Supplementary evidence from Robin Wilkinson,
Director HR, NOMS (PB 81)
ORAL EVIDENCE ON TUESDAY 2 NOVEMBER 2010
Q159 Mr Llwyd: I think my question is directed
to Mr Wilkinson initially, although that does not prevent Mr Woods
from chipping in, of course. The inquiries into the management
of Daniel Sonnex identified problems with the recruitment and
retention of qualified probation staff from London. Is this a
broader issue? In other words, we know that that is a London issue,
but is there a problem throughout the UK?
ANSWER
Please see Annex for answer.
Q160 Anna Soubry: I was just going to ask—forgive
me, I don't know if it is in the papers—what percentage
of the training as you move to the higher level is actually academic
training and what part of it is practical? What is the percentage?
ANSWER
Theory and practice are fully integrated throughout
the Probation Qualifications Framework, including the higher level.
Upon completion of a Probation Officer qualification, the learner
must have demonstrated an equal balance of academic and practical
ability in the five core areas of:
— managing
risk of harm;
— communication;
— responding
to diverse need;
— supporting
change; and
— tactical
skills;
There are two pathways to become eligible for a Probation
Officer post, which reflect the different starting points of learners.
The first of these pathways, comprises a three-part Honours Degree
in Community Justice together with a further Vocational Diploma
in Probation Practice at level 5. This pathway is open to Probation
Services Officers (PSOs), who have already demonstrated vocational
competence to level 3. The second pathway, the Graduate Diploma
pathway, covers the academic curriculum of the third part of the
Honours Degree and the vocational diploma at level 5. It is open
to PSOs who have already achieved a relevant honours degree. The
end result of the pathways is the same: academic ability is demonstrated
to honours degree level and practical skills to vocational
diploma level 5.
Continuous integration of academic and practice on
both pathways is facilitated by both the delivery methods and
integrated assessment methods. Learning is delivered to employees
who carry a workload. Rather than distinct periods of practice,
followed by academic study they are integrated by key practice
tutoring tasks of:
— explanation
of theory;
— demonstration
of practice;
— use
of new skills by the learner;
— checking
out and
— advice;
— review;
and
— evaluation.
Assessment integrates theoretical understanding and
practical ability by awarding academic credits for achievement
of the vocational qualification and requiring underpinning (academic)
knowledge to be demonstrated to achieve the vocational qualification.
Both the honours degree and the level 5 vocational diploma must
be gained prior to eligibility for appointment at Probation Officer
grade.
Q203 Mr Buckland: But how much time does it
take to put together the OASys matrix—the graphs that those
of us that have seen PSRs know about? How long does it take?
ANSWER
Following the introduction of a standard assessment
layer and a fast review capability in August 2009, OASys timings
were collected for approximately 400 probation assessments. Based
upon these findings, average timings for the whole assessment
process have been calculated as set out below. These timings cover
creation of the record, reading collateral information, the face
to face interview with the offender, completing the assessment
and countersigning.
— Initial
assessment timings ranging from 185 minutes for Offender Management
Tier 2 offenders to 260 minutes for Tier 4 offenders. For Tier
4 offenders, 60 minutes are spent interviewing the offender and
110 minutes completing the assessment.
— Review
assessment timings ranging from 105 minutes for Tier 2 offenders
to 150 minutes for Tier 4 offenders. For Tier 4 offenders, 30
minutes are spent interviewing the offender and 70 minutes completing
the assessment.
— Termination
assessment timings ranging from 90 minutes for Tier 2 offenders
to 130 minutes for Tier 4 offenders. For Tier 4 offenders, 25
minutes are spent interviewing the offender and 60 minutes completing
the assessment.
These timings have been published as part of the
NOMS service specification "Manage the sentence for a community
order/suspended sentence order"
(http://www.justice.gov.uk/about/completed-service-specs.htm).
December 2010
Annex
PROBATION SERVICE ATTRITION FY 2009-10—PROBATION
OFFICERS 1, 2, 3, 6
| Region | Number of Leavers
| Average Staff in Post
FY 2009-10
| Attrition Rate | Change in Staff in Post
FY 2009-10
| % Change in Staff in Post
FY2009-10
|
| North West4, 5 | 19.69
| 559.89 | 3.52% | 7.87
| 1.42 |
| North East | 26.53 | 503.31
| 5.27% | -7.99 | -1.59
|
| Yorkshire & Humberside5 |
25.78 | 434.23 | 5.94%
| -22.94 | -4.96 |
| East Midlands5 | 22.53
| 486.42 | 4.63% | -0.27
| -0.06 |
| Wales | 30.00 | 396.44
| 7.57% | -22.78 | -5.50
|
| West Midlands5 | 59.68
| 602.66 | 9.90% | -16.10
| -2.62 |
| East of England | 27.66 |
529.32 | 5.23% | -13.93
| -2.56 |
| South West | 31.70 | 536.07
| 5.91% | -25.35 | -4.56
|
| South East | 48.37 | 780.94
| 6.19% | -15.50 | -1.96
|
| London | 51.37 | 948.47
| 5.42% | 34.31 | 3.49
|
| Total | 343.31 | 5,777.33
| 5,94% | -82.68 | -1.40
|
1 The attrition rate figures provided are based on
the total number of staff in Probation Officer roles that left
the Probation Service in FY 2009-10, divided by the average staff
in post in Probation Officer roles over the period. Probation
Officer roles are Senior Probation Officer, Probation Officer,
Practice Development Assessor and Senior Practitioner.
2 Internal transfers are not included in the attrition
rate calculations as they do not represent attrition from the
Probation Service.
3 Leaver and staff in post figures are Full Time Equivalent
(FTE) and were submitted by the Probation Areas/Trusts via the
HR Data Warehouse. The Trusts have the ability to resubmit historical
data which may result in occasional variations in subsequent reports.
4 Cheshire were unable to submit data to the HR Data
Warehouse in 2009-10 due to technical issues with their HR System.
Leaver and staff in post figures have therefore not been included
for Cheshire within the regional or national calculations.
5 Leaver and staff in post figures have not been included
for Derbyshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire and West Yorkshire
within their regions or in the national calculations, due to leaver
information not being correctly extracted from their HR systems.
6 Figures on the number of leavers in 2010/11 are not
currently unavailable.
| 
