I thought this was good, so deserves a post on its own:-
Dear Mr Jones,
"doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results"The inspection results have been dire for years, but no-one has ever taken the management structure to task over any of those dire results, i.e. most of the culprits are still in post/have been promoted.
Why do I take such a view? Because my experiences of inspections have always been:
1. there is plenty of advance notice (usually months) of the imminent inspection, the cases to be inspected and the purpose of the inspection
2. local management order the toilets to be painted
3. case records are audited, adjusted and staff groomed
4. local management have cosy chats with the inspectors
And despite all of these 'advantages' and prep time, probation areas achieve shit scores... the failures are levelled at frontline staff... and not much changes at any level.
You say: "My conclusion, is that we are unlikely to see any significant improvements in our findings in the short term and I am concerned at the potential damage to morale on the front line and public confidence if we merely report similar findings."
I ask:
1. Why are there unlikely to be significant improvements? We've had decades of strategies & policies and consultations and political directives, yet nothing has changed for the better. Everything has just "gotten shitter".
2. Potential damage to frontline morale? Potential? The potential has been reached; and exceeded. I'm not sure frontline morale could be any more damaged than it already is. How about sacking some of the "excellent leaders" who have carelessly and callously led the service into this death spiral while being labelled "excellent" and "strong" by... the inspectors!
3. Public confidence? Most of the general public have no idea who or what probation is, except when some poor bastard on the frontline is being hung out to dry following a dreadful incident beyond their control, while the piss poor management make tutting noises and chunter about "lessons to be learned" or "a sad lack of professional inquisitiveness".
Have ***any*** lessons been learned?
https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/media/press-releases/2022/09/sfo-2022/
https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/2021/06/09-june-2021/
https://committees.parliament.uk/work/3582/transforming-rehabilitation-inquiry/news/99492/new-probation-system-must-learn-lessons-from-botched-current-model/
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2009/nov/02/probation-service-monitoring-inquiry-sonnex
https://news.sky.com/story/re-offending-fears-as-probation-service-fails-to-learn-from-past-mistakes-11987919
https://www.theguardian.com/society/joepublic/2009/jun/04/sonnex-probation-service
https://www.communitycare.co.uk/2006/02/28/probation-staff-suspended-following-critical-report/
No!
So, seeing as repeating the same format with no improvement is proving unhelpful, maybe HMI Probation could stop using the same tactics and start doing unannounced inspections where inspectors turn up at an office and look at random case records with the case managers, listening to them as they discuss the cases together, getting to grips with the local difficulties and impossibilities, reading the bullying emails, experiencing the true gravity of the situation.
Then, maybe, there might be some real progress in short order.
Yours,
Anon
Absolutely agree with everything in this letter.
ReplyDeleteLast inspection in our area involved a focus group with SPOs, we had 90 mins with them where we talked about poor staff morale, caseloads, expectations of staff, poor processes, high workloads for all, including SPOs, and a lack of strategy and leadership to address it. They wanted to talk about a spreadsheet that suggested staffing levels were adequate and as were our spans of control, suggesting the problem sat with SPOs and staff. And workloads of 130% plus was related to sickness and resilience issues.
HMIP need to start with the data from case management and then review with senior leaders, not reiterate the rhetoric and senior leadership commentary of “all we would be wonderful but for the staff!”
Where is their “professional curiosity?”.
When was the last time the lead inspector had an interaction with a caseload of 40+ cases which is the reset reality?
Why are they not asking HMPPS about a model of services where repetition, duplication and poor processes underpin practice?
I could go on and on, but fundamental to HMIP review and approach is Mr Jones having the confidence and bravery to start now what he’s predecessors started as they exited- challenge HMPpS in their strategy and force the much needed review of probation services.
It’s always amusing how our probation inspections are so thoroughly choreographed. We’re handed the dates, cases, and focus areas well in advance—time enough to paint over the cracks and create a tidy facade for inspectors. I’ve even seen colleagues kept out of focus groups or sent to work from home, all to avoid any “unwanted” feedback reaching inspectors. It’s hardly a real inspection.
ReplyDeleteContrast this with other fields, like education, where inspections arrive with barely a days notice. If we’re serious about improvement, shouldn’t probation have the same? Imagine inspectors turning up unannounced, sitting down with case managers to look at random cases together. It would give them a genuine view of the workload and decision-making challenges.
In the past, inspections felt more meaningful. You’d sit down with an inspector, walk through your cases, and discuss the rationale behind each decision. Today, it’s all about documentation—“if it’s not recorded, it didn’t happen.” But let’s be real: with over 60 cases per officer, it’s just not possible to record every detail. This emphasis on documentation over actual outcomes shows how disconnected the process has become from the reality of frontline work.
And here’s another thing inspectors should do: sit in on Teams calls led by senior leaders and heads of service. Let them hear the relentless demands and expectations placed on teams. Only by seeing these daily pressures firsthand can we hope for real change. Planned inspections and prepared reports aren’t cutting it; we need inspections that genuinely reflect our work and challenges.
BIONIC
Ergo the problem lies with the nepotistic Inspectorate and their relationship with ‘excellent leaders’……..local inspections required
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. Take this comment popped up here a few times and I understand why. HMIP came and went. The inadequacy, discrimination and toxicity remains. I bet it’s fair to say not a single manager or senior manager (the perpetrators) were held responsible or removed. Instead they’re applauded and promoted while the poor bastards on the frontline (the victims) are punished with training, performance improvement, micromanagement and told to do more.
ReplyDelete“The report found a lack of resources continued to impact service delivery, with most staff working under excessively high workloads.“ “Inspectors were concerned that some staff reported feeling unsafe and had experienced racism, discrimination, and poor behaviour at their workplace.”
https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/media/press-releases/2024/08/essexnorthpdu2024/
https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/media/press-releases/2024/08/bedfordshirepdu2024/
Ooh yes! HMPPS Promote and Protect ideology for those who cock up.
DeleteBlame and bust those on the frontline is their solution to protect their own jobs. Let the frontline be the scapegoats. Not our fault they say! No introspection or self reflection is there?
Throw the frontline staff trying their utmost best to encourage desistance and enforcement simultaneously to the wolves whilst those who should have had oversight and applied it, waltzed away free. Where can I buy the Monopoly version of Probation Monopoly - haven’t seen it anywhere but clearly is a thing.
And they wonder why civil service doesn’t deliver.
No one has the balls to challenge this entrenched bureaucracy and self protectionism happening at levels where, should they wanted to have rocked the boat, change could have happened and a bit of Mea Culpa applied.
Bugger you Jack, I’m alright approach each and every time to the detriment of the cannon fodder on the frontline.
Yet those at higher senior levels who were surely appointed on their ‘nous’ and ‘proven abilities’ to spot this happening and clamp down on basic managerial skills lacking at SPO and ACO levels and retrain have not done so.
Clearly not appointed on capability then are they?
I fear the competence level of our leaders at a time when excellent leadership is critically required.
What confuses me is why the very same managers and senior managers presiding over failing toxic probation PDUs are then involved in the subsequent action plans. We don’t need their trickery and sleight of hand, they already lost the game. We don’t want dead weight demoted back to the frontline either.
ReplyDeleteHMIP probation inspections should be made without notice. All managers and senior managers should be removed from probation offices for the inspection period. Their input should only be on their own management. They should not see inspections reports in advance.
An ex-colleague of mine was severely shat on by our employer at an inspection. She was outspoken & challenging, but an excellent probation officer of many years' experience.
ReplyDeleteWithin a week of the inspection being announced & the cases in our area identified, she was suspended on full-pay pending an inquiry into an undisclosed matter.
The inspection took place. One case received fulsome praise in the inspector's comments, noting the originality & thoroughness of the supervising officer's attention to the needs of the case while going the extra mile to ensure that specific & complex issues were addressed.
The officer holding that case at the time of the inspection received much praise & he was promptly promoted.
The officer who actually undertook all of the work had the alleged unspecified matters dropped, but... she was 'allowed back to work' two weeks after the inspection report was published - subject to "three months' weekly oversight by the ACO".
napo? Said they could do nothing as there were no formal matters proceeded with.
Corruption & nepotism within the probation service is beyond grotesque... and HM inspections mean nothing when they can be manipulated & "managed" in such an abusive manner.
Anon 18:35 Shocking!
DeleteShocking to some... just another example of management behaviour that imitates the gross abuse with impunity as modelled by govt ministers & senior civil servants.
DeleteNo more or less shocking than the observation by Anonymous 27 October 2024 at 08:46: "I’ve even seen colleagues kept out of focus groups or sent to work from home, all to avoid any “unwanted” feedback reaching inspectors.".
ReplyDeleteThere will undoubtedly be many more similar accounts of abuse of power that we'll never hear about, e.g. editing entries on case records, falsifying data, lying to inspectors, etc.
Who would ever know?
For example, do the inspectors undertake an audit trail of case data or do they just take 'as read' the entries presented to them?
Perhaps Jim's friendly IT-savvy contributor/s could offer a view?
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66db1226e87ad2f12182659a/Race_Equality_In_Probation_a_follow_up_-_A_work_in_Progress_action_plan_-_12_month_review.pdf
ReplyDeleteHis Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service should:
Develop a national race equality strategy for service delivery. (Repeated recommendation)
hmpps response: "The recommendation can only be partly agreed at this time as the detailed design of the Race Disparity Unit has not yet concluded."
24 years ago...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/801451.stm
A damning report on the Probation Service says it is "infected" by racism.
"The Chief Inspector of Probation Sir Graham Smith says little progress has been made on race equality in 10 years... Probation inspectors say they were shocked at what they found.
White officers were uncomfortable at dealing with black offenders, fearing accusations of being racist, the report said.
The inspectors were particularly concerned that pre-sentence reports compiled by probation officers on ethnic minority offenders were of a poorer quality than those on white offenders...
Sir Graham also said black probation officers faced discrimination within their own service... A disproportionate number also face disciplinary proceedings, according to the review"
“Partly agreed” !!!!???
DeleteProbation service must ‘reset and raise’ standard of work with ethnic minority service users and staff urgently
https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/media/press-releases/2021/03/raceequalityinprobation/
Prison service is neglecting vital race and equality work
https://prisonreformtrust.org.uk/prison-service-is-neglecting-vital-race-and-equality-work/
All areas had Res but the chiefs and aco found ways around and continue to abuse the weakened status of all minority staff and clients. They all avoided the strategy bar lip service.
Deletehttps://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7f81c6ed915d74e33f6dc4/race-in-workplace-mcgregor-smith-review.pdf
Deletefrom about 2016-ish
a paper from hmip staff for British Journal of Community Justice
Deletehttps://mmuperu.co.uk/bjcj/wp-content/uploads/sites/441/2023/05/Ball.Final_.2022.pdf
Shocking really. You’d think we’re in 1964 Britain not 2024.
DeleteHope we're all delighted with the fabulous October back payment skillfully negotiated by Napo and Unison ahead of the SDS40 early releases that we've all just had to manage. Mine honestly doesn't even cover the annual prescription costs for the meds I'm now taking to manage the stress and insomnia brought on by an impossible and rising workload. F*****g derisory.
ReplyDeleteI got £139. Yippee!
DeleteThe second to top of band 2 gets nothing, and such a low salary to start. Very poor.
DeleteContribution left on an old blog post with repost set to spam filter:-
ReplyDelete"I am a probation officer who has been qualified for less than three years but previously worked in other roles within the service. I have met some of the most dedicated, hardworking, caring and genuine people, who in my opinion represent everything the service should. However, sadly the culture that exists can only best be described as toxic. It is destroying me from the inside out to the point that I see no light at the end of the tunnel and fear that I will have no choice but to leave a career which means so very much to me to save my sanity.
From my own experiences and what I have witnessed, staff are punished for speaking up when things are wrong. Management turn on them and label them as a problem because they do not want to admit the failings happening and take accountability for their role in it. Not all, but the vast majority of senior managers cannot handle being challenged even when there is evidence to support the challenge, they speak to staff like dirt, lie, manipulate and gaslight. Despite their claims to the contrary they have no real understanding of the impact of the decisions they make on staff because they are not doing the job and do not spend any sufficient time with those of us who are.
I have witnessed bullying and discrimination and that includes from senior managers and middle managers who should be leading by example. I have also seen employment law frequently broken and public protection placed at risk. I myself have spoken up, not to be a trouble maker but because I know that we and the public who we are seeking to protect deserve better. In doing so I have found the service does not value honesty, despite claiming it to be one of our core values. I would refuse to lie to cover for managers who quite frankly couldn’t manage their way out of a paper bag. I am tempted to take my situation higher, but am fully aware that this could be career suicide.
We often speak about treating the people on probation with respect and meeting their individual needs, but sadly the same does not seem to apply to staff. During my PQIP I did not have a mentor for large periods of time and when I did they were mentoring several people in one go on top of their own work. The office I work in is mainly composed of staff with less than 10 years as a Probation Officer. The experienced staff with over 10 years experience who I have worked with, have taught me so much that my training has failed to. In order to tackle the issues in probation, things need to change right from the very top. In my view the government needs to set up an external task force."
Seems about right and a familiar reflection of what I have read from other Pracitioners who are treated worse than the PoPs they manage. I too can vouch for that, having been less than 2 years in post. One thing I have noticed, is that hard work ad conscienciousnes means absolutely nothing. It is a failed service and I feel for others who have entered into what they hoped would be their dream profession, only to have that dream turn quickly into a nightmare.
DeleteYou can basically get away with not being very good, claiming some dispensation that stops you having to work hard and skiving so long as it doesn't turn into an SFO. Missing targets such as Part B's aren't good- but then the PPCS don't pull up prisons for not offering timely video links. PAROMs aren't good to miss either. But if you have a 'side hustle' or a 'I'm lazy and here's the reason why' excuse, you can pretty much coast. Allocations are often a mess, local management set the example and if they're in disarray what is the incentive for others' to improve things? It's usual office culture within a challenging and demanding role.If you are good at what you do, you get given more work, whilst the skivers continue to skive. it's not going to change. There has to be equitable ways of working in PDUs and prisons must relinquish their primacy, as they are in no position to tell probation what to do. Courts aren't much better. Oh, and if you screw up, try and have some integrity and respond with an apology rather than ignoring an email. Which is pathetic The most efficient admin task a prison does is removing the name of the POM off Delius when a prisoner is often released without any resettlement work in place. It's off in a flash! The rest of their processes are basket level dysfunctional and probation bares the brunt.
Deletehttps://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/media/press-releases/2024/10/bryathpdu2024/
ReplyDelete* “A significant number of deficits” found at ‘Inadequate’ Barnsley and Rotherham PDU: Score = 3/21
https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/media/press-releases/2024/10/dyathpdu2024/
* Doncaster Probation Delivery Unit rated ‘Inadequate’, despite “culture of collaboration and teamwork”: Score = 3/21
https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/media/press-releases/2024/10/lyathpdu2024/
* Leeds PDU rated ‘Inadequate’ despite positive steps taken by leadership: Score = 3/21
https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/media/press-releases/2024/10/wyathpdu2024/
* Wakefield PDU rated ‘Requires improvement’, but “building blocks for success” in place: Score = 6/21
https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/media/press-releases/2024/10/syathpdu2024/
* Despite improvements, Sheffield Probation Delivery Unit remains ‘Inadequate’: Score = 3/21
FIVE PDUs inspected.
Four score 14%
One scores 28%
How can it be possible to say "Positively, there have been some improvements since our last inspection [at Sheffield]" when they've scored just 14%? So how shit were things before in Sheffield?
Oh... In 2023 they managed a score of 1/27, or 3%.
What is the pass mark for the 11 Plus exam? It is usually around 80%.
£194 extra. Disgusting
ReplyDeleteYep I got the same pittance. Less than £200 after tax. Barely covered the already spent cost of those worn shoes and tyre treads from all that extra work. Not to mention the fuel, electricity and boxes of paracetamol. Definitely not the “bumper bonus pay rise” reported in the news.
Deletehttps://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/probation-staff-bumper-pay-overtime-33389037.amp
What's did Napo pay itself in terms of pay increase actual the last 3 years please anyone.
DeleteHaving worked in service management many years and alongside the staff we must all know by now ensuring inspectors only saw certain staff has always been the fix to ensure the truth is hidden.
ReplyDeleteAll HMIP Probation inspectors need to do is arrive unannounced with no more than 24 hours notice. Select the random caseload sample themselves. Reserve one inspection day for a staff individual drop in session free of managers. Then do the same with middle managers.
Delete