Applications for PQiP are now open
You can now apply for our trainee probation officer programme. Applications will close at 11.55pm on 16 April but we recommend starting your application as soon as you can, to allow plenty of time to complete it.
Apply now.
We held a webinar on 30 March ‘Becoming a probation officer – live Q&A’, where probation officers spoke about their experiences of the application process, PQiP training and their experiences in the role. You can re-watch this event here.
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In addition to watching the video (watch on the web/join anonymously) any applicant might also want to take notice of the following that arrived overnight by email:-
Hi Jim,
I spent part of today reading the recruitment and retention policy put out by Ian Barrowman on the HMPPS homepage dated 01.04.21 in which they outline their concerns regarding difficulties recruiting to certain areas, (London and the South East) and their strategy to overcome this and other problems. They act as if they don’t understand why they have such difficulties and outline a schedule of interventions over coming years to investigate and remedy the situation. The five point plan makes no mention of the long running bugbears which constantly feature on this site:-
What we do have is promises of jam tomorrow or maybe the next day or possibly the day after and a two year timeline to consider the situation. Oh, and no mention of discussing anything with NAPO because presumably their consent to anything/everything is taken for granted.
Hi Jim,
I spent part of today reading the recruitment and retention policy put out by Ian Barrowman on the HMPPS homepage dated 01.04.21 in which they outline their concerns regarding difficulties recruiting to certain areas, (London and the South East) and their strategy to overcome this and other problems. They act as if they don’t understand why they have such difficulties and outline a schedule of interventions over coming years to investigate and remedy the situation. The five point plan makes no mention of the long running bugbears which constantly feature on this site:-
- Pay gets a one line mention despite over a decade of wage freezes
- More responsibility for less money is perfectly reasonable
- OASys and repetitive mind numbing petty bureaucracy doesn’t get a look in
- Workloads will be addressed some day soon
- Scapegoating via the SFO process is overlooked
- Bullying managers and the JFDI culture is clearly accepted because it is not criticised
- Outcomes of recent employment tribunals are disregarded
- Driving people back into offices despite government advice to work from home doesn’t warrant a mention
What we do have is promises of jam tomorrow or maybe the next day or possibly the day after and a two year timeline to consider the situation. Oh, and no mention of discussing anything with NAPO because presumably their consent to anything/everything is taken for granted.
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Postscript - No; No; No!
Normally I resist the temptation to comment early on with blog posts that contain external content because what I think isn't really the main purpose of this venture; I'd much rather hear what others think. But today's going to be an exception and especially now that I've watched the whole HMPPS webinar. Obviously highly-orchestrated and polished, it nevertheless confirmed what a bloody bureaucratic process it all is! Would it have given me encouragement and confidence to apply, especially if I had a disability or 'lived experience'? No! Was I convinced by what the CPO had to say? No! Was I convinced about a 'modern' probation service? No! Just sayin.
In reply to Yesterday’s comment from Anonymous 6 April 2021 at 17:43
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts about NAPO is that they are just to cossy with the NPS management and MOJ. There is a real absence of any challenge or engagement with its membership.
The rubbish NAPO puts out is all full of crap. I hope for their sake things change otherwise the membership will vote with their feet.
I started a 15 year career in Probation after securing a Trainee Probation Officer position in 2001. I largely enjoyed my time in Probation. I think the increasing time sat pounding away putting information into a computer to the detriment of working with people, the cut backs meaning a sweated stressed workforce and Grayling's vandalism of the Probation Service was why I have since pursued an alternate career. Good luck to the new recruits I say, they are clearly much needed and represent the future of Probation.
ReplyDeleteMy junior school motto was "Honesty Is The Best Policy". It got me a few lashes & slipperings, and subsequently led to a dishonest 'ex-' taking pecuniary edvantage BUT, with the occasional wobble, I have nevertheless held on to it as my guiding star.
ReplyDeleteThe impassioned post (yesterday) about dishonesty re-the AZ vaccine caught my eye as I tend to agree. And other aspects of this government's disregard for truth are coming home to roost all over the place:
* the calls for an independent inquiry into the govt's overall handling of the pandemic
* the questions about how many deaths could have been avoided
* the eye-watering sums pocketed by chums
* the lack of oversight or accountability
* the possibilities of risks associated with AZ (and any other vaccine) that were previously denied/refuted/ignored
* the blatant & many manipulations over brexit
And now...
"‘Dishonesty’ over Brexit fuelled loyalist anger, says Stormont minister. Justice minister Naomi Long points finger at UK ministers after four nights of street violence in Northern Ireland"
The numbers of deaths, injuries & loss associated with this government's dishonesty are mounting daily. The numbers are already beyond what could have been imagined, tolerated or believed 12 months ago, e.g. in excess of 150,000 deaths where covid-19 is on the death certificate.
I dare not watch the recruitment propaganda for fear of losing the plot at the blatant lies & revisionist bollocks it no doubt delivers.
It seems that the truth-sayer, JVT, The Analogist, is going to calm the nation's fears at 3pm. His script has been leaked:
Delete"So, if the vaccine was a donkey, then the risks are Sancho Panza - obviously trying to squash the donkey - and Boris Johnson is Don Quixote, tilting at the windmills of shame which, of course, are the EU countries trying to derail the vaccine.
I would happily give my mother Sancho panza's donkey for her birthday and so, as you can see from this graph, the risks are, well, erm, a parable for something else entirely. See? So its all okay."
Remember when "Former military site [Napier Barracks] was emptied following evidence camp is not suitable for accommodation" and patel got her wrist slapped (which made her very cross):
ReplyDelete"The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICBI), David Bolt, has blasted UK Home Secretary, Priti Patel, accusing her of accommodating asylum seekers in ‘filthy’, ‘impoverished’ and ‘run down’ conditions. Bolt’s scathing attack comes following an inspection of Penally camp and Napier Barracks in Pembrokeshire and Kent."
But wait? What's this?
Guardian says: "Clearsprings Ready Homes, the private contractor that runs the site on behalf of the Home Office, intends to bring in new arrivals from Friday."
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/apr/07/home-office-to-send-more-asylum-seekers-to-unsuitable-napier-barracks
To comment on the post subject I see colleagues becoming ill with the job. You are lucky if you have a good manager but senior management could not care less about the staff or diversity or welfare. They are there to be used as robots spout the policy line to keep their jobs and to blame when the lack of proper staffing, tools, training, time bear down. If you want nil work life balance, stress and very likely anxiety or mental illness then come work for this organisation. Find another union rather than napo as napo management could not care less about individuals just in keeping their job roles. Anyone who has not experienced this lucky you, it is and has been a very real predicament for many.
ReplyDeleteI got a job in Probation almost by accident, it was going to be a tide-over thing, and I knew nothing about it. What I encountered was a vibrant, inspiring institution which rang lots of bells in my then very immature philosophical head about the need to extend dignity and compassion to those who fall through the cracks and make terrible mistakes (and yes, do terrible things). I got stuck in and have been there ever since. I was so proud of "my" institution, and so enriched by both colleagues and clients. Several decades later, that has turned to dust. I cannot and will not recommend a career in the tatty remains of this profession to anyone, and personally am just plain embarrassed by what it is now (and its not a profession). On a brighter note, this aged old hack is encouraged by conversations with new recruits: they joined with basically the same idealistic principles in mind that I had. They are knackered and disillusioned with the MoJ and NPPS, and looking for exits, but there is still a flickering flame on the candle of what I believe are the basic values and ethos. How to fan/protect the flame in the whistling cold gale of the current political climate is the question.
ReplyDeletePearly Gates