Amy Rees – Director General Probation, Wales and Youth
Update message to staff – Friday 11 February
Thank you to everyone who joined the event we held on Tuesday to discuss the findings of the Race Survey we jointly conducted with our staff network RISE and our Trade Unions NAPO and UNISON. Over a thousand of you were on the call and shared your thoughts and questions with us. As I said during the call, I am saddened and disappointed by the findings of the survey – I want everyone who works for us to feel included and valued and able to be their very best at work. My senior team and I are absolutely committed to taking positive action across the Probation Service to achieve this.
We will continue to keep you updated on the action we are taking throughout the year and you can find details of regional and national events taking place here. We are really keen to ensure these events are useful for you so if you did join us on Tuesday, please take a couple of minutes to let us know what you thought about the event by completing this short survey. This survey is entirely anonymous and the information will only be used to help us improve future events.
A few of you asked during the call how you can become involved with RISE and become a Race Ally. I would really encourage you to do so and you can find the details of how to here
Please also remember we have established the Tackling Unacceptable Behaviours Unit (TUBU) – this is a confidential service to support any staff member experiencing unacceptable behaviour. The helpline can be contacted on 0300 131 0052 Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm (excluding Bank Holidays). You can find out more here: Confidential Helpline – HMPPS Intranet (gsi.gov.uk)
Last week I was invited to join a ‘Confident about Cancer’ session to mark World Cancer Day. It was incredibly moving to hear staff members with lived experience of cancer share their stories. Thank you so much to the amazing Lou Horton for organising the event and the great work she is doing. You can read her story and find out more about sources of support for anyone with concerns about cancer here.
On Monday, Phil Copple (Director General for Prisons) and I launched the programme for Young Adult’s Awareness week. Phil and I were really pleased to have the opportunity to talk about our joint approach to this important work. By working together across the system, we can make a real difference to the experiences of young adults and achieve better outcomes for them and the communities in which they live. I hope you have been able to join in one of the events taking place this week but if not, the recordings will be available for you to access on My Learning very soon.
On Thursday I joined the Deputy Prime Minister on a visit to HMP Prescoed. The visit focused on apprenticeships and employment outcomes and we went to Cilwrgi Farm where many of the men carry out purposeful activity. The visit was a brilliant reminder of the importance of our work to reduce reoffending and support the people we work with to change their lives. You may be interested to see some of the media coverage today (Friday) about the introduction of apprenticeships in English prisons.
Finally, as I have previously mentioned, this month is LGBT+ history month with lots of events happening to raise awareness and celebrate the history of our LGBT+ community. I enjoyed having a sneak preview of some of the brilliant and very creative artwork, poems, films and models sent in by staff, people on probation and people in prisons for the art exhibition taking place on 24 February. It is organised by the Pride in Prisons and Probation (PiPP) staff network and NOVUS and centres on the theme of Inclusion. You can find out more about the exhibition and how you can get involved here. There are also many other events still to come this month. I have included details below so do have a look and join in whenever you can.
Thanks as ever for all you are doing
Amy
LGBT+ History Month Events:
14 February
- 11.00 – Race & LGBTI+ community workshop
- 13.00 – In conversation with Zayna Ratty
15 February
- 16.00 – LGBT+ Ally Training
16 February
- 12.30 – LGBTI+ Lunch Break
- 14.00 – In conversation with Matt Lindley
17 February
21 February
23 February
- 14.00 – LGBT+ Ally Training
- 14.00 – End of LGBT+ History Month Panel and Q&A
24 February