U.S. entity was no longer necessary.”
Virgin Atlantic, Branson’s airline, has been hard hit by the pandemic. Last month, consultations with staff saw employees agree to take eight weeks unpaid leave. The company has requested that the British government provide hundreds of millions of pounds in government-backed loans and credit guarantees, part of a broader request for the aviation industry.
”For the public, the concern may be more that the owner of global businesses appears happy to structure his ownership through some of the most opaque jurisdictions in the world,” said Alex Cobham, chief executive officer of the Tax Justice Network. “The same person is now appealing for public support.”
Many billionaires maintain their assets in tax havens.
Two years ago, four Chinese tycoons transferred more than $17 billion into family trusts with the ownership structures involving various Caribbean jurisdictions, while a trio of tax havens support the significant wealth of Stefano Pessina, chief executive officer of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.
Branson has started businesses from fizzy drinks to bridal gowns. His rocket company, Virgin Orbit LLC, is now looking to join the rush to make ventilators for the virus crisis, while Virgin Atlantic’s CEO is taking a temporary pay cut.
“This is the most significant crisis the world has experienced in my lifetime,” Branson said in a March 22 blog post. “Because many of our businesses are in industries like travel, leisure and wellness, they are in a massive battle to survive and save jobs.”
https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2020/03/wilko-slash-21000-workers-sick-pay-amid-coronavirus-outbreak/
DeleteLatest gem this morning. Apparently we must remember to deduct our home to work mileage from any expenses claim for compulsory home visits to high risk cases. It simply wouldn't do to rip off a few measly quid from the taxpayer in this time of national crisis. Meanwhile SPO's are expected to advise who gets the 150 quid "danger" money and who doesn't and DD's decide which senior managers get their 1500. Staff expected to induct licence cases in offices with no adequate social distancing measures and the first month of no incremental progression for anyone. Why do we put up with being treated like shit over and over again?
ReplyDeleteI won't be risking my life for 150 quid..
DeleteWhy do you put up with being treated like shit? Cos Probation staff always have. You refuse to strike. No solidarity. Employers exploit this. Get behind your union, don't slag it off.
DeleteThere always have been & always will be those who undermine good working practice, who put their own needs above everyone else's, take the money & allow abusive practices through the back door.
DeleteNapo was once a proud & strong union. Incompetence by the sex pest & others left it seriously weakened. It never recovered so, when the union was most needed, it failed to show let alone deliver. It was silent & passively complicit in the job losses of TR.
Despite the best efforts (however good or bad those efforts might be) of whoever's in post, that's why people badmouth the union.
And that's why no-one has PPE. Or appropriate working conditions during this pandemic. Or are stressed to fuck working from home [see 18:33 below].
There have been so many occasions over the last five years or so when Napo & co have had Moj/NOMS/HMPPS/NPS/CRCs in a corner, yet every time they've allowed the employers to bully their way out of trouble.
This pandemic affords Napo a unique once-in-a-lifetime chance to push back harder than its ever pushed in living memory, with everything in its favour including almost unlimited resources. And what's happening?
Er, they've handed the power back. Again. They're waiting for someone else to make a decision. FFS!!! (and that's not Fee For Service)
Sorry, 18:33, looks like your work/home life balance is permanently fucked kid.
Exactly, you ask that again!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.gov.uk/tax-relief-for-employees/working-at-home
DeleteI hope 10:06 doesn't mind...
ReplyDeleteTo HMPPS: Why do we put up with being treated like shit over and over again?
To NPS: Why do we put up with being treated like shit over and over again?
To CRCs: Why do we put up with being treated like shit over and over again?
To Napo/unions: Why do we put up with being treated like shit over and over again?
Note to self: Why do we put up with being treated like shit over and over again?
Answers on pieces of loo roll please (which I'll put on ebay later to make up for the £150 I'll be denied by my asshole of a SPO)
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.shieldsgazette.com/health/coronavirus/how-report-your-employer-breaching-coronavirus-business-guidance-or-not-ensuring-social-distancing-2530833%3famp
DeleteGovey, Govey, Govey.
ReplyDeleteThe poor lamb has been twice overlooked in the last 24 hours. First by Johnson's hospitalisation-then-ICU, then by Raab becoming first among equals.
Gove's response? Having been treated so shabbily by his employer he's now phoned in claiming self-isolation, appearing via internet on the news whilst issuing voluminous messages of thanks to those wishing him well.
They really are nowt but a pack of spoilt brats who make grand gestures of sulking when attention is trained elsewhere & they can't get their own way.
Danny Shaw BBC:-
ReplyDeletePRISONS UPDATE Official advice says 15,000 prisoners will have to be released from jails in England and Wales to safeguard other inmates and prison staff during the Coronavirus outbreak, it’s been claimed. The 15,000 reduction - 18% of the current prison population - has allegedly been recommended by Public Health England and the Prison Service (HMPPS). Details are set out in a submission from Prison Governors’ Association.
If we're living in extraordinary times, the Government shouldn't fear vilification for taking extraordinary decisions.
DeleteIm sure they can find 15,000 prisoners that can be released or need to be released.
Certainly decisions should be about protecting and saving lives, but given the conditions in our prisons and the overcrowded population, combined with what's been called the 'churn' prisons enevitabley experience, could prisons not provide a safe haven for the virus to stay alive in perpetuity until a vaccine is developed?
Releasing large numbers of prisoners may seem unpalatable to some, but which presents the greater risk to society, releasing prisoners or keeping the virus alive?
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/society/2020/apr/07/coronavirus-thrive-british-jails-prisoners-face-death-sentence
'Getafix
March 2020 - Iran has temporarily released more than 54,000 prisoners in an effort to combat the spread of the new coronavirus disease in crowded jails.
DeleteJudiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili told reporters the inmates were allowed out of prison after testing negative for Covid-19 and posting bail.
"Security prisoners" sentenced to more than five years will not be let out.
107 prisoners have tested positive across 38 jails, with the death toll standing at nine.
ReplyDeleteThe PGA write in its submission: “Our members have reported to the PGA National Executive Committee that Public Health England and HMPPS require a reduction of 15,000 prisoners in order to truly safeguard prisoners and staff.”
15,000 is a popular number:
ReplyDeleteAccording to the National Audit Office’s latest report on improving the prison estate, there is a shortfall of 15,000 “training” and “resettlement” places across the prison estate in England and Wales.
https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2020/02/prisoners-trapped-limbo-expose-problem-longer-sentences
If they are going to release prisoners they need to get on with it, before more get the virus.
ReplyDeleteOnly managed to release six of the pregnant prisoners so far.
DeleteReleasing 4000 could take a year at that rate.
Two staff members at north London’s Pentonville Prison died after suffering Covid-19 symptoms, the Prison Officers’ Association (POA) said.
DeleteBovil Peter and Patrick Beckford were both support staff workers at the jail, and were believed to be aged in their 60s.
i am so unhappy working from home. Daily team dial-ins that nobody wants to participate in. the manager has to keep asking if we are all still there as we just listen in silence too frazzled to even ask any questions. Overload of emails marked 'urgent' that we have been assured will stop - until the next urgent thing. Today I actually felt stressed and anxious in my own home due to workload pressure and that's where I draw the line. Management assume we all live in houses where we have room for a desk/chair etc but not everyone does and 3 weeks of working like this is turning into a nightmare. There is no separation between home/office anymore and the sooner we're back to normal the better.
ReplyDeleteYou don't have to work from home . It will never be back to normal . Take some self protective action instead of whining.
DeleteI completely agree with you 19.27 - the fact that you sit there 1833, in complete silence, when your manager is holding a daily call to ask how you are and try to listen/resolve these issues in very unusual circumstances, completely speaks volumes as to how unsupportive your attitude is. If you want to go into the office and occupy a room 2 metres away from others, I'm sure this would be accommodated....have you asked? Yes 3 weeks of this is stressful, a nightmare, no separation between work and home - it's a LOCKDOWN,what do you expect your manager to do? I'm so so very grateful and privileged that I have a job, stable income, a roof over my head - some people have lost their jobs and don't know when their next income is coming or how they will pay for basic necessities.
Delete19:27 & 19:44 have some sympathy, she is trying to explain/express how she feels. Although some ways of working work for some and not others and we don't have all answers. Lets try and support our colleagues and be kind as well as find helpful solutions that's not putting everyone at risk consistently. This is a difficult time for everyone and could easily take a toll on ones mental health/well being. We are all humans and not robots without feelings and regard for others.
DeleteShe may actually be struggling to speak up during this difficult period/be feeling overwhelmed.
DeleteThe amount of emotionsl distress and turmoil this could be causing some staff as well as PTSD.
'She'????
DeleteI have every sympathy and it has been said a dozen times here. So again ask for written workplace assesment for the office they can't produce one or won't. You make the observation I am not able or prepared to provide my home for work so will have to stay home self isolate and wait like the rest of us for this period to find some resolution. Only they have to pay you and you can relax a little take action not pity.
DeleteAnon 18:33 you have nailed a very important point.It is,or used to be, a strength in being able to separate work from home. Home working works for some and not others,clearly it works for some in that they only seem to have to send innumerous bulletins which cover their arses In order to add to your very valid concerns, I don't think for one minute and movement understand how our contacts with SUs are becoming increasingly important to them as,to a varying degree,as t,appreciate the gravity of the situation coupled with the increase in isolation for many. I am so very close to responding to the next "urgent" bulletin with a return email with maybe a kind of uniformed response, my proposal would be " kiss my arse"
ReplyDeleteAP in our area seeking staff to volunteer, no direction yet. How is it in other aread
ReplyDeleteWhat is actually going on in AP's can anybody tell me? Is it true or a myth that they are all essentially on 24 hour lockdown without being able to go out for daily exercise/air/buy food?
DeletePlease don't forget that one of the earliest decisions taken in the bizarre sequencing of priorities was to award your LDU Head with an automatic monthly bonus of £1500. Assuming that you will not actually experience their physical presence in an office near you any time soon, just keep that in your mind when you receive those remote commands to do more and more and more...
ReplyDeleteThe question was raised at today's justice select committee about the increased workload for probation with the release if 4,000 prisoners.
ReplyDeleteIt was confirmed that as they a will be released on ROTL they will not be probations problem.
Makes you realise how foolish Napo are to write a letter to members yet failing to appreciate the workloads won't fall to us. They get paid for knowing nothing.
DeleteThat's it for today - comment moderation on until tomorrow. Take care.
ReplyDeleteInteresting management can't ensure health and safety for staff in offices however they can roll out mandatory health and safety training for those home working which includes staff members having to complete a health and safety checklist to ensure the centre are not liable for any future negligence. The organisation I work for makes me sick. What chance have service users if staff are treated like they are?
ReplyDeleteWorking from home, phone on speaker so I could type whilst talking, tirade of verbal abuse from SU, next thing I know my 6 year old who should be downstairs says "don't talk to my mummy like that, it's naughty isn't it mummy" as I try to get up and take her away SU is saying "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, you're right I shouldn't talk to your mummy like that". Child safe, I pick up the phone and tell SU they will be getting a warning letter in the post. This is not a happy house tonight, child upset, partner angry at child being upset and my job. I'm upset that this shit is in my home and upsetting my family. Am I grateful I have a job right now, not really no.
ReplyDeleteMoral of the story: Don’t put calls on loudspeaker when minors / others are present in your home !
DeleteAnd next time just end the call.
#facepalm
I’ve been in a similar position and I’m sure many others have too. I mentioned this during Skype meeting with spo how there are difficulties with home working, the answer I got was “put your child in school”.
ReplyDelete