I’m an SPO and I always defend my team. I find the OM v SPO divide to be so unhelpful, and unfair. Huge workloads impact us all and I’m tirelessly trying to keep my team (and myself) afloat. We all need to unite to tackle the wider HMPPS issues, NOT divide.
The comment about WMT- there is often nobody else to allocate to (unless you can magic some POs up) and cases have to be give an OM, which is difficult to do when people are at breaking point. I’ve been doing 50 + hours weeks for a prolonged period, to help manage the continued increased demand for PSRs. I will always chip in to see cases and do tasks. Just because you can’t see the work, doesn’t mean SPOs aren’t under huge stress too. The amount of unrealistic and unreasonable task put on middle managers is only increasing. My well-being is dwindling and efforts to keep staff well mostly go unmarked.
As for attendance warnings, we have to discuss all our decisions with an HR BP and often our reviews can be disregarded, unless we use our professional discretion/have a very good argument to not issue warnings. It’s a bit like the tick box a comment for OM judgement for risk assessments and enforcement, our skills as managers are being limited by Civil Service HR drivel. Over and out, from an exhausted SPO.
As for attendance warnings, we have to discuss all our decisions with an HR BP and often our reviews can be disregarded, unless we use our professional discretion/have a very good argument to not issue warnings. It’s a bit like the tick box a comment for OM judgement for risk assessments and enforcement, our skills as managers are being limited by Civil Service HR drivel. Over and out, from an exhausted SPO.
******
Mention of HR brought the following to mind from a week ago:-
Absolutely hideous job, started working and was never given any training, when I didn’t know how to do something, I would ask managers and then they would write me up a meeting with them saying that I should just know. Only reason I know anything about my job is because I’ve figured it out for myself! Management are awful, over work you for minimum wage. Management very unprofessional, saying things out of pocket and making you feel uncomfortable. Intimidation they love to use on you here, they will bully you!
Also say goodbye to annual leave because they will take it away when it’s already been approved last minute because they need you in! Awful working environment, offices grim and don’t think have been cleaned since 1973. Often no hand soap or loo roll, and say goodbye to tea and coffee! No staffroom. Incredibly understaffed no wonder! So will work you like a dog with no consideration having you do a thousand things at once! Be prepared to be micromanaged and treated like a child, constantly analysing everything you do and why you did it!
Expect you to answer 50 emails a day whilst running a clinic, booking appointments, answering the phone that will never stop , running to grab bloods and vacs, having employees come in all day and a hundred other things! Also be prepared to be a personal secretary for the nurses and a IT technician.
Will also expect you to do all of this whilst management do nothing apart from badger you on why you haven’t started the million other things they need you do! Also, when you are looking for another job to leave optima HR will make a direct call to your manager to tell them you are actively looking to leave, and yes this actually happened! No sick days here! They will give you a formal meeting and warning for having a chest infection for 2 days off and expect doctors notes!
Ladies and gentleman welcome to the modern day work house! If you like the sound of all this then apply they would love the opportunity to run you into the ground and spit you out!
Date of experience: 05 October 2023
This cannot be resolved whilst practitioner’s are being allocated workloads that everyone knows CAN NOT BE SAFELY MANAGED. For the practitioner, victims and the person sentenced, this is not procedural justice. I am really interested in the optics of this given it seems to be emerging as an SPO v Practitioner debate. So just how are PDU Heads and Regional Leaders getting away with no apparent link made to their responsibilities and yes, accountability for this. Do they see any metrics, yes they do! There is the WMT report for each office in each PDU area, so being in the Red as it is referred to is discussed at Senior Leaders meetings as is being Amber which I would advocate should be the point of urgent intervention to alleviate the clear indications of business risk. For clarity, that means unsafe management of cases and resultant harm to Justice plus of course, harm to staff in the form of stress and burn-out and yes, risk of further reduction in resources when they are forced into ill-health and leave. So why are SPOs posting in this way rather than clearly explaining where accountability should and does lie, ie with Senior Managers. Take your argument up the line SPOs, take truth to power and if you’re addressing posts on this blog, let’s hear about what YOUR line managers ie PDU Heads are doing about this, seem to me that’s where you should be taking aim not at “my team”.
ReplyDeleteI am also an SPO, I line manage 15+ staff with significant caseloads, all my team are on over 130% on WMT. There is no where to allocate cases to but they keep on coming. Sentencing is a shambles, first time offenders getting a significant number of RAR days, PSS is not worth the paper it’s written on and enforcement a waste of time as courts do nothing to mark it. I am exhausted, I’ve stopped doing the extra hours now, and some of the ridiculous asks from senior management have gone out the window so I can support my team.
ReplyDeleteAs an example the touchpoints model on almost 500 cases is unachievable, nor does it fit with Seeds. I would much rather spend longer in supervision with staff, pick up some appts etc and help keep on top of the nightmare treadmill of OASys.
Countersigning OASys is also a nonsense, there is no way I can review every one now that this has increased. I check risk sections only for most of them.
Attendance management and support for overworked colleagues is a policy in words only. Yes we need staff in work to support a reduction in workload, but well and motivated staff. There is no well being policy or support from the centre and what there is is generated by staff themselves to support each other! They are absolute heroes in my eyes.
My colleagues in my team are absolutely amazing- no doubt- but they can’t and shouldn’t have to keep this up.
The solution is recruitment apparently, the cavalry are newly qualified POs and PSOs. These highly motivated and exceptional staff are being hammered from day 1 with cases, and are not being properly trained. SPOs and experienced POs are trying to bridge a gap L and D are not willing to fill.
And those staff who have been around for years, and want to do more, continue to try their best, but it’s not the job it should be.
Mandated use of EPF, a home visits process someone wrote to give themselves a pat on the back about spending money on personal safety devices, NSI after NSI and constant changes to processes, roll out of some new EMS tag or other has eroded resilience and professional integrity.
Debriefing and reflective practice is a thing of the past if left to senior management, it’s not measurable- but is so important to staff who are dealing with trauma day in and day out.
I insist on keeping it on the team meeting and supervision agendas and I am scheduling in time to do this, but I am co cloud it’s another ask on overworked staff. Rock and hard place……
I hate the constant middle management bashing, the silly statements about stop allocating work to overworked staff- if only. But we are service in meltdown, we are like the NHS during Covid now. We can’t stop helping those that need it but the corridors are full. The. Metal health crisis is impacting on staff and cases- what do we do- close the doors?
And TUs- they need to do more, be more visible nationally, the local reps are sinking in representations. They can’t do more locally, but desperately need to, and the National exec for Napo are not present in terms of understanding the impact of the stuff they are agreeing.
I keep turning up, for now.
An SPO cannot properly manage 15 staff who are supervising clients except maybe in short term situations, such as a neighbouring SPO being on leave.
Delete“and I’m tirelessly trying to keep my team (and myself) afloat.”
ReplyDeleteStop fooling us and yourself. You’re not keeping anyone afloat. You’re allocating work to probation staff who cannot do it. You’re requiring actions from staff who have no time. If you’re breaking down with your 50+ hours a week then what’s it like for them? It doesn’t really matter because you’re required to allocate more work, and that’s what you’ll do.
What an absolutely disgusting response. I frequently do recall reports, part bs etc to take some of the burden off my staff, as an SPO is a tough gig the same as it is a PO. There are not enough hours in the day to get everything done and this is raised that POs are becoming ill with the horrific/untenable demands of this job. You are an example of adding to this ‘SPO vs PO’ issue. Go reflect and add a useful comment!
Delete@20:23 - the response from 08:00 is honest. You don’t have d to like it but it’s how they feel. How most officers feel. Just because it hit a nerve for you doesn’t mean it isn’t true. Nothing disgusting about it. However hard it is for managers, it’s harder for POs because they have to deal with their managers who consistently add to their workloads. Suck it up Buttercup.
DeleteWhat I got from that poor me SPO story …
ReplyDeletePO: I’m so busy.
SPO: There’s nobody else to allocate to. Here’s 5 new cases.
PO: My workload is unrealistic and unreasonable.
SPO: Huge workloads impact us all. We all need to unite to tackle the wider HMPPS. Here’s 5 new cases.
PO: My stress levels are huge.
SPO: I’m exhausted too!! Here’s 5 new cases.
PO: Im leaving. I’ve got a new job as a travel agent.
SPO: Have you completed all the tasks on those new cases?
3 days later…
New PO: I’ve just qualified.
SPO: I’m your SPO and I always defend my team. We’re a united team. I keep staff well.
New PO: Great!
SPO: Here’s 70 new cases.
New PO: My workload is unrealistic and unreasonable.
SPO: JFDI. There is nobody else to allocate to!
Where do you allocate to then?? What is your suggestion?
DeleteYou’ve said “your staff” are suffering. So not to them!
DeleteIt is really dismaying to see the frontline vs SPO narrative playing out here. SPOs (I am not one) are in an absolutely impossible position. The problem is systemic and lies at the very top: both politicians - on both sides too riveted to what the wonderful Mike Hough called "populist punitivism" and pre general election too weak and risk averse to risk starting an intelligent conversation in public. Then there's the One HMPPS cabal of career civil servants who have no interest in or understanding of probation. The more any campaigning looks like impacting on a potential new government in regards to moving away from the One HMPPS route, the more they will ramp it up I fear.
ReplyDeleteThen there is those in the rank and file (ranks and file) who have been around pre TR, and those who are new in and know no other than HMPPS culture and model. The latter will soon, if not already, be the majority. Woe betide, at that point nobody in the system will have a clue what they are for other than to surveil, nail and jail, ticking boxes as they go
It is SPOs that are here saying there is a “them and us” with senior managers. Why would there not be a “them and us” elsewhere too. If you’re dismayed to hear this and I doubt you really are, then do tell of this probation utopia where you work.
DeleteI think the most. Salient point I have read this morning is this; ‘So just how are PDU Heads and Regional Leaders getting away with no apparent link made to their responsibilities and yes, accountability for this.’
ReplyDeleteUntil such time as they are held to account, nothing will change. I wrote recently that practitioners should employ every device available to them in order to defend themselves against the onslaught.
We need to push back, both as individuals and collectively and place responsibility where it lies. Obviously it would greatly assist if the unions played their part but in reality, NAPO in particular is a spent force.
Middle managers can’t have it both ways unfortunately. When they take the job, they understand that they are the conduit between their team and more senior managers. They have to demonstrate (not just say that this is what they are doing) that they are clearly showing the impact of managerial decisions upon their teams and document the response they get, then publish the evidence.
Tell us precisely who is responsible and let us hold them to account in whatever forum exists.
Staff need to take appropriate contractual action. If workload says 100% on any measure don't accept above. It's simple. Make the managers take action . Make sscl put everyone on capacity capability. At 100% none could be criticised. All staff need to have confidence and here is the problem. Not one able union branch has a workloads dispute lodged. No local constitution's because Lawrence dumped us out . No national workloads dispute because let's be honest Lawrence is a bit to cowardly and not able to lead one. Worse he has paralysed branches from organising local disputes and local protections for terms. Change the leader then file back for.local representations change the unions recognition agreements. Do the fu@>ING job Lawrence.
DeleteI have been an SPO for under 12 months and manage 15 staff including 7 pqips. There is no training for SPOs, one day you are a PO the next an SPO. There is a huge difference in managing experienced POs and having to train and mentor trainee's. I am in an area that has been in Red EDM for over twelve months and most staff are over 140% on WMT. There is no let up from the workload. In order to try and support my team I am seeing cases, writing parole reports as well as trying to provide monthly supervision to my staff, and be around and available for then. I work four out of five days in the office, when I know others hide at home. In order to do so I have to work most evenings in order to countersign OASys, which can take a long time with new staff and finish work.
ReplyDeleteThe amount of HR and staff issues we have to deal with is so much more than I expected and I think most of the team are completely unaware of the work we do behind the scenes. I go home and worry about my staff and the pressure they are under and try to find way to help them but when more people are leaving the service then joining this is a unmanageable task.
Does anyone know how many extra Probation staff we actually have following all of the money spent on recruiting? I mean front line staff.
Delete“I go home and worry about my staff and the pressure they are under”
DeleteBut then you allocate “your staff” more work the very next morning. How caring!
Does anyone know the proportion of management and other assorted Unicorn jobs against the frontline staffing? Both numbers and as a spend on salaries? I'm guessing the former is 50/50
DeleteHi 15:56 there is training for SPOs there’s quite a list of essential training and also HR sessions run with BPs covering such topics as sickness absence management, as well as support from your line managers……..
DeletePointless training. Pointless support. Did you not read above.
DeleteYes 19:12 I did, read in full, many thanks
DeleteAnd that’s the problem. You people listen but do not hear.
Delete“You people” who people….how on earth do “you” know?
DeleteYou people. You people talking about spo training, HR Sessions and line-manager support. You people who are not hearing that we are way past that!
Delete1556 all that work for less money than a youth justice officer you must be daft leave
ReplyDelete“But then you allocate “your staff” more work the very next morning. How caring!”
ReplyDeleteWhere do you suggest the cases go instead? Cases continue to get sentenced, are they meant to stay unallocated, how would you feel as a victim of crime if that was the case?
21:48 I would suggest the minimal work that is being delivered such over- allocated cases is not justice for the victims, not delivering what the Court intended at sentencing, letting down those we supervise and causing harm to staff. I suggest our senior managers/ excellent leaders do what the prisons do, say very publicly Probation is at capacity and the plans we had to fix this have not worked. If the glass is full any intelligent person would stop pouring!
DeleteAnd the moment that parroted phrase departs your mouth you confirm your ‘concerns’ for your staff are nothing but meaningless words wrapped in crocodile tears.
DeleteI cannot feel sorry for SPOs. They were POs who knew how hard it is to be a PO. They know the pressures - they escaped into being a SPO because they couldn’t handle the pressure anymore. They also knew when they became a SPO they would become part of the stick that beats POs into pulp every day. So don’t ask us to feel sorry for you. You were fully aware of the damage you’d be inflicting on POs before you planned your own escape. SPOs don’t worry about the well-being of their staff. They worry about meeting their targets and business needs. They get paid more than POs to take the pressure. Stop complaining. You’re part of why staff leave.
ReplyDeleteOutrageous comment. Let’s keep dividing staff *claps sarcastically*
Delete19:23 Outrageous? Or truthful? Keep clapping. There IS a very distinct divide. Let’s not gaslight and pretend there isn’t. The divide is frontline POs / PSOs are drowning and SPOs just keep dumping more work on them instead of taking it higher and finding a solution. SPOs seem to be completely confused over their exit into management from casework. They don’t manage cases anymore. They manage staff who manage caseloads. They don’t have to do the level of work POs are literally sinking in. Because SPOs just add more on a daily basis.
DeleteIf you don’t like the divide, go back to being a PO. See how long you last before you run off back to a non-caseload role, and continue to damage your colleagues. You are part of the problem. SPOs need to grow a backbone and take the problem higher. Stop punishing your teams for being humans. We’re not robots. We don’t have endless mental, emotional and professional capacity. SPOs aren’t ‘one of us.’ Your managers. We’re just the lowly frontline fools keeping you in a job. Your sense of entitlement that you can command how your broken staff - staff you helped to break - should feel is outrageous.
I’m a PO and I disagree with the attack on SPOs. My SPO is supportive and they try their best to get additional resource/help. I don’t think splitting staff by grade is helpful, especially when we are all struggling with the incompetence of a Tory gov + moving toward a disastrous ‘one hmpps’ model. Let’s not become resentful and bitter with one another, when we don’t know what is going on for each individual person (in work and out). I’ve found this blog to be a great place to openly discuss issues, but we are at risk of making it just OM focussed. What about admin, reception etc
DeleteRe the move to suspend all the under 12 month prison sentences, was this devised in conjunction with those at the top of the probation food chain or was there just a slavish ‘we will do it guv’ response to those already pressuring staff?
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely right @22:35. Agree with everything you say. They wanted the SPO job and now they have it so deal with it. I am leaving shortly, but they are making life as difficult as possible for me. SPO's in the job barely out of PQUiP training and clueless, distant PDU Heads are definitely part of the problem. Staff are hung out to dry and I have seen it time and time again over the years. Targets, box ticking, needless referrals...
ReplyDeleteFrom Twitter:-
ReplyDelete"Probation will just recall the overflow they can't manage effectively and we'll be back with overflowing prisons. Vulnerable prisoners will just be pawns as ineffective and vindictive management of collapsing services flail helplessly."
https://insidetime.org/record-highs-for-recalls-and-remands/
DeleteThe number of prisoners held on remand, and the number recalled to prison following their release on licence, have both reached record highs – fuelling the capacity crisis in jails.
DeleteIn September there were 16,196 people on remand in prisons in England and Wales, which the Ministry of Justice said was the highest September figure for at least 50 years. Of these, 10,521 were in custody awaiting trial, while 5,675 had been convicted but not yet sentenced.
At the same time there were 12,031 people in prison who had been released, but later recalled for breaching their licence conditions. The figure was up 15 per cent from a year earlier, and was also described by the Ministry of Justice as a “record high”. Only 28 per cent of them had been recalled for allegedly committing a further criminal office. The rest were recalled for breaching other licence conditions – which include turning up to probation appointments and being of “good behaviour”.
Between April and June of this year, 12,123 people were released from prisons but 6,814 were recalled on licence – meaning that for every two people who walked out of the prison gates, one came back.
People on remand or recall together account for around one-third of the current record prisoner population, which climbed above 88,000 in October – prompting Justice Secretary Alex Chalk to announce a series of emergency measures including early releases and a ban on most short sentences.
The figures for recalls and remands were published in by the Ministry of Justice in its quarterly Offender Management Statistics Bulletin. An MoJ statistician said the rise in the remand numbers “likely reflects the impact of continuing court recovery following COVID-19 restrictions, resulting in an increase in the number of prisoners held on remand. The large increase in the remand population this quarter has likely also been driven in part by strike action by the Criminal Bar Association during autumn 2022.”
The statistician added: “The increasing recall population is likely driven by a combination of factors such as a longer-term increase in the average length of determinate sentences and an increase in the number of people serving indeterminate sentences or sentences with an extended licence.”
.21:48 what magical solution do you suggest for when there are no staff left to do the job? Victims and their families want justice through staff having the capacity to actually do the job. They aren’t getting justice when we have 15 people coming in a day, and only have time to spend 10 minutes with each of them because then we have their case notes to write up, referrals to do, oasys to update, phone calls to make to social services, housing, courts, police, safeguarding checks, MAPPA and MARAC updates, breaches, parole reports and hearings, emails, teams calls, staff supervision and the bloody list just keeps on going. All the while being micromanaged by incompetent SPOs that have no idea what they’re doing, to within an inch of our lives. We see cases for long enough to ask if they’ve been arrested and check they’re still living where they should be, and to give them another appointment. We don’t do any meaningful work with them anymore. There isn’t time. So what do you suggest? Allocating to overwhelmed staff until they collapse under the caseload isn’t working. A lunch break that doesn’t involve cramming food in our faces while we continue typing would be nice once a week but it doesn’t happen. There. Is. No. More. Capacity.
ReplyDeleteYes will recall everyone as per usual standard response
ReplyDeleteThank you to Jim for giving staff a safe place to speak openly and honestly, and voice how they feel. It’s a well needed place and appreciated by all who read it and comment on it.
ReplyDeleteThanks Anon 21:06 but it all breaks my heart to see what has become of a once proud and wonderful endeavour. Am off to bed with Radio4 because I'll be up early - but keep the considered contributions coming in, try to be kind and take care. Nighty night.
Delete