This occupation is found in the Probation Service. The Probation Service is responsible for working to protect the public and reduce reoffending by working with individuals eligible for probation support at pre-sentence, or on probation, or in custody or with victims. Practitioners can be based in a variety of locations, including prisons, courts, approved premises, unpaid work, interventions teams or community-based offices and depending on their location, they will work with individuals due to be sentenced, people on probation or victims.
The broad purpose of the occupation is to protect the public by contributing to risk assessments that reduce re-offending, safeguard victims and rehabilitate individuals eligible for probation support, through effective engagement and interventions. Risk assessments can be conducted in relation to those who come before courts accused of offending behaviour, individuals convicted of offending behaviour and assessment of risk towards victims. These assessments may take the form of formal documents or may be as part of day-to-day engagement with individuals eligible for probation support.
Probation service practitioners will work with individuals eligible for probation support and other agencies to develop, deliver and review realistic plans to address needs and develop for individuals a route out of offending. This may include providing information and advice to courts such as sentencing recommendations, supervising people on probation subject to community sentences and custody, working in approved premises where individuals are required to reside if they are subject to specific sentencing requirements, working to supervise individuals sentenced to complete unpaid work in the community or delivering group interventions to deliver the sentences of the courts. The role may also include working directly with victims of crime to support them to access services and provide them with information about the progress of sentences imposed by the courts to protect them from further harm and offending behaviour.
Interventions delivered vary depending on the role and can cover a range of activities. This can include the completion of reports for a range of audiences, one to one intervention with individuals eligible for probation support, group interventions to reduce the risk of reoffending, provision of support and guidance and referrals to other agencies.
As a practitioner you need to be able to analyse complex information and make decisions, while being ready to listen and question things about people that others won’t. You’ll also need to understand and connect with people from all backgrounds and different situations.
Consistent risk assessment, professional curiosity and liaison with other agencies are key factors in effective management and support of individuals eligible for probation support. The role will include regular engagement with other agencies and colleagues to prevent crime and meet the needs of individuals eligible for probation support.
In their daily work, an employee in this occupation interacts with individuals eligible for probation support. People they work with may demonstrate a range of challenging behaviours and diverse needs, as such, the employee will need to demonstrate a range of engagement skills and the ability to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences. They will need to demonstrate empathy, help individuals to change behaviour and access support. Employees will need to have good people skills and the ability to deal with challenges. They will also interact with colleagues and other agencies involved in the Criminal Justice system. The interaction will aid making assessments and delivering rehabilitative interventions. This ensures that the organisation is working to protect the public, as such, individuals will need to be able to alter communication appropriately for the audience. In this role the practitioner will typically report to a senior probation officer or equivalent other line manager.
An employee in this occupation will be responsible for providing sustained support, advice and supervision for individuals eligible for services from the probation service. They will work as part of a team to meet operational targets and will make ongoing assessments and responsive decisions based on an individual’s assessed risk of serious harm, reoffending and needs.
In line with probation service policies and procedures, the practitioner must at all times demonstrate a commitment to equality and inclusion and an understanding of the relevance of that to the work they do.
The practitioner must follow all policies relating to the sensitive or confidential nature of the information handled whilst working in this role and use computer base systems to produce, update and maintain records and other documentation within agreed timescales.
The practitioner will be required to maintain continuous professional development through out their employment and will be required to adhere to organisational ethics, vales and professional standards.
| Duty | KSBs |
|---|---|
|
Duty 1 Complete risk assessments to inform risk management plans for individuals eligible for probation support and record findings in line with policy and practice. |
|
|
Duty 2 Develop and implement initial plans to reduce risk of reoffending and harm to the public. |
|
|
Duty 3 Work with internal and external partner agencies to review the behaviours and progress of the individuals eligible for probation support. |
|
|
Duty 4 Manage risk to reduce reoffending behaviour and harm, responding to changes, in line with policy and procedures. |
|
|
Duty 5 Apply public protection and safeguarding guidelines and procedures to protect the public from the risk of reoffending and harm. |
|
|
Duty 6 Engage and motivate individuals eligible for probation support to promote positive change. |
|
|
Duty 7 Deliver interventions to meet the objectives of the risk management and sentence plans. |
|
|
Duty 8 Participate in continuous professional development. |
|
|
Duty 9 Adhere to organisational processes and procedures for securely recording and maintaining information relating to individuals eligible for probation support. |
|
|
Duty 10 Adhere to organisational ethics, values and professional standards. |
K1 K2 K3 K4 K5 K8 K9 K11 K12 K13 K14 K15 K16 K17 K18 K19 S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 S10 S11 S12 S13 S14 S15 S16 S17 S18 S19 |
K1: Sentencing and criminal justice legislation and organisational policies, procedures for probation practice.
Back to Duty
K2: Principles and policies of equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace and their impact on the organisation and individuals eligible for probation support.
Back to Duty
K3: The importance of applying criminal justice legislation and organisational policies, procedures and values in practice with individuals eligible for probation support, and the risk of not doing so.
Back to Duty
K4: The role of probation and rehabilitation in the criminal justice system.
Back to Duty
K5: How organisations work collaboratively to support individuals eligible for probation support to reduce the risk of reoffending and harm.
Back to Duty
K6: The importance of gathering information and where to gather that information from to inform risk assessments.
Back to Duty
K7: How information is used for different risk assessment approaches.
Back to Duty
K8: The impact of an individual's personal circumstances on risk of reoffending and harm and the importance of including them in risk assessments.
Back to Duty
K9: The importance of assessing the impact and consequences of offending behaviour on the victim.
Back to Duty
K10: How to reduce risk and raise concerns by identifying harm and abuse indicators and potential risk factors that may lead individuals eligible for probation support to harm themselves or others.
Back to Duty
K11: Methods and approaches for effective engagement with individuals eligible for probation support including the principles of ‘person-centred approach’.
Back to Duty
K12: The contextual aspects of risk including risk of what, to whom and circumstances in which risk is likely to be higher or lower.
Back to Duty
K13: Roles and responsibilities of agencies working to protect the public, and how they apply to and collaborate with probation practitioner roles and responsibilities.
Back to Duty
K14: Principles of team work to achieve outcomes.
Back to Duty
K15: The interventions and their delivery methods that are available to help individuals eligible for probation support.
Back to Duty
K16: Theories and techniques to promote engagement and how they support outcomes that reduce the risk of reoffending.
Back to Duty
K17: Data protection legislation and organisational policies and procedures for gathering, using, storing data including sharing data with partner agencies.
Back to Duty
K18: How to identify your own development needs and how to reflect on own practice.
Back to Duty
K19: The principles of ‘duty of care’ and ‘safeguarding’, the signs of abuse and ways to reduce the risk of abuse.
Back to Duty
K20: Research, evidence and theories that underpin knowledge on offending behaviour, desistence and reduction of harm.
Back to Duty
S1: Complete risk assessments to inform judgement about risk of harm and reoffending and provide public protection.
Back to Duty
S2: Devise interventions based on risk assessment to inform risk management plans.
Back to Duty
S3: Gather valid and reliable information from sources to inform risk assessments.
Back to Duty
S4: Use information to monitor progress of individual plans.
Back to Duty
S5: Respond to any new information to manage and reduce risk of harm and risk of reoffending, posed by individuals subject to supervision, in accordance with organisational requirements.
Back to Duty
S6: Record gathered information using digital tools, in line with data protection and security of information and adhering to organisational requirements.
Back to Duty
S7: Present assessments of risk of harm, that inform risk of reoffending posed by individuals subject to supervision and plans to manage the risks, to stakeholders for implementation and review.
Back to Duty
S8: Support individuals eligible for probation support to access probation services.
Back to Duty
S9: Use reflection techniques to enable individuals eligible for probation support to identify their level of participation and progress.
Back to Duty
S10: Use engagement and motivation techniques to support collaboration with individuals eligible for probation support, adapting approach to individual needs to effectively deal with a range of challenging behaviour.
Back to Duty
S11: Adhere to public protection and safeguarding guidance and procedures.
Back to Duty
S12: Build and sustain working relationships.
Back to Duty
S13: Collaborate with colleagues and other agencies to share information about individuals eligible for probation support and review progress, in line with organisation policies.
Back to Duty
S14: Follow organisational equality, diversity and inclusion policies.
Back to Duty
S15: Maintain continuous professional development using reflective practice and completion of mandatory and required learning and development.
Back to Duty
S16: Manage own workload, prioritising case management for those with most identified needs to reduce risk of harm and reoffending, posed by those subject to supervision.
Back to Duty
S17: Use recorded servicer user information in line with organisations policy and processes to support delivery of services.
Back to Duty
S18: Use escalation routes to resolve issues and concerns, in line with organisation requirements, in relation to areas of your work.
Back to Duty
S19: Test professional assumptions using a range of sources to inform risk of harm and reoffending, posed by those subject to supervision.
Back to Duty
B1: Demonstrate professional conduct, uphold organisational values, and professional boundaries.
Back to Duty
B2: Demonstrate resilience and adaptability when dealing with challenge and changes.
Back to Duty
B3: Seek support for own welfare.
Back to Duty
B4: Demonstrate and encourage mutual respect, demonstrating inclusive practice and empathy to support individuals eligible for probation support.
Back to Duty
B5: Listen actively in all interactions with individuals eligible for probation support and show respect whilst being able to validate, question and reflect on what is being said.
Back to Duty
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.
| 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 |
Crown copyright © 2025. You may re-use this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. Visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence