Improving capacity and efficiency of Senior Probation Officers (SPOs)

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Improving capacity and efficiency of Senior Probation Officers (SPOs)

The Managerial Role Review:  Recommendations have been identified and approved which will aim to improve the capacity and efficiency of SPOs.

SPOs within sentence management and courts have been the starting point for the Managerial Role Review.  Over the last seven months we’ve held conversations with many of you across the business to gain insights into the role of Senior Probation Officers – what works, what doesn’t and as a result, what needs to change.

The conversations were frank and honest and captured valuable insights into what we need to do as an organisation to ensure the role of a SPO is improved and our skilled workforce gets the support it needs.

The full Managerial Role Review identified a total of forty different recommendations which will be implemented by teams across Probation, HMPPS and MoJ.

The following will be our initial focus moving forward due to the significant improvements that could be made:


Topic When
Recruit new admin roles to support SPOs

Scoping the role with a view to commencing recruitment in late Summer/Autumn.

 From July 2022
Recruit SPOs nationally

Recruitment ongoing with a further review to take place once these roles have been placed.

 Ongoing
Clarity of job description

Improving the job descriptions and making it more relevant and targeted to the role of an SPO.

 December 2022
Review the Touchpoints Model

Review of the Touchpoints Model to ensure that it reflects a unified service and remains fit for purpose.

 December 2022
Next steps – Business Managers

The Business Managers are the next role to be considered as part of the Managerial Role Review

 To be completed by March 2023

More information

This is just a snapshot of the recommendations and next steps – read the full report for more detail.  For managers you can use the Manager’s Overview slide deck to share with you teams.

Questions or feedback?

If you have any questions or feedback regarding the Managerial Role Review, please email the team on MRR@justice.gov.uk

CBF, Reflective Practice Supervision & Performance Management

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Competency Based Framework, Reflective Practice Supervision and Performance Management – Flexibility for Probation

Why and how are they different?

Many staff are asking for clarity on the differences between Competency Based Framework (CBF) for pay progression, Reflective Practice Supervision (RPS) and Performance Management (PM) which is the new process replacing SPDRs. Whilst these processes all focus on conversations between staff and their line managers, they all have different purposes.

Whilst these processes all focus on conversations between staff and their line managers, they all have different purposes. In practice however, the content of your routine conversations could be used for multiple purposes.

CBF is purely for staff to demonstrate competence and to progress through the pay points within their pay band. There are no objectives to set as the focus is on capturing competence examples from everyday tasks and activities that have been completed, as opposed to an aspirational level of performance. The CBF is for all staff on probation terms and conditions who are below the top of their pay band. Those at the top of their pay band are not required to complete a CBF record on SOP, however are encouraged to familiarise themselves with CBF; either in readiness for future promotion at which point CBF will be required or in order to support the use of CBF for staff they line manage. The CBF end of year outcome is a decision on annual pay progression for all eligible staff.

NB:  If you are eligible for CBF, you must have an opening conversation by June 1st   or within 8 weeks of starting in the Probation Service and update this accurately on SOP. Throughout the rest of the year, competence examples can be obtained via other regular conversations which may include RPS or Performance Management. However, the outcomes and outputs of CBF must be separate to RPS and performance management.

Making it work for staff

In practice, the content of your routine conversations could be used for multiple purposes if relevant and reflects the approach that many of you are already taking in having conversations which discuss work with your line managers. Routine conversations are spaces where you can reflect on practice and delivery and set aspiration and personal development activities.

The Performance Management policy is lighter touch than SPDRs – no longer focusing on twice yearly retrospective appraisal assessments and performance markings. At the core of the approach are regular, open and honest conversations between line managers and their staff. Performance Management conversations should be held once every 8 weeks. However, if CBF or Reflective Practice applies to you, then you have the flexibility of reducing your Performance Management discussions to once every four months.

The new Performance Management process has been piloted for probation by Surrey PDU.  The leadership team felt it was easy to use, that probation staff responded better to it than the SPDR process and that staff felt it was more individualised and person centred.  Whilst the feedback identified the overlap with the CBF, it was recognised that both processes were relatively new and would require time to embed.

Performance Management is starting to be rolled out for 2022/2023 in line with regional plans led by your Regional Probation Director (RPD). You can read more about the introduction of Performance Management on the intranet. Guidance on flexibility within the system for the Probation Service can be found in the PM toolkit (page 5) and the PM FAQs (page 2).

zArchivedMay Statement on Harmonisation – May 2022

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May Statement on Harmonisation – May 2022

This note provides a further update on the progress of the harmonisation negotiations currently underway between HMPPS and the 3 recognised Trade Unions; NAPO, UNISON and GMB SCOOP.  

We have now held 9 negotiation sessions thus far which continue to be both positive and constructive in arriving at an agreed harmonisation package to align the pay, terms and conditions of former Parent Organisation and Supply Chain colleagues to those of the Probation Service – subject to union members approving that package via staff ballots. 

All parties have engaged well in this process and remain highly motivated to arrive at a deal which represents the best harmonisation package for all -but we are not quite there yet.  As such, we cancelled the scheduled staff update sessions to enable us to focus the time on concluding the negotiations. 

We are now in the process of working through the final draft of the agreement, ensuring that all parties are satisfied with the content prior to sign off. We aim to conclude negotiations as soon as possible so that preparations can soon begin for the staff ballot, which we anticipate will now take place in June.   

We will want to ensure there is sufficient time for you to fully understand the terms on offer prior to a ballot commencing. We will confirm actual ballot dates and time frames to you as soon as we can. 

For those of you who have already signed up with a Trade Union, the TUs will be contacting everyone that has signed up and who they believe are in scope for the ballot directly. The TUs are also planning meetings with members to go through the agreement document once finalised. To help the TUs contact you, please do confirm your details to your harmonisation representative as soon as possible:

If you have joined a union and don’t hear from your representative soon, then contact the named TU rep above for the TU you have joined. 

If you haven’t yet joined a union, remember that you need to be a TU member in order to have a vote. Participating in the staff ballot is the only way you can have your say and your views be formally recognised. 

In the interim, if you have any questions about your own situation, then please contact your Trade Union representative (details above). General queries about the harmonisation or secondary transfer process can be submitted to the harmonisation functional mailbox; HandSTenquiries@justice.gov.uk. 

SEEDS2 courses – when do you need to book?

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Evaluation of SEEDS2 learning products


SEEDS stands for Skills for Effective Engagement, Development and Supervision and is the approach to be adopted throughout Probation Service to support our development as a learning organisation.

SEEDS2 has been updated to reflect the vital role we can all play in reducing reoffending and protecting the public, through effective, holistic engagement with people in our care.  The learning will consist of three different courses:

  • SEEDS2 for Managers (Senior Probation Officers)
  • SEEDS2 for Practitioners (Probation Officers and Probation Service Officers)
  • SEEDS2 for Senior Managers and Leaders (Band 6 and above)

NB:  Before booking your place, please read the ‘Intended Audience’ section on mylearning, to check, by your role, which course you should attend’ (add link)


Evaluating each of the three courses

In order to understand the impacts of SEEDS2 on organisational performance and to ensure our learning products continue to meet the needs of the business, we will be running a robust evaluation of all three courses.

This means some employees will be assigned to an evaluation group (Early Adopter, Treatment Group or Control Group). Staff will be asked to undertake the courses at different times, dependant on whether, or not, they are in an evaluation group. This ensures that both our learning and evaluation remains ‘gold standard’.

Evaluating SEEDS2 for Managers – who should complete and when?

The table below outlines who is in each of the evaluation groups, for all three courses, and when they should complete the learning. Please check each tab on the table before booking your place:


SEEDS2 for Managers – Early Adopters should complete learning between March and May 2022

Region Early Adopters
West Midlands Dudley and Sandwell, Coventry, Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire and Telford
East of England Essex North, Essex South, Bedfordshire, and Cmabridgeshire

Frequently asked questions

As you are in a control group, you don’t need to change the way you currently work.  We simply ask that you don’t access the SEEDS2 digital resources on myLearning or introduce any new SEEDS2 (or related) approaches you aren’t using now.

Please note that some colleagues you work alongside may be asked to undertake the learning earlier than you. If so, please be patient and try not to discuss SEEDS2 until you have also completed the learning.

Please be aware that some colleagues you work alongside may be asked to undertake the learning later than yourself. As such, please try not to discuss SEEDS2 approaches or share the digital resources outside of your team(s) unless you are certain everyone in the discussion has completed the learning.