Sorry for any non-NPS London members of staff, but I just had to have a rant about our all staff conference today....is it just me, or was it totally and utterly mis-judged?
So we had a few soundbites about why we are "Amber" and how we are an essential public service (which I don't disagree with personally); but this was quickly replaced by a commentary about the (very poor) staff survey results which was basically "well X percent says X or Y is positive, everyone else was "indifferent" so they didn't really express an opinion so don't count, and then X percent are really unhappy, so it's all looking good!"
We then had soundbites about a wonderful "youth to adult transition" service (new??? as someone correctly pointed out this was always the status quo until a few years ago), something about yoga and trauma, something about an office raising money for a foodbank because we have come to expect so little else from our actual government, then a panicky ten minute rant about us delivering "purposeful" supervision sessions, then of course the usual crap about the transition going extremely well, but an acknowledgement that many offices are rat infested flea pits, but we have a business and strategy office, so all will be fine.
Meanwhile the comments section was ON FIRE with staff evidently feeling demoralised, misunderstood and mis heard. The lack of employer care, the vulnerability staff feel within a pandemic, was palpable (and understandable).
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I was there too. Misjudged and badly misinformed. London director telling people that staff should not be worried by the "scaremongering of the media". The new variant was just normal behaviour for a virus "like any annual flu". Her incredible interpretation of "the science" was totally at odds with Downing St, BBC, and Chief Medical and Scientific Officers. Really irresponsible to push Business as Usual message without a care for staff. Talk about misreading the room..
I was there too. Misjudged and badly misinformed. London director telling people that staff should not be worried by the "scaremongering of the media". The new variant was just normal behaviour for a virus "like any annual flu". Her incredible interpretation of "the science" was totally at odds with Downing St, BBC, and Chief Medical and Scientific Officers. Really irresponsible to push Business as Usual message without a care for staff. Talk about misreading the room..
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Anyone record it? Report it to H&S Exec. Report it to union reps. Let the press get to hear about it, those 'scaremongering media types' would probably enjoy door stepping a pandemic-denier.
Anyone record it? Report it to H&S Exec. Report it to union reps. Let the press get to hear about it, those 'scaremongering media types' would probably enjoy door stepping a pandemic-denier.
--oo00oo--
This from a recent private communication - not London:-
Unrest among Tory ranks revealed:
ReplyDelete"Amber Rudd has said Boris Johnson has a "sort of language which he's quite rightly nervous using in front of women" as the ex-home secretary hit out at the "boys' club" atmosphere in the Commons. She said: "There is a kind of boys' club-type behaviour in parliament because it is still more like a public school or a university club than anywhere else you'll ever go.
Ms Rudd, who resigned as home secretary in 2018 over the Windrush scandal, said she quit the Cabinet again after a return to the top table as work and pensions secretary because of the way Mr Johnson treated people in order to get his Brexit agenda through."
Otherwise its business as usual & Brexit means Brexit.
"The government is assessing the impact of a "technical issue" that led to 150,000 records being deleted from police databases.
The error, first reported in the Times, saw data including fingerprint, DNA and arrest histories wiped after being accidentally flagged for deletion.
The Home Office said the lost entries related to people who were arrested and then released without further action.
The data was lost from the Police National Computer - a system that stores and shares criminal records information across the UK.
Former Cumbria Police chief constable Stuart Hyde told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the "very large" loss of arrest records presented a "risk to public safety".
He said: "In order to understand the scale, if you think that about between 6-700,000 people are arrested every year in the UK, that's a very large proportion of those people."
It comes after around 40,000 alerts relating to European criminals were removed from the same database, the PNC, following Britain's post-Brexit deal with the EU."
More Boris-business-as-usual news, more proof the cloth-eared blubber-boy just does not listen & makes shit up on the hoof, making false, empty promises he cannot deliver - again & again & again & again:
ReplyDelete"Boris Johnson’s plans to test millions of schoolchildren for coronavirus every week appear to be in disarray after the UK regulator refused to formally approve the daily testing of pupils in England, the Guardian has learned.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) told the government on Tuesday it had not authorised the daily use of 30-minute tests due to concerns that they give people false reassurance if they test negative.
This could lead to pupils staying in school and potentially spreading the virus when they should be self-isolating.
The regulator’s decision undermines a key element of the government’s strategy to bring the pandemic under control – and is bound to raise fresh questions about the tests, and the safety of the schools that have been asked to use them."
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jan/14/operation-blame-the-public-covid-unsafe-workplaces-coronavirus-tories
ReplyDeleteIn relation to the blogs in London it is in my mind exactly why those leaders are in those roles. It is because they will tell us whatever the the power wants them to and us plebs are to be grateful. As long as we have this leadership in power roles weak unions and apathy we will remain the plebs.
ReplyDelete"London director telling people that staff should not be worried by the "scaremongering of the media".
ReplyDeleteWhy because its fake news? It's a conspiracy theory to prevent you working the way you want to?
It sounds so much like something that Trump would say.
I now have two friends who have contracted covid and both became extremely ill, despite both being generally health conscious and neither having underlying health conditions...neither required hospitalization, but both suffered ongoing health ramifications, with one requiring a recent admission to hospital and further tests. The London directors messaging was totally out of kilter with the lived experience of practitioners and the focus on business as usual matters was patronising...the reference to staff expressing "indifference" in the staff survey for simply entering "neither agree or disagree" seemed to discount what a large proportion of staff meant when they entered their answers, and the focus on "recording in delius, reviewing risk registers, updating OASYS" failed to grasp the reality of the lived experience of most practitioners.
ReplyDelete"Wales to introduce new Covid risk assessments for shops and workplaces - Government acts amid concerns some businesses are not taking restrictions seriously enough"
ReplyDeleteBut just what IS the message in England???
"The business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, has said companies must redouble efforts to ensure employees work from home unless their work is critical and cannot be done offsite, as the TUC urged the government to step up enforcement.
Calls are growing for the government to rethink allowing construction sites to continue as normal and to permit only those whose operations are vital, with several industry employees telling the Guardian that safe practice has become impossible on sites.
The government is preparing to ramp up warnings to employers that they must ensure they are making every effort to keep employees at home."
Let's highlight this bit:
"Speaking to the Guardian, Kwarteng said there were “deeply troubling” reports of some businesses’ tactics to get employees into the office."
"This morning I had the pleasure of welcoming 90 new colleagues who are starting their probation officer training. Remote learning for an organisation that is person centred."
ReplyDelete12 Jan, Kilvinder, @NPSLDN_Director, Director, National Probation Service, London Division, HMPPS
Business as usual, this time from Michael Green aka our Punk Cousin Le Shapperino:
ReplyDelete"One of two coronavirus variants thought to have emerged in Brazil has been detected in the UK, says a leading scientist advising the government.
The variant of concern is distinct from those which emerged in Kent, in the UK, and in South Africa, but shares some key mutations.
Changes to the virus are thought to make it better at attaching to human cells, and therefore more infectious.
Travellers from South America were banned from entering the UK on Friday.
It comes hours after Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told the BBC he was "not aware" of any cases of the Brazilian coronavirus variant in the UK."
Where the power **really** lies...
ReplyDeletehttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/15/trump-republicans-election-defeat-club-for-growth
"The Club for Growth’s biggest beneficiaries include Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz, above, the duo who led the effort to overturn the election result... An anti-tax group funded primarily by billionaires has emerged as one of the biggest backers of the Republican lawmakers who sought to overturn the US election results, according to an analysis by the Guardian... The Club for Growth has supported the campaigns of 42 of the rightwing Republicans senators and members of Congress who voted last week to challenge US election results, doling out an estimated $20m to directly and indirectly support their campaigns in 2018 and 2020, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.
About 30 of the Republican hardliners received more than $100,000 in indirect and direct support from the group."
I am -if I survive it- going to wait till the pandemic is at least on the wane before I make any decision about my future in the Probation Service. I realise that the anxiety and, frankly, despair at what my job has become, might be amplified by Covid anxiety and gloom. All the probation officers in the room I work in are at various stages in this: one has got his early retirement pension forecast, I am asking for mine, and another is actively looking for alternative work. That is over a century of experience looking to walk out of the door at first opportunity. The micromanagement and the utter failure of policy makers to recognise the pragmatic reality of our work is soul destroying. Telling me that the increasing layers of recording and scrutiny are "for my protection if anything -SFO- happens" is so not reassuring.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: Is the motivation to require staff to deliver set interventions, to over-record, a defensive concern that hands off probation work will make no less difference than hands on?
ReplyDeleteI have just found out that my colleague who sits within two meters of me tested positive for coronavirus on the weekend. No one from management informed me or the rest of the team of the potential increased risks. No increased cleaning. Hot desking is a daily occurance. I have no faith in my employer protecting me. As a result I have had to stop providing care for a relative whom is shielding. There is a perception that as prisons provide opportunities for testing that no other precautions are now needed. I fear raising this issue and being redeployed.
ReplyDeleteOh I'm so, so, sorry to hear this...so stressful for you and others involved no doubt. Yes, the fear we all feel raising legitimate concerns is extremely sad and very worrying...why else do we all ensure our comments are anonymous on these blogs? The fear engendered comes from those at the top, who constantly scratch their heads wondering why their staff are so disenchanted, while issuing dictats about recording, crissa, OASYS reviews, risk registers, HETE data, with seemingly little care for the people involved, both staff and service users alike.
DeleteBitter Bully in action. A 17 year hiatus, then along comes the narcissist who couldn't wait to expedite the ultimate psychopathic power rush - to kill someone with impunity.
ReplyDelete"The US government executed Corey Johnson on Thursday night. Johnson, 52, was the 12th inmate executed at the prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, since the Trump administration restarted federal executions following a 17-year hiatus."
Another is due to be executed Friday (today).
16.54 I'm with you, a post degree cqsw was always, and a 12 month probationary period, a good foundation for learning - oh how this has been diluted. I so remember the broad church of colleagues, some of whom I disagreed with politically but never doubted their integrity, the fountains of knowledge of many spo's (granted not all) and CPO'S willing to challenge govt policy even under thatcher. I used to respect my management because they welcomed challenge and wanted POs to think outside the box, I am also tired of this but it is not covid, who which I can rationaluse but the shit from above
ReplyDelete6th
Your so right so must be nearly 60 to recall those days as I do. Working with modern qualified staff who are pos but really they are nothing much more than over paid typist clerks. Talking to them in supervision they type into the pc while still talking at you . It is not what we know which is why they could never picture returning professional practice . Old lot out soon as .
DeleteWe are cannon fodder. Frontline so needed at work, "hidden heroes" - thanks for the management clap. But not worthy of a priority jab or a pay rise. Probation in a parlous state: Graylings omnishambles has meant we have attention of policy makers, when actually the mission is much best served when it is off grid. So now we have fuck all resources, and running interference from ambitious fast track numpties in the civil service whose ignorance and ambition will quite possibly snuff out the glimmering embers of what was a valuable service and a joyful place to work
ReplyDeleteLooks like things are different in Manchester and Cheshire. Response from their Napo Twitter feed to todays blog post - "Nope".
ReplyDeletePerhaps they could share the secret of their contentment?
DeleteJust read it the same tired old junk . Circulatory pat on the back same old issues. Lomas suggests she needs coffee but I think she might be better off seeking some intelligence first annoying. Twitter is not doing a job or working producing materials members arguments for terms health and safety our protections.
DeleteWhy would billionaires want to keep Trump in power? Is it just the low-tax regime? Or might there be other forces at work, like insane greed?
ReplyDelete"Billionaires in the US have increased their net worth by more than $1tn during the coronavirus pandemic, while many of their US workers have struggled with coronavirus risks in workplaces, for little to no extra pay to work in hazardous conditions, and millions of other Americans have struggled to survive on unemployment.
The Amazon CEO and founder, Jeff Bezos, added more than $70bn to his net worth during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, which is now nearly $185bn.
“They gave us hazard pay for maybe a couple months. It was only $2 and they literally took it away as the pandemic got worse. One of the biggest companies couldn’t afford to keep it up?”
Elon Musk, the owner of Tesla Motors, saw his wealth surge by more than $140bn during the coronavirus pandemic, with a total net worth of $195bn.
Musk sent out an internal email to all employees implying they would lose unemployment benefits if they didn’t show up to work... Salaried employees at Tesla had their pay reduced by 10% to 30% from mid-April to the end of June 2020.
Billionaire Bill Gates has seen his wealth increase by nearly $18bn through 2020, to $131bn... his investment company Cascade Investments holds a more than 34% stake in the waste management company Republic Services... During the pandemic, Republic Services approved $2bn in stock buybacks and paid out $387.1m in dividends to shareholders, but the company’s sanitation workers have not received any hazard pay or bonuses"
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/15/billionaires-net-worth-coronavirus-pandemic-jeff-bezos-elon-musk
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/15/boogaloo-killing-facebook-dave-patrick-underwood-police
ReplyDeleteIt aint gonna be the 'bogey man' that gets yer, it'll be one of Trump's 'boogaloo bois'
I was on the meeting. Total shite. The London NPS Director must have had a few empty bottles of wine under the table.
ReplyDeleteShe, Kilvinder Vigurs told everyone the pandemic will be ok because her cousin works in a hospital and “he knows”. Until then, we don’t really need to be concerned about the lockdown as “the science” says it’s not as bad as it looks, and the current global wave is the fault of Christmas shoppers. Apparently if we “apply the science as an art” we’ll all be ok, whatever that means ?!
Nice comments from the safety of her fancy looking home. I switched off after she told us the utterly abysmal staff survey comments about managers were a positive.
Seen on Facebook:-
ReplyDelete"So, Competency based pay rises is coming in. Personally l see it as a divisive way to destroy good will and erode morale. Brought in in the face of a supine workforce and a powerless union. Views?"
Why is CRISS crap? Seems reasonable outline for a meeting (Check in, Review, Intervention / Issue, Summarise, Set task). I don't use the same myself in my profession but similar and pursue a collaborative agenda with my clients. It allows for an efficient and focussed use of time.
ReplyDeleteGreat question, but you have to understand the background and context. In principle, the idea of a more structured and focussed way of engagement is not what staff resist....CRISS was initially rolled out via a 3 day training programme, SEEDS, which allowed the time for staff to engage with the material and its rationale.
DeleteHowever, this "way of engagement" quickly got replaced by a "recording convention" - so staff recording exactly what they did and what was said under the various "headings" of check-in, review, implement and so on with prescribed guidance re-designing what CRISS actually means to fit the process of recording. The mantra became "did you record using CRISS" format, "has CRISS been used?", "let's do audits of staff to check if they are recording correctly", irrespective of whether whether the sessions themselves used that format or how well a session was or was not performed. Staff soon realised they were spending double the amount of time transcribing out their appointments, coupled with organisational dictats from senior managers which essentially said "you MUST use CRISSA in your case recording - it's MANDATORY - we will monitor its use".
Somewhere along the line, the "I" (which was initially "implement the sentence plan"), became "intervention", with managers chucking bundles of 121 worksheets and exercises onto the intranet. The mantra now seems to be "deliver some form of exercise, print out a worksheet, we don't particularly care what it is and for god's sake just, record, record, record".
When you couple the above with other layers of "recording" which have come about over the past few years, you'll get a sense of the hostility CRISS operates within: HETE data, personal circumstances data, professional judgement entries, NSI updating, risk registers, officer diary, OASYS QA standards....all of these require entirely separate processes, within a "case recording system" that is not intuitive, with each entry being in disparate parts of the system, with meaningless "check boxes" which must be filled out each time, otherwise your entry gets rejected. Then of course, couple this with manager's favourite mantra: If you didn't record it, it didn't happen!
You'll see in various posts recently staff referring to themselves as "typist clerks". I see myself as a data entry officiant. The pandemic has brought in this idea that "supervision sessions can only be 15 minutes long", with people scratching their heads as to how that can possibly be meaningful and the organisational response is "we are delivering vital public protection work" which pays no attention to people's lived reality. Lo and behold loads of staff are currently saying "actually, I've noticed some of my people engaging MUCH better on the phone rather than in the office" - no shit sherlock, because you are actually listening to the person and meaningfully responding, one of the most powerful "interventions" known to man, rather than chucking exercise 6.2.9 from "targets for change" in their face.
So please appreciate that staff feel overwhelmed with data entry and data recording, and managers push the data recording agenda aggressively, pandemic or not. Staff's fingers worn to the bone, and meanwhile people have lost a sense of whether any of this has any meaning - does any of this have any impact onto the re-offending rates of the people we are working for.....?
Thank you. That explains the hostility. It must be demoralising. What you describe sounds like you are all very busy achieving very little other than producing a record to be audited.
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