Meet Helen Amor, Senior Probation Officer, Offender Management, South Tyneside
Helen lives in South Shields with her husband and two children. She was working for Durham Youth Offender Service, when she saw a PSO role advertised which caught her interest. She was looking to do more, and the role felt perfect and a natural next step. She talks about her early naivety to the complexity of the service and the people it supports, to recognising her love of learning & development.
What’s been your favourite role so far and why?
In my early role working for the Youth Offending Service I was acutely aware of the impact on children, but Probation opened my eyes to the importance of family dynamics. Coming in as a Group worker PSO introduced me to the interventions and learning that underpins the work of probation practitioners. The training I received in order to deliver accredited programmes was ground-breaking for me. It explained so much and put in place the theory behind the learning. It all made sense and cemented a passion I have for learning & development and that I continue to have to this day.
It’s the part of my job that I have loved the most – staff training and development, the importance of being reflective, giving and receiving feedback and continuous development. I continue to be passionate about this and ensure that I embed this in my management role and keep my hand in with training as my career in Probation develops.
Who helped or inspired you along the way?
I have been extremely fortunate with the support I’ve received and role models I’ve met whilst working in South of Tyne. Karin O’Neill – NE Head of Operations, has always been there as my senior directly or indirectly. I remember when I worked in group work, I was a fire warden and she was the Team and Building Manager. I was young and thought, ‘you don’t talk to senior managers. Karin changed all that and showed me what true leadership was all about. Approachable and encouraging – she is a great role model. She has been incredibly supportive throughout my career and I continue to run things past her and seek advice when needed.
In my Learning & Development role, Sharon Stephenson – Learning and Development Team Manager, really brought out my confidence in delivering and designing training. Whilst I had the skills and background in delivering group to POPs, she gave me tasks that stretched me (and scared me) in terms of training and development of staff. With her ongoing support I developed a belief in myself – I was surprised with what I was able to achieve.
My current manager, Karen Blackburn, Head of South Tyneside and Gateshead PDU, is another person who has been incredibly ‘supportive’ of my professional development, ambitions and developing my confidence. She’s encouraging, and I’ve been able to express my passions and desire to follow my love of L&D within my current role.
Career overview
2007 PSO in the accredited programmes team delivering DIDP, ASRO, Thinking Skills and CDVP people on probation (POPs)
2008 A1 NVQ Assessor alongside this role assessing and supporting PSOs to complete their NVQ Level 3s
2010 Learning and Development Officer designing and delivering training with a specific remit of accredited programmes and PSO Development
2011 Trainee Probation Officer under the Probation Qualification Framework- working within a generic Offender Management Team
2014 Qualified Probation Officer generic offender management team
2018 Senior Probation Officer Offender Management – specific lead in Sexual Offending, Domestic Abuse, Female Offenders and Foreign Nationals
Continued to deliver training since leaving the learning and development unit and have lead roll outs such as New Me MOT and Skills for Relationships Toolkit.
There’s a pattern within the Probation Service of supportive people, be it managers or colleagues. I’ve had the pleasure of working with many wonderful people – all of whom inspire me in some way.
As a manager myself I now lead a team of inspiring, committed and passionate Probation Practitioners. I have never felt prouder of the team than seeing how everyone pulled together during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s been a difficult time, but we’ve come through.
What’s the best advice you could give to a colleague who’s interested in looking at other opportunities within the Probation Service or broader?
Follow your heart. Take chances. Consider your interests. I’ve avoided promotions; doubting my skills and experience. But I would encourage people to push themselves. Don’t be afraid of failure – it’s a great way to understand what you don’t know, and you can put effort into developing those skills and knowledge that failure highlights.
All jobs are fair game so if you know what you want, go for it. And if you’re not sure, talk to those people who have supported you. Reflect on what stimulates you and gets you up in the morning.
I’ve recently had opportunities to mentor others, and it feels great!
Read about the career journeys of more colleages.
Further information
You can find more details about career pathways on the Probation Hub developing your career page.