Down to the Sea 3

I'm conscious we haven't covered the last day of the Napo AGM and it included some important stuff, such as hearing from the new Napo chair and the situation trainees find themselves in. I notice there is a blog report on the Medium platform and I hope the author does not mind my quoting from it here:-

Probation conference hears plight of trainees    

Helen Banner Napo’s new national chair began the final session of conference.

The plight of those undertaking the Professional Qualification in Probation (PQiP) was well heard this morning. Previously known as Trainee Probation Officers they are now known as PQiPs. It seems it is a lottery in relation to what support PQiPs receive. You may be within a team that is well-resourced and hence your caseload may be reasonable but if you are in a team inadequately resourced your caseload could well be double or more.

We heard that in many offices there are now more PQiPs than qualified staff. This means the PQiPs are given cases beyond their experience which leads often to them feeling overwhelmed. It seems they are voting with their feet. I believe I heard up to 28% are leaving on or shortly after qualifying (please fact-check me). The motion is below and was proposed by, I believe, a Newly Qualified Officer (NQO).

25. Rethinking the PQiP 

Napo recognises that a significant proportion of trainee probation practitioners have experienced less than adequate support despite what was advertised when they committed to the programme. PQiPs in some PDUs, especially those in amber or red, outweigh the number of qualified practitioners which often means that they have no allocated mentors to guide and support them. This situation is increasingly worrying in many ways. Trainees are not getting the necessary practical learning that a mentor could provide. They are also much more likely to experience burn-out, feelings of isolation and hopelessness. The academic component of the training is predominantly self-directed studying, despite it being advertised as a taught course. Without mentorships to feel confident in developing their practice, and with very little academic teaching, these trainees are still expected to produce work of the highest practice standard. 

This programme may not be fit for purpose anymore and requires re-structuring in order to offer all PQiPs the same opportunities for learning. This AGM asks that we see a review of the PQiP 15- and 21-month pathways, with special attention paid to how the ever increasing workloads impact on our trainees’ professional development and wellbeing. 

Proposer: The Mercia Branch

There have always been challenges in Probation but it seems we have hit a new crisis with experienced staff moving out of the frontline. The PQiPs who are seen as the great hope of the Probation service unfortunately seem to be struggling as a result of high expectations and a lack of adequate support in their training. If the figure of 28% is accurate you can see the problem.

This is not on the whole to do with individual workers but a systemic problem. And the solution? That workers join Napo and organise to protect themselves from the effects of excess work. This can be done locally while together we can contribute to a national momentum to get the government to address the fundamental issues.

See you next year in Nottingham.

Gordie Jackson