Seen on Twitter:-
Practitioners are burnt out. Three this week have been in tears as I pile on more cases for them to supervise. Two have interviews for jobs with the local council. I'm setting deadlines for them to complete their mandatory training when I know they don't have time which really sits heavy with me. CRC didn't invest in staff so NPS have absorbed all the chaos of excessive caseloads. Cases have not been seen in MONTHS, some have no risk assessments, no safeguarding checks being completed.
It's so dangerous but how can we criticise when these staff have been managing caseloads of over 100. One person I know of had 179 cases. It's not acceptable. PSOs leaving to join the PQiP but such poor coordination of this means no replacement PSOs arrive in time. Probation couldn't organise a tea party. Once you do recruit it's months of waiting for SSCL to do checks and have contracts in place - meaning most candidates have found employment elsewhere. And who leads on the recruitment? Well that gets passed down to SPOs to do on top of their day jobs. I now find myself managing cases too as we just don't have the staff.
This could have been prevented with some proper leadership and measures put in place so we didn't end up with a staffing crisis. I am tired of the constant national calls from the ivory tower in London thanking us for our hard work. Makes me feel sick.
We are so far removed from the core values of Probation. We're not even seen as a professional organisation. Don't get me started on the pay. 20 years in and I have never seen the top of a pay band. Perhaps it will come next year but then I'll have to wait a year for it to be backdated. I am now medicated because of this job. I'm prescribed meds for anxiety - all work related. I will never forgive this organisation for how it's treated us. As soon as I can, I'm off. And that kills me saying it as I always thought I would retire from Probation."
We are so far removed from the core values of Probation. We're not even seen as a professional organisation. Don't get me started on the pay. 20 years in and I have never seen the top of a pay band. Perhaps it will come next year but then I'll have to wait a year for it to be backdated. I am now medicated because of this job. I'm prescribed meds for anxiety - all work related. I will never forgive this organisation for how it's treated us. As soon as I can, I'm off. And that kills me saying it as I always thought I would retire from Probation."
How can it be so? We have a whole host of "excellent leaders" who:
ReplyDelete* are extremely well remunerated
* are covered in awards &/or ennobled in the name of The Empire
* are celebrated by our politicians
* have fought numerous battles - some to privatise us, others to reclaim us, pending political directives
* have been in post for years & years & years pocketing bonuses, accruing vast sums in gilt-edged pension funds & never having to experience food poverty or fuel poverty or worry about anything.
Its unconscionable, nay unthinkable, that someone could paint such a monstrous picture as that in the above blog.
OR IS IT???
Perhaps this is EXACTLY what was predicted in 2012/3:
* when the TR project lumbered out of some hapless minister's gut
* when the rape & pillage of Probation was gleefully enjoined by those who saw £££-signs & felt power coursing through their ice-cold veins
* when vocational commitment & professional standards were replaced with tick-boxes, flow-charts & bullying
* when accountants replaced practitioners
* when lying & theft & poker-faced deceit became Essential Criteria in senior management job descriptions
* when the fate of those sent to work with Probation became secondary to the petty triumphs of incompetent bullies
* when the Probation trades union & profesional organisation capitulated in ear-splitting silence as the whole shitshow exploded in our faces.
Hey not all the trade union capitulated there was a few that fought and some all the way as well published on this blog. In spite of the national pathetic Napo.
Delete"Hey" - yes, you're right; but they were outliers who railed against the union's HQ's approach & did excellent local work to support staff. They were the exception & full credit to them.
DeleteBut that's not how a national union should work, is it?
All members paid subs, so ALL members should have received the same support & outcome. Sad to say that wasn't the case. While *some* members were supported & received EVR or equivalent, others lost 60% of their entitlement to the thieving CRCs with the blessing of the MoJ & the silent tacit approval of Napo HQ.
That is almost a perfect assesment. Well placed every word. Yes the difficulties were that national Napo had already committed themselves to support the management. That meant not 1 legal challenge. Except in the out of step rebel branches. Those efforts still had to balance the useless Napo interest from the centre their lazy lack of talent meant they adopted the lines a particular branch branch had to write for them. The NEC blind and inept allowed the centre to do nothing and lie all the way. The evr compulsory or voluntary issue debate need never have been lost to all members. They know.
DeleteIt is worse than I imagined in 2013 because I thought parliament would provide some restraint to the extreme ideas dreamt up by folk with no idea about how probation actually operates on the front line as an integrated part of the wider legal, social work and criminal justice systems in England and Wales. I do not expect early improvements because there continues to be a massive surfeit of PQiP applicants despite the dreadful consequences on the health of many probation workers. This blog will be long needed. Workers need to take trade unionism seriously, because it seems only collective action is going to get back some of the conditions that have been lost since I retired in 2003
ReplyDeleteThe membership cannot follow a union who's leadership is completely incompetent for the role.
DeleteThe memebership are responsible for appointing/electing those in leadership - so maybe the starting point is active membership - or maybe start or join a different trade union.
DeleteThis should read What The Civil Service Has Done To SPO’s.
ReplyDelete“I spend my days reviewing lists upon lists of data”
“Three this week have been in tears as I pile on more cases”
“I'm setting deadlines for them to complete their mandatory training when I know they don't have time”
I’ve no sympathy mate. If you’re on meds and looking for a way out while keeping schtum, you’re part of the problem.
Anyone else sick of these trumped up Probation Officers drunk on their ‘SPO’ name badge and brown-nosing senior probation managers, or cowering from them?
Most SPO’s make no apology for chasing and hounding tired probation staff day in day out, and hiding behind veiled threats abuse of policies. This is the reason they can’t recruit because nobody wants to work in civil service probation.
Most don’t care about missing data, pointless meeting and briefings, or time consuming recording and quality crap that add nothing to the job. It’s laughable this pitiful SPO is moaning about pay when those beneath earn much less for doing far more!
What happened to those SPO’s that stood up for staff and opposed the idiocy of all those above them in the ivory tower. That nasty bunch of senior probation managers who think their shit doesn’t stink because they’ve made it to band 6 and above.
Surprised I don’t read more hear about London Probation. A real piss poor place to work.
Too right and please let's not forget the acos raking in a fortune from the COVID dividends. There is some particularly nasty acos staff and hr shafting staff over working terms contrary of the new legislation . Napo asleep at the wheel as usual.
DeleteWell that’s certainly not the shite your London director is saying on Twitter @PSLDN_Director
ReplyDeleteAll sounds rosy to me
Despite storm, got to our new Youth to Adulthood Hub in Newham. Joint effort with MoJ/Mayor. Fantastic safe space, specialist trauma informed practitioners & rehabilitative services under one roof. Smoother transition into adulthood + safer communities. Design by young people.
Incredibly proud of our community payback teams in London doing a challenging job as key workers with people on probation, to complete their court imposed hours, doing something meaningful that adds value to society. #rehabilitation and #restorative
During these tough times it's great to receive an award that represents the innovation in the probation service.....
Thank you Butler Trust for awarding London Probation (Eric, Koreen + Patsy) for their work on developing a structured programme, supporting young people, in the CJ, transitioning into adult services with the focus on engagement + rehabilitation. Innovation from the front line!
Uplifting day at the Brent probation office on Friday. Thank you to Sandra and Helen for arranging the #MacmillanCoffeeMorning ...great cause. Brilliant team spirit in the office. Joint winners: apple cake and spinach/feta pie!
Celebrating our 1st ever #probationday on probation's 114th birthday to raise awareness of our work. Closely supervised by one of our marvellous unpaid-work supervisors; role models to many. This project is about making good at the same time as making our public parks safer.
Had to stop there due to nausea and vomiting.
I would be really interested... no that's not true anymore... I am not interested, not motivated. I would be mildly curious to see if the staffing recruitment and retention figures bear out my local observation which is that the old hands are jumping ship where and when they can, and the new recruits are not lasting long: some a matter of weeks. Its a really horrible place to work. I cant work out if its worse to have memories of Probation before it was butchered, knowing what it was and could be, or to have arrived in the last few years and think its just rotten.
ReplyDeleteI think now it’s similar for new and old. All are fed up with it. Used to be older staff who experienced the problems over time. Nowadays apparent for new staff even before they qualify.
DeleteFrom Twitter:-
ReplyDelete"These sorts of comments are ridiculous. It is a tough job but I don't recognise any of this from the #probation offices I have worked in."
Then you’ve not worked in probation or you’re one of those managers.
DeleteFrom Twitter:-
ReplyDelete"Colleague recently told they can't take up a new promotion as it's a loan, there's a block on PO moves, too short staffed. Staff retention strategy that will only push people into leaving."
How can they stop you taking up a promotion and why are the posts still being advertised if so?
DeleteThey block people all the time, always have. Refusing secondments, delaying transfers and preventing progression is their way of keeping staff under the thumb.
DeleteIt’s called cronyism. They promote their friends
DeleteSo true as does the union look at it.
DeleteFrom Twitter:-
ReplyDelete"A candid thread that unfortunately resonates too well. I’m due to qualify imminently yet so uncertain regarding my capacity &willingness to pursue this career despite having previously loved so much about it. I really hope this changes soon before we lose even more valuable staff."
From Twitter:-
ReplyDelete"I have worked in probation since 2005. Targets, high case loads, under resourcing have been a thing the whole time, so not sure where this yearning for a mythical golden age comes from!"
I’ve been in probation from a similar age. It’s much worse now. Managers are much worse too.
DeleteNot a myth mate. We used to have practice managers . Structured workloads cases. Specialist teams or officers. Generic pso support and real supervision structured with achievements. Staff enjoyed the flexibility to innovate practices. We had real support from admin. Magistrates attended the the justice meetings . We had community engagement council relations on housing priority and education work routes. We had engaged teams acos and cpo who knew the staff in general. We then got the new managerialism Napo adopted a retreat and the Tories flushed the chain putting probation out for good. Now we have po administrators who know fuck all as your comment makes clear. It was not all perfect as there were many poor po staff but the job allowed movement development unlike today.
DeleteFrom Twitter:-
Delete"It was certainly better when we were trusts. This damage is as a result of TR."
"Disagree. I remember the trusts were just as obsessed with seemingly pointless targets, OASys every 16 wks etc..."
"Indeed there was but case loud management was way easier than today. Probably because we had a highly experienced workforce."
From Twitter:-
Delete"The current staffing crisis will take about 10 years to resolve. All because of TR. It will only be resolved if pay and conditions improve meaning staff will stay. If we are waiting on all the PQIPs to save the day, without the experienced staff staying it won’t happen."
"Yes. Unhealthy and unsustainable to have such a high proportion of new recruits. Ideally, there should be combination of enthusiastic new staff and a few gnarled 'older' hands."
The problem is that #probation staff no longer speak up. Speak up, challenge the managerial bullshit and refuse to be silenced. Every meeting, every event and every manager that walks by is an opportunity to be heard. Try it!!
ReplyDeleteI don't know... Jim opens up debate on his blog & within hours he's broken twitter!!
ReplyDelete