I get into the office at 7am having been awake most of the night worried about an SFO review that is currently ongoing. I managed this person years ago, yet I’m sitting here wondering at what point I’m going to be thrown to the wolves. I have been told I’m not “in trouble” but I don’t have any trust that I will be protected or that I won’t be sacrificed by the powers that be later down the line.
I briefly consider that scenario would actually mean I am free of this misery but then remember that being unemployed would probably cause me just as much anxiety. I make myself a cup of coffee and speak with a colleague, he hasn’t been well yet continues to come in on the basis “there is nobody else”.
Both of us moan and groan that things aren’t getting better .. they are getting worse. I open my laptop and start work through an OASys. I have never met this person .. I am writing their assessment on the basis that other colleagues are swamped and the target has been missed. It has fallen to me .. I groan my way through this with the help of caffeine kindly made by a colleague.
I make it clear within this assessment as to the limits of my knowledge and what needs to be explored. I suspect that at some point one of these assessments I have done will come back and bite me in the arse.
I am currently covering a colleague’s caseload. Sickness is rife at the moment .. In the last week I have done at least 25 police checks and twice as many safeguarding checks. I have sent appointments to all of their people (who even knows what we are calling people this week and I am not calling people PoPs!). Having looked through all these cases, it is clear that my colleague isn’t coping and hasn’t been for sometime.. yet the work has still been piled on. There is nobody else to give the work to..
Throughout the course of the day I have to do a breach report for a colleague who has been given 30 cases but hasn’t actually been given any training whatsoever. It is evident that they are trying their best but without being given the tools to do their job they are drowning.
I get questions about another case this colleague supervises .. I ask if any safeguarding checks have been done, I explain what MARAC is and when and how to raise a safeguarding concern. By the end of this conversation I can feel myself becoming impatient and grouchy as I am aware that whilst I’m seemingly delivering core training ..the actual work I’m being paid a pittance for is piling up. Despite this, I smile and advise them that all they can do is their best and things will get better .. a complete lie.
I try to figure out how I’m going to conduct over 15 appointments today whilst trying to respond to emails, phone calls and text messages. I took 2 days to reply to a non urgent email last month and was then confronted by a manager as to why this was. I have numerous emails from mangers asking me to do more and more tasks .. every time I try to talk to a manager in person they seem as disorientated and stressed as me. The office doors are frequently closed.
My lunch goes warm after taking it out the fridge and becoming distracted. Lunch becomes more and more unappetising as I race to complete the outstanding OASys and write up logs and share information that needs to be shared. I do all the things I promised the people I have seen that I would do and although this feels good I doubt I will get much thanks or this will be recognised by the powers that be.
I hear about a fantastic colleague who has resigned. She is one of the good ones who genuinely cares and does her best. She has been regularly working till the early hours of the morning too. I feel sad she is leaving and ever so jealous at the same time .. but I have no time to dwell.
I then see one person who tells me that “probation is fucking shit and I hate coming here”. I don’t tell him I feel exactly the same most days. Many of the people I see have had 4 different people as their officer this year alone.. some of them are fed up of explaining themselves and their circumstances to different officers whereas some just grateful that someone has actually asked them to attend.
In between the chaos, I chat with colleagues about how we are all just about coping. Acutely aware that there are new staff members in earshot we try to remain positive ..”I love this job but..” and a newer colleague finishes the sentence by saying “it’s fucking stressful”.
It’s now 4pm. My lunch has gone in the bin and I’m torn between impulsively resigning or having a crying fit such is my level of overwhelm. I am here until 7pm at least. I get more emails from managers reciting their understanding of current policies and processes before they head off home. Some of the information they are sending out is wrong. I foolishly point this out - politely and factually - with the evidence. This is strategically ignored and I am told in email speak to shut up and get back in my box.
And so it continues.. the more questions I ask of the people I am seeing … the more work I appear to cause myself.. which of course would be fine but I know that I simply don’t have the time to complete the actions I need to. I will need to leave the office and log on again at home. Professional curiosity will be the death of me.
I leave the office at 7pm as that’s when it closes. I race home and do what I can on the domestic front only to realise that not only have I not eaten all day, I haven’t gone to the toilet all day and I have a blinding headache. Nevertheless, I log on and do what I need to do.
As I crawl into bed, I start to calculate what I have been paid for all my work today after all deductions .. I don’t contemplate this any further.. I will just get myself into a state.
I will not be able to take the extra time I have worked back. I have effectively worked a number of hours for free and any ideation in respect of overtime I harbour is a fantasy . I consider taking a stand and working to rule and taking all my lunch breaks and TOIL back. I should keep raising this in supervision but god knows when that will be. I want to tell senior managers to shove their job but the fact of the matter is I need the money.
I come to my senses and realise that any raising of issues or if I am perceived as being awkward then this would then likely result in my performance being questioned or accused of being “difficult” by management. This is not a fallacy .. this is my reality. It has happened before and they will put me in the same position again. Why do I care ? If I died or left they would replace me tomorrow.
Most importantly for me.. if I did do this I would not be able to fulfil the promises I have made to the people I have seen and I would not be able to meet all my obligations in respect of safeguarding others. It feels like caring is becoming a curse. I spend the rest of my evening looking at other jobs..
I eventually manage to switch off and fall asleep ..morning comes too soon .. and before you know it I am back at my desk.
Anon
I've only just joined as an NQO and this chimes with my experiences already. We have someone on long-term sick leave because of mental health concerns- so their entire case load has been reallocated, but they've been suffering for a while and there's no info on the Delius, so it's like investigative work trying to put the pieces into some sort of coherence. A chat at a leaving do with an SPO at a leaving do has meant now another allocation- 6 ISPs to do by July 25th. One the moment I got there. A brave face put on others. I only seem to get 5 hours sleep a day 11-4am and I'm up and exhausted until late evening after heading to the office. A meeting with the head of ops and several NQOs, who wanted to know why people are leaving was met with polite feedback- one NQO has 50 cases, but there was no hint of having that reasonably adjusted. I've learned bitterly not to engage in feedback. I did as a PQIP and the person asking rolled their eyes at my constructive criticism. I also gave feedback in a previous job- it meant being blacklisted and being turned down for promotion 87 times in 15 years. No one really cares about the workload anyone has because they're all too busy dealing with it. The humanity has been wiped from the Probation service in favour of drowning in target to please people that don't have to work that hard- they delegate. I try my best; I work long hours, but it's a mess. I asked for some work dealing with complex cases- I was instead tasked with a Recall 'A' because there was no one else to do it. I feel that the SPOs are just as put upon and it cascades downward. No one is having a good time or a productive or motivated one. It exploits good will and there's never really enough time to take stock of it all- perhaps that's what the powers that be want. As the meeting with the head of ops showed- they know exactly what's going on, but, as with much of my experience of Probation- there is little follow-through. Patch and mend- a plaster on a gaping wound.
ReplyDeleteAnd that is exactly why I left the service…☹️
ReplyDeleteThe funeral of a friend yesterday reminded me that life is indeed short. I am putting in the forms for early retirement today. The Probation that I am unswervingly loyal to doesnt exist anymore, and I am exhausted by trying to do the right thing at work, while slogging miserably through all the wrong stuff.
DeleteIt was after I came to that decision that I watched Justice Questions on iplayer, with the minister talking up the recruitment and dodging the issue of poor retention and the loss of experienced staff. Thing is, for older experienced staff, even if the promise of happy days to come is true, it isnt going to come in our working lifetimes, So I am out. Only important task remaining is to deal with my own sense of loss and bitterness. Corrosive emotions that will need to be resolved
Pearly Gates
Well you do have choices. I am sorry to read these but you have to stop. Take your breaks on time every time. Loo breaks are entitlements too without limit. Do tasks in order and run a paper timing sheet. Don't do roles like advise or educate your not a trainer. Nor paid to train. Only deliver tasks in priority of your role. Dont do work you could not professionally asses and credit they can't direct you to that. Demand a current and agreed national wmt. No tool no delivery of any work not in the role job description. No generic issues either these are not specified. You could waste time with a useless Napo rep who will do nothing but Napo members need to claw back the terms of your previous national workload weightings and demand the silly people in table make this their key task and make them do it as a collective or the future is just treadmill of this awful description. Dont worry about performance and capability. The management will muck that up go sick as you need too and be ready to weaponise your skills to prevent further crushing of your spirit.
DeleteFrom Twitter:-
ReplyDelete"A day in the life of a frontline probation officer brings into stark reality the pressures practitioners are facing particularly those considered experienced & resilient. Many including myself often shared the view ‘professional curiosity will be the death of me.'"
"Just awful, but so true. SPOs try their best, every time I approach one I feel embarrassed as whilst sitting at their desk they are actually in a teams meeting. I’ve emailed twice after hearing her in Meeting say she’ll respond. She hasn’t."
"My last caseload was almost 150% on the workload management tool. Almost every case was high risk or very high risk, MAPPA 2 or MAPPA 3. The government minister is talking tripe."
"Until the main grade staff cease all good will this shower of shit that is cascading down on them will continue. Staff need to realise that there comes a time when you have to take a stand."
"Of course heads of ops know what is going on and just pay lip service to frontline staff. Until we work to rule things will never change , my SPO ten years ago said this yet here we are still!!"
"Another day another person who has probably never seen the in side of a probation office. Come work with me for a week and I’ll tell you how my 28 cases and 134% workload management tool is working out. Means you’ll have to live with me too and see how much I work at home after."
"HMPPS please give Probation back to the practitioners, they are the subject matter experts, not the politicians."
This guest blog reads like a victim statement, not a survivor’s statement. The routines described are unsustainable in the long-term and are a recipe for burnout. These experiences are being endured across probation - anguished individual voices easily ignored. Survivors have to stand up for themselves, find ways and means of empowerment: through raising H&S grievances, collective actions, and whatever else it takes to assert control over their situation. As the saying goes, hoping for a different outcome by doing the same things again and again is a form of insanity.
ReplyDeleteThe survivors are all on the outside of this abusive relationship. The trick is to leave. Unions are doing their best but there arent enough members, so any resistance and individuals get picked out and on.
ReplyDeleteUnions are not doing their best. The last 12 years of probation proves it. If Napo and Unison were paid by results they’d be bankrupt.
DeleteIf doing their best has brought us to this Boris can remain leader.
DeleteNapo is bankrupt spending the sale of chivalry road on salaries and an office just more like a post office box. Napo dysfunctional we should have ousted the fool GS. Boris Lawrence what's the difference.
Delete“I’m sitting here wondering at what point I’m going to be thrown to the wolves.”
ReplyDeleteThe stark reality is that they’ve probably already thrown you to the wolves, they’ve just not told you yet.
Liberate yourself with the knowledge that your diligence, commitment and free work hours mean nothing to the organisation that is probation.
I read your post with such sadness as it appears that this could be any one of us. I have worked for the service for 20 years and I am in despair with the way it is now run. I am a PSO and have 60+ cases consisting of child protection, BBR, cases linked to a MAPPA and other complex cases. It is impossible to give every case my attention especially as more and more work is being given to officers. Completing housing forms, grant applications, referrals to various organisations, not to mention the ever growing increase in needless bureaucracy which takes everything away from our core business. I too spend time, including in the middle of the night , worrying that should be an SFO, my cases in the main are not well managed as I simply do not have the time. In 20 years my competency has never been called into question and all I have ever received a glowing appraisals, because I take pride in my role. But now pleas for help to management fall on deaf ears and I lost full control of my caseload quite a few months ago now! Morale in the office is about as low as it gets. However, reading your comment I wondered why we sit back and allow ourselves to take the blame when the wheel comes off. It is common knowledge that frontline staff are the scapegoat. Employers have a legal duty to safeguard their staff from undue stress and provide a manageable workload. The service appears to be failing in many areas around the country and it is staff that take the brunt of this. Perhaps next time someone is subject to an SFO enquiry we should allow ourselves to become angry and in some respects quite bolshy, although easier said than done I know. However, I find myself becoming frustrated as well as increasingly angry that I am underpaid and overworked and carry all this responsibility for a service that quite frankly no longer gives a damn about me. But one thing we need to bear in mind, the service is putting us in this position of not being able to manage cases safely and correctly, through no fault of our own.
ReplyDeleteIt’s heartbreaking reading this and as others have said you must protect yourself. The probation service is in a staffing crisis & you & others are bearing the brunt of this. It’s hard to see the solutions - at least not in the short term. We need to get staff in & train the properly - we need experienced staff with practice wisdom to do this. The more we recruit the more strain it puts on experienced staff. Regions (understandably) won’t release staff to become trainers or PTAs, so there aren’t enough of either. Yet we need to get more staff in & things won’t get better until we do. Genuinely interested to hear others views / ideas on how we get out of this staffing / workload mess.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Please see your general practitioner and explain how you feel. If you are place on sick leave, you are then not responsible for what work is or is not done with the duties that have been allocated to you. Please also contact your branch union office or the national office and ask for representation as you seem to have a legal grievance against your employer that you are being allocated work to do that is excessive and in breach of your contract of employment and therefore your health is damaged.
ReplyDeleteI wish you well.
Your wrong Andy the route is health and safety protections post injurious management but it would have been the direction had Napo not signed away the workloads weightings agreements for each area.
DeleteI have not been called Andy - since the early 1990s - have the integrity Anon at 08:57 to identify yourself.
DeleteThe first priority is for our guest blogger to appreciate her or his first responsibility is to their own health which I eventually did several years after I very reluctantly accepted early retirement as advised by a Union Rep I trusted.
I knew that she had mine and the Service's best interests at heart. In a true Social Work way she did not advise me directly but drew from me a consideration of the possibilities and consequences & I accepted I could not continue as I was going on and early retirement was chosen by me to protect my future finances for the good of my wife who had supported me then, in the job since I started training nearly 30 years before.
It is very hard to think clearly when one has a head full of cases and knows one is carrying responsibilities for the good and safety of wider society.
Thus my remarks were about firstly the blogger getting the protection available from the contract of employment within the UK law that includes protections for workers who are unwell.
The workload management issue was unresolved from the day I started training in September 1973 until the day I retired at the end of October 2003. Probation workers are often their own worst enemies and their employers take advantage of that.
My GP in Merseyside understood the system and the pressures such work places us under. I went to him with a minor complaint very early in my career and he insisted he issue a sick note for two weeks, despite my protestations because of the work I had in hand at that moment. Mr Hatton he said - your employer is responsible for your work - I am responsible for your health - you need two weeks away from work now and if you attend work you will be breaking the law.
I have no solution for fixing the workload problem, it needs to be done collectively; all workers need to be active members in a trade union, as I was from 1974 until I lost my right to full membership on retirement.
I am 20 years in as a PO and work 9 - 5. I do not accept work that takes beyond that. Am I labelled troublesome yes, do I care, not a jot. My home life/family/mental health means so much more to me. I look in the mirror each night and know that I did my best. Quite frankly I couldn’t give a flying fuck what others think of me. Push me, challenge me, take me to capability and I will fuck you over. I am after all a probation officer, a person of integrity, of strength and to date they don’t know how to deal with me. Step up brothers and sisters
ReplyDeleteWell done! I am trying to get there after 20 years. I worry about the state of my cases should there be an SFO. Not because of lack of competence but through lack of management guidance, absence of staff and unreasonable expectations and demands. We need to get angry about the service that has put us in this position. It’s ironic that a service which often deals with abused individuals abuses its own staff
DeleteLove it.
DeleteI left for all of the above reasons its shambolic! Something has to change...senior leaders plough on in denial posting about irrelevant projects, diversity days and team fuddles, rather than acknowledging that the service is in crisis and being seen to support frontline staff. My advice is to put your mental/physical wellbeing first as the servive won't 😢
ReplyDeleteIts sound advice, and all the psychocentric twaddle peddled by management will be good practice for the job centre, where they also go hard on it.
Delete...And this is the exact reason I left! After experiencing burnout, anxiety, depression due to the continuous change & high caseloads, the response to the mental health deterioration suffered was "be more resilient"?
ReplyDeleteThey do not care about their staff, you could literally drop down dead because of work related illness & they would have agency staff to replace you tomorrow!
(Note: Some agencies have now been blocked from taking on new Probation staff, so its clear they know what's going on). Instead of trying to fix the issues, they just look for more ways to shaft the staff - absolutely ruthless organisation.
This is so sad to hear, I would suggest to your manager that additional hours worked be claimed as additional time since you are not able to take TOIL and you need the money. The PDUs have plenty of vacancies so can afford it. You should not have to work extra hours for free. I really hope things get better for you sooner rather than later.
ReplyDeleteIts a similar state of affairs in the mental health service. The works about 50% ass covering, and 50% buck passing. Staff aren't provided the tools for the job, including given adequate time to do the work, so stress levels run high and turn overs quick. Rather than the organization trying to effect positive structural change, such as being better resourced and improving pay and conditions, its usually wall to wall 'mindfulness' and other psychobabble, all of which make these problems seem like individual failings of staff, letting the establishment off the hook.
ReplyDeletehttps://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1086343/East_of_England_Joint_Action_Plan__Essex_North___Northamptonshire_Probation_Service__Final_June_2022.pdf
ReplyDeleteThats the Probation Service I recognise
ReplyDeleteAnd it aint going to change for a long time to come now its in the death grip of HMPPS. You're all screwed, I'm sad to say.
DeleteAgree, it's awful under the civil service. Forms forms and more forms and shared services a sick joke, so inefficient. Treated like a robot in a corporate world. Bosses treat anyone assertive like a pain they want rid of and love those who tell them what they want to hear instead of the truth. It's a sure fire way to become mentally ill and professional respect expect none
DeleteSorry, I meant 50% ass covering, 25% buck passing, and 25% gatekeeping.
DeleteWritten Answers:
ReplyDeleteVictoria Atkins, 4 July 2022
"Between 1 June 2021 and 31 May 2022 inclusive, 5,614 applications to the PQiP scheme were submitted and 78,890 applications to prison officer vacancies were submitted."
Kit Malthouse, 27 June 2022
"HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) has launched a service providing up to 12 weeks’ basic accommodation and support for those leaving prison at risk of homelessness. Originally launched in 5 probation regions, the provision is being fully rolled out across England and Wales this year, supporting the thousands of prison leavers who leave prison each year who would otherwise lack stable accommodation. We launched the competition for new contracts on 18 May 2022."
Kit Malthouse, 20 June 2022
"Our newly relaunched Integrated Offender Management Strategy means probation are working with the police to increase supervision and oversight of the most persistent and problematic neighbourhood crime offenders. Alongside an additional £93m in unpaid work, we are investing £183m to nearly double the number of people on electronic monitoring to 25,000 by 2025."
Kit Malthouse, June 2022
"Independent working projects (formerly known as Project in a Box) enable eligible people on probation to complete some of their hours from home. They were introduced as a temporary delivery method in response to COVID-19 restrictions and have enabled us to maximise delivery as the Probation Service recovers from the impact of the pandemic. Independent working projects were not in use prior to April 2020... In 2020 – 2021 a total of 3680 offenders with community sentences were given an Independent working project as part of their sentence. In 2021 – 2022 the total was 9385."
I have decided to leave, throw in the towel. Having made that decision I had the best nights sleep I have had since 2014.
ReplyDeleteIt really is a weight off my shoulders, I have tried to bear the responsibility to do the best for my clients in the face of the meltdown of this service, and all the public services that our clients need.
There aren't enough houses, police, social workers, mental health staff, educators, advocates, There are no resources and there is no kindness. There isnt enough of us, and we are now poorly trained enforcement workers. I dont want to be part of that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMaE6toi4mk
ReplyDelete"Should I go or should I stay" The Clash.
Delete23.25 6th July i so agree with your stance, I have adopted this and have been told in no uncertain terms that I am ‘not a team player’ by a middle manager who implied that I didn’t care about “my team” this has only entrenched my position and I will not budge. I will stand my ground!!!!! Sack me if you dare!
ReplyDeleteTranslation: we can't hold the 'L' on this, even though we know there are structural faults. Its easier to blame individual staff, similar to how we push staff to blame service users. Thats neoliberalism for you.
DeleteThe pretence, taken directly from .Gov website:
ReplyDeleteOur responsibilities
We are responsible for sentence management in both England and Wales, along with Accredited Programmes, Unpaid Work, and Structured Interventions.
In Sentence Management our focus is on strengthening the probation practitioner’s relationship with people on probation, using the right key skills, activities and behaviours to achieve the most effective outcomes and enable offenders to make positive changes to their lives. This includes more consistent management and delivery of sentence plans, better assessment and management of risk and more balanced caseloads and an improved case allocation process to support this.
The reality, taken from a 20+ years PO:
Complete pointless OASys from the moment I start my day until end, and in middle of doing that, complete unrelenting referrals, firefight endless and mostly pointless emails and other target based drivel and if I’m lucky, have just the briefest of time to see a client or two. This all achieves, nothing!
"The pretence, taken directly from .Gov website:
DeleteOur responsibilities
We are responsible for sentence management in both England and Wales, along with Accredited Programmes, Unpaid Work, and Structured Interventions.
In Sentence Management our focus is on strengthening the probation practitioner’s relationship with people on probation, using the right key skills, activities and behaviours to achieve the most effective outcomes and enable offenders to make positive changes to their lives. This includes more consistent management and delivery of sentence plans, better assessment and management of risk and more balanced caseloads and an improved case allocation process to support this."
All buzzwords, no substance.
From Twitter:-
ReplyDelete"5 years since I resigned, for exactly that reason ... possibly rather too late in retrospect! Shambolic then. Very sad. And I was relatively 'junior' although a total service record of 20 years. I just went, at my instigation. No fanfare - at my instigation; very sad really."
"I feel for you all. It’s an amazing job, genuinely loved it 99% of the time, it’s totally undervalued by the wider public (bit like prison officers - invisible). those who truly invest and care, it eats you up eventually! Resilience is like alcohol, ok in moderation."
"We are, in my opinion some 6-7 years from the disastrous effect of TR being over despite every senior manager telling you that everything in the garden is lovely."
From Twitter:-
ReplyDelete"This ‘sense of loss’ on leaving a career really resonates. Only several years later have I found joy in talking about Probation to my students, and through reading, and starting to plan research."
"Likewise, I’m only 6 months out of #probation and the transition is a huge one, such a range of complex feelings to navigate! Luckily very well supported by an entire team of POs that I teach with, plus lots in an excellent wider department who research & try to understand!"
"I’m 3 and a half years on and I still feel loss, guilt and anger. We’re lucky to have you join us. We remain loyal to the occupation, not the organisation, and try to continue to contribute albeit in a very different way."
From Twitter:-
ReplyDelete"I used to wear high resilience like a badge of honour til I realised how unbelievably unhealthy that is. I applaud those still working in Probation. Amazing job but so many problems, hugely exacerbated by TR."
"After 20 years I to have hung up my assessment hat and moving away from the service. So tired mentally now. Good things may come but not, like you say, in our lifetime. Life is too short."
In 2007 (OMAct), in 2008 (Trusts) & 2013 (White Paper) I & others were concerned for the direction probation was being steered in.
ReplyDeleteThen... said it in 2014, 2015, said it in evidence to HoC committees, said it many times over & I'll say it again:
Probation is dead.
Crushed. Lifeless. It was an intentional act, a politically sanctioned abuse of power to remove one of the last bastions of independence in public service provision. Blue Labour were already working on it (OMAct'07), but the tories expedited it using Blue Labour's legislation.
HMPPS: Oh yes, the, uh, the Probation Service...What's,uh...What's wrong with it?
Mr. Praline: I'll tell you what's wrong with it, my lad. It's dead, that's what's wrong with it!
HMPPS: No, no, it's uh,...it's reunifying.
Mr. Praline: Look, matey, I know a dead probation service when I see one, and I'm looking at one right now.
HMPPS: No no it's not dead, it's, it's reunifyin'! Remarkable, the Probation Service, idn'it, ay? Excellent leaders!
Mr. Praline: The leaders don't enter into it. It's stone dead.
...
HMPPS: No no! It's pining!
Mr. Praline: It's not pinin'! It's passed on! This probation service is no more! It has ceased to be! It's expired and gone to meet its maker! It's a stiff! Bereft of life, it rests in peace! It's metabolic processes are now 'istory! It's off the twig! It's kicked the bucket, it's shuffled off it's mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisible!! THIS IS AN EX-PROBATION SERVICE!!
http://montypython.50webs.com/scripts/Series_1/53.htm
Advice please: How to make the transition to not being a probation officer? My mental health has taken a battering over the last eight years, my income has deteriorated and my imminent pension is going to be pants. I am so dam bitter and twisted its not going to be a pretty sailaway into the sunset.
ReplyDelete1. Make a decision for a clear & positive reason, e.g. to improve one's mental health
Delete2. Don't vacillate about options - you'll never leave
3. Leave. Then...
4. ... discover a whole new world. A myriad of options become self-evident, from shelf-stacking (seriously good money & lots of initial contemplation-for-recovery time) to whatever feels good or right. You might be surprised by where you end up.
5. Don't fight the grieving process - its a natural thing
6. Allow yourself at least a year to recover from the impact of your experiences (eight years immersed in shyte will take a lot of washing off)
7. Revel in your new-found journey
After being shafted in 2014 I was treading water in shark-infested waters, decided to climb out with nothing else in mind, took a year out living on next-to-nothing while I drained the poison out of my system, while de-cluttering the attic, shed & garage. I opened an ebay account & banked a couple of £thousand from stuff I'd only used once in years. Feeling slightly more human again I stacked shelves, trained to be a barista, trained as a HGV driver, worked as a fruit picker, learned a new language...
Mortgage? I discussed my situation with them & they were exceptionally helpful & understanding.
Partner? Kids? If *you* are improving in health & presentation then they can only benefit from those improvements.
Take a leaf out of (RMT) Mick Lynch's book:
"We refuse to be poor anymore"
And that's in every respect - financial & emotional.
Good Luck!
"We refuse to be poor anymore"
DeleteIt goes way beyond financial & emotional... its also culturally, socially, in terms of physical or mental health; and in terms of THE PEOPLE WE ARE.
Fuck johnson & his cabal of onanist acolytes who:
- measure everything in terms of got, got, got, want, want, WANT
- take pleasure in reducing others' opportunities to make themselves seem 'better than'
- who wield power like a truncheon so they can beat the shit out of anyone they don't like
- who piss in corners because they like their own rancid scent on everything
Nothing will change unless & until the tories are removed from government, labour MPs stop trying to emulate what they think power looks like & - most important of all - we, the people, REFUSE TO BE POOR & refuse to allow any future government to make us poor again.
"labour MPs stop trying to emulate what they think power looks like"
DeleteLabour, especially in its current state, just represents the left of capital. Its far removed, and has been for a while, of being a party thats representative of the working class.
I have the same question. Want to leave but am so burnout I can barely think of what to do / where to go next. Any people left and got better jobs? If so where / what
DeleteI've only qualified three weeks ago and I already have 9 ISPs due by 28th July. This is not sustainable and if I leave, then the cycle perpetuates itself again and my 26 cases will go to POs who are already beleaguered. The root causes need looking at; like knife crime, like stop and search. I do wish the senior management would apply some empathy. Acknowledging that we're all busy is great, but there's no follow-through. Ok, so we won't be getting a pay rise any time soon- but what is 'within their gift' is to change the culture. Even ISPs being moved from 15 to 20/25 days would help; incremental things; less form filing or easier forms. Agency staff to cover Duty days. It seems that the fundamentals of service to the service users and protection of the public is not being adhered to. Those are the only targets that should be measured. Anything else is secondary. Being spread thinly, juggling cases like plates is a recipe for disaster. It will only change when there is fundamental changes and that staff feedback is listened to. Most staff, especially NQOs and PQIPs, will not give feedback because they don't want to be labeled trouble makers. The senior management know this. They have the abstracted Excel spreadsheets that collated all the unhappiness of the anonymous feedback- that's great, but if you don't act on it, then it's hollow and wasteful as much of the tick boxing we are having to do. Also, there's no point in giving feedback- they already know what's wrong. So, they give you a forum to say your piece, but it's just lip service- but then they can say, we'll we gave you the opportunity and none of you spoke up. They know most of us won't. That's exploited, as is the good will of all the hard working POs- and not so hard working BS merchants- who muddle through and hope for change, as many of our service users do.
ReplyDeleteSimple answer. Put less work into your 9 ISPs and you’ll complete them in 3 days. Being “spread thinly” means spending less time on each probation client / task. Embrace it.
DeleteFrom Twitter:-
Delete"Unfortunately I can relate to this. You train to do a job you aren’t given the resources to do on qualification. I’m already looking for out 3 months post qualification."
https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/crime/probation-service-recruitment-campaign-norfolk-crime-8965882
DeleteA love of TV crime dramas and a desire to help people led Lucy to become a probation officer on the frontline of preventing criminals from reoffending in Norfolk.
DeleteAs a 23-year-old woman, she is atypical of the picture many people have of a probation officer dealing face-to-face with offenders who have often committed serious offences and have chaotic lifestyles.
But juggling staff shortages and huge workloads, made worse by backlogs created during the pandemic, the probation service is seeking a new generation of recruits.
It has launched a campaign to hire trainee probation officers in Norfolk.
“My friends always find my career quite surprising – especially as I’m a young female - and it can be tough at times,” said Lucy, who grew up locally and has been a probation officer for two years working in Norwich.
Her father was a police officer and she said she was "fascinated by TV crime shows growing up”. She went on to study for a forensic psychology degree.
“There really is no better feeling than when you successfully support someone to get their life back on track," she added.
“The people we support often have complex needs and you have to be quite resilient, but sometimes a small change in their mentality and attitude is all you need to turn their behaviour around."
The recruitment drive comes as the HM Inspectorate of Probation warned the newly unified probation service still faces “significant challenges”.
DeleteProbation returned to public control last year reversing 2014 reforms that saw management of low-risk and medium-risk offenders contracted out to private companies.
That had been branded "fundamentally flawed" by the chief inspector who said it resulted in "poor quality supervision" of many offenders.
Ministers have said they want to see more offenders doing community punishments like scrubbing off graffiti, while wearing high-visibility tabards emblazoned with phrases like "community payback".
They also want more electronic GPS tag monitoring as well as sobriety tags that test offenders' sweat to ensure they are not drinking alcohol.
It has added to pressures on the service which currently has 1,590 full-time staff working in this region supervising around 23,000 offenders on any given day.
New trainee probation officers will supervise offenders and offer support through courses aimed at addressing criminal behaviour and advice on issues like training, employment, health and housing.
"2014 reforms saw management of low-risk and medium-risk offenders contracted out to private companies... branded "fundamentally flawed" by the chief inspector who said it resulted in "poor quality supervision" of many offenders..."
DeleteAnd what is this govt's solution?
"New trainee probation officers will supervise offenders"
No flies in that ointment then?
Work your hours, no more. Return work not done to your SPO. It's their problem not yours.
ReplyDeleteWhy is probation shit? Why is probation dead? Why is nothing changing for the better?
ReplyDeleteAn Inspector writes:
https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2022/06/EoE-regional-review-letter-to-RPD.pdf
Sadly its more of the same "excellent leaders" bollox.
So, riddle me this, Equivocation Man:
"The senior leadership team is strong and committed"
v.
"Overall ratings from inspected PDUs:
Essex North: ‘Inadequate’
Northamptonshire: ‘Requires improvement’"
Obvious question: how the sweet-jesus-on-a-donkey can the senior leadership be strong & committed if the organsation is inadequate or requires improvement?
Oh, hang on... here it comes:
"The standard of case management requires attention"
"Learning and development for case administrators, SPOs and established practitioners requires more attention."
"Insufficient quality and frequency of management oversight was identified as a common theme for practice improvement"
Ah, so its lower down the ranks where no-one gives a toss because "Strategic plans are clear and reviewed regularly to take the organisation forward" [Huzzah!] and "Messages around the prioritisation of quality are understood by staff, although this is not translating into frontline practice".
Those bloody useless 'staff' again; if it wasn't for them screwing things up the excellent leaders would have gold stars on their lapels & bigger bonuses.
But at least the useless staff will now receive a humane end to their career:
"The East of England region is a pilot area for the human factors approach to SFO reviews... Action plans are discussed at accountability and learning panels, attended by senior regional leaders, and learning is shared with middle managers, to cascade to practitioners. Reviewing managers attend team meetings, are visible in offices and have each been assigned a PDU and function to bring SFO learning routinely into teams and dispel myths and fears around the SFO review process."
How do we solve a problem like Probation?
The solution is bleedin' obvious, innit? Its been front & centre of almost every HMIProbation report...
... Get rid of all the staff & leave it to the strong & committed senior management who have got it right every time with their clear strategic plans & messages of prioritising quality.
Memo to Romeo, Farrar, Rees, Raab, etc:
This complex piece of investigative work took me about half an hour - including typing my own report - which is to be reflected in my very modest consultancy fee @ £30,000 + VAT.
I can also source PPE, supply alcohol by the suitcase & fabricate distraction pieces for the media.
6 months in as an NQO and I'm looking for another job. I feel like a glorified lacky. Cases are allocated or 'dumped' by SPOs when they're desperate enough to allocate to the 5th spoke in the cog of the flat tyre- me. No PSO to be allocated or paid for, even though we're a 'red site'. Sorry, but I didn't sign up for this. Happy to be flexible, but let's not push it. Sad state of affairs, after all that hard work of the PQIP. Who was I kidding? The PQIP was the preview of the madness to come- which is completely broken and unsustainable. I feel like I've come to work at a restaurant only to be put in the kitchen to wash the dishes. What a waste. But I can't stay in a job like this. It's left a very sour taste in my mouth.
ReplyDelete