Probation services practitioner

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This apprenticeship has been retired

Overview of the role

Working with offenders to make communities safer.

Details of standard

Occupation summary

This occupation is found in the National Probation Service, Community Rehabilitation Companies or voluntary sector organisations working in partnership with statutory organisations. Practitioners can be based in a variety of locations, including prisons, courts, hostels or community-based offices.

The broad purpose of the occupation is to protect the public by reducing re-offending, safeguarding victims and rehabilitating low to medium risk service users through effective engagement, monitoring and enforcement to ensure that the sentence of the court is delivered to a high standard. This includes working with the Service User and other agencies to develop, deliver and review realistic plans either in written or electronic formats to address needs and develop a route out of offending. Consistent risk assessment, professional curiosity and liaison with other agencies are key factors in effective management of service users.

In their daily work, an employee in this occupation interacts with service users, who may demonstrate a range of challenging behaviours and who will have diverse needs and in collaboration with the Justice, Health and Social Care sectors. The interaction will aid making assessments and delivering rehabilitative interventions.

An employee in this occupation will be responsible for providing sustained support, advice and supervision for individuals under sentences of the court or through voluntary engagement. Working as part of a team to meet operational targets. Making ongoing assessments and responsive decisions based on an individual’s ongoing risk of harm to self and/or others along with the risk they pose of committing a further offence in the future..

Typical job titles include:

Probation services pracitioner

Occupation duties

Duty	Criteria for measuring performance	KSBs
Duty 1 Carry out risk assessments and prepare written reports for low to medium risk cases, these may include violence, drug related offences and inquisitive crimes e.g. theft	1. Adherence to legislative requirements 2. Compliance with employer policies and procedures	K1 K2 K3 K4 K5 S1 S2 S3 S4 B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7
Duty 2 Develop and implement plans to manage needs and reduce risk of re-offending and harm to the public.	1. Adherence to legislative requirements 2. Compliance with employer policies and procedures	K1 K3 K4 S1 S2 S3 S4 B1 B2 B3 B4 B5
Duty 3 Manage and enforce the sentences of low to medium risk service users and identify needs to reduce risk of re-offending and harm to the public.	1. Adherence to legislative requirements 2. Compliance with employer policies and procedures 3. Excellent interpersonal skills	K1 K8 K9 S2 S5 S6 S7 S8 S11 B1 B2 B4 B5 B7
Duty 4 Contribute proactively to partnership and internal meetings to review the behaviours and progress of the service users you supervise.	3. Excellent interpersonal skills	K1 K2 K7 K8 S13 S14 B4 B6
Duty 5 Work within public protection and safeguarding guidelines and procedures, including safeguarding and Police checks	1. Adherence to legislative requirements 2. Compliance with employer policies and procedures	K1 K2 K4 K5 K6 S10 B1 B2 B3 B4 B5
Duty 6 Undertake safeguarding checks and referrals to protect victims and safeguard children & vulnerable adults by reducing re-offending and risk of harm.	2. Compliance with employer policies and procedures	K1 K2 K4 K5 K6 S10 B1 B2 B3 B4 B5
Duty 7 Engage and motivate service users to promote positive change and support them to refrain from future offending behaviour.	3. Excellent interpersonal skills 4. Planned activities meet service user needs and requirements	K1 K2 K8 K9 S7 S8 S9 B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B7
Duty 8 Refer and/or deliver interventions to meet the objectives of the sentence and risk plans.	3. Excellent interpersonal skills 4. Planned activities meet service user needs and requirements 5. Cost and quality standards meet Business requirements	K8 K9 S7 S8 S9 S13 B1 B2 B3 B4
Duty 9 D9 Develop own continuous professional development needs.	1. Adherence to legislative requirements 2. Compliance with employer policies and procedures	K1 K11 S12 B4
Duty 10 Use tools to record information and maintain the security of information relating to service users and victims.	1. Adherence to legislative requirements 2. Compliance with employer policies and procedures	K1 K10 S15 S16 B4

KSBs

Knowledge

K1: Legislation and organisational policies and procedures relating to Probation practice, the importance of applying them in practice and the risk of not doing so. Back to Duty

K2: The Criminal Justice System relevant to all aspects of probation and rehabilitation and how the organisations work collaboratively. Back to Duty

K3: Different approaches to risk assessment, including the assessment of the needs and strengths of service users and the importance of gathering information to inform risk assessment. Back to Duty

K4: Harm and abuse indicators and potential risk factors that may lead service users to harm themselves or others. How to reduce risk and raise concerns. Back to Duty

K5: How to include the victim perspective in working practices. Back to Duty

K6: Roles and responsibilities of agencies involved in public protection and local arrangements in place. Back to Duty

K7: Principles of effective team work to achieve outcomes, build and sustain effective working relationships with internal and external stakeholders. Back to Duty

K8: The interventions and activities available to help service users to prepare for rehabilitation and resettlement, how these are delivered and how they can reduce re-offending. Back to Duty

K9: Theories and techniques in effective practice to promote rehabilitation Back to Duty

K10: The importance of sharing, gathering, using and storing information in accordance with data protection requirements. Back to Duty

K11: How to identify your own development needs and ways to reflect on own practice. Back to Duty

Skills

S1: Undertake assessment of risk of re-offending, considering the needs and strengths of service users. Back to Duty

S2: Continuously gather information and review progress of risk and sentence plans throughout the sentence. Respond to changes in the risk of re-offending and harm posed in line with guidance and make adjustments as necessary. Back to Duty

S3: Record, conclude and present assessments both written and orally, in a range of settings, in the required time-frame in accordance with organisational requirements Back to Duty

S4: Use assessment information, resources of other agencies and available interventions to devise risk and sentence plans in collaboration with the service user Back to Duty

S5: Make enforcement decisions around service users’ absences and behaviour. Back to Duty

S6: Integrate professional values into practice and maintain professional boundaries, adapting approach to individual needs to effectively deal with a range of challenging behaviour. Back to Duty

S7: Support service users, providing information, advice and resources to enable them to benefit from rehabilitation and resettlement activities. Back to Duty

S8: Make referrals to and deliver interventions. Encourage service users to reflect on their participation and progress on their sentence activities. Back to Duty

S9: Engage, motivate, collaborate with and support service users to explore the effects of their behaviour on themselves and others to achieve a positive change in behaviour and reduce the risk of harm and re-offending. Back to Duty

S10: Make safeguarding checks and use information within assessments when there are safeguarding concerns. Liaise with appropriate agencies and contribute towards plans around vulnerable adults, provide multi-agency reports when required. Back to Duty

S11: Identify and challenge behaviours that do not promote equality, diversity and inclusion. Back to Duty

S12: Develop own knowledge, skills and competence, respond to feedback and identify improvements to practice. Back to Duty

S13: Manage own caseload, attend partnership meetings, share assessments and maintain contact with other agencies and intervention partners, as required and in order to oversee the case effectively and meet objectives. Back to Duty

S14: Contribute to regular team meetings and case discussion meetings. Back to Duty

S15: Use a range of digital tools to record case, risk and sentence assessments. Back to Duty

S16: Maintain records securely in line with data protection and security of information and use information to support delivery of services. Back to Duty

Behaviours

B1: Engage positively with service users reinforcing positive attitudes and behaviour. Back to Duty

B2: Demonstrate pro-social modelling skills. Back to Duty

B3: Act with respect to diversity and cultural differences. Back to Duty

B4: Demonstrate high standards of professionalism, uphold organisational values, and professional boundaries Back to Duty

B5: Manage own emotions in stressful situations, seek support for own welfare. Back to Duty

B6: Be proactive in working collaboratively with colleagues and stakeholders. Back to Duty

B7: Listen actively in all interactions with service users and show respect whilst being professionally curious about what is being said. Back to Duty

Qualifications

English and Maths

Apprentices without level 2 English and maths will need to achieve this level prior to taking the End-Point Assessment. For those with an education, health and care plan or a legacy statement, the apprenticeship’s English and maths minimum requirement is Entry Level 3. A British Sign Language (BSL) qualification is an alternative to the English qualification for those whose primary language is BSL.

Additional details

Occupational Level:

Duration (months):

Review

this apprenticeship will be reviewed in accordance with our change request policy.

End-point assessment (EPA plan)

Rigorous robust and independent assessment undertaken by an apprentice at the end of training to test that the apprentice can perform in the occupation they have been trained in and can demonstrate the duties, and knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSBs) set out in the occupational standard

End-point assessment organisation (EPAO)

An organisation approved to deliver end-point assessment for a particular apprenticeship standard. EPAOs must be on the register of end-point assessment organisations

Holistic or synoptic

Assessment of an apprentice’s knowledge, skills and behaviours in an integrated way i.e. assessing several KSBs at the same time

Knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSB)

What is needed to competently undertake the duties required for an occupational standard

Valid

Referred to in relation to assessment methods; fit for purpose

Change request policy

Most changes to an apprenticeship are made as a result of a holistic review of it. We prioritise the need for such reviews based on a range of factors. These include:

the time since the apprenticeship was developed or last reviewed (taking account of its typical duration)
the existence of any known problems with it (e.g. lower than expected starts, low achievement rate, high withdrawal rate, any issues with the availability of training or end-point assessment provision)
whether the apprenticeship is currently subject to a dispensation
the relative significance of the apprenticeship based on how many users it has

The availability of an employer group to support a review and its potential impact on any related technical education product also inform the timing of a review.

Details of apprenticeships that are currently being revised or adjusted are available in our revisions and adjustments status report.

Status: Retired

Level: 3

Reference: ST0494

Version: 1.0

Date updated: 16/07/2024

Route: Protective services

Typical duration to gateway: 18 months (this does not include EPA period)

Maximum funding: £3500

LARS Code: 496

EQA Provider: Ofqual

Probation services practitioner assessment plan (retired)

File size: 284 KB

Employers involved in creating the standard: Interserve, Sodexo, Seetec, ARCC, Reduced Reoffending Partnership, Working Links, MTC Novo, National Prison and Probation Service, Skills for Justice

Print the occupational standard (including PDF)

Version log

Version	Change detail	Earliest start date	Latest start date
1.1	Occupational standard, end-point assessment and funding band reviewed	16/07/2024	Not set
1.0	Approved for delivery	20/08/2019	15/07/2024

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