Dear Colleague,
A big warm welcome to our first working day as a new unified Probation Service! – thank you so much for everything you have all done to get us to today – this achievement would not have been possible without your individual and collective contributions and I am very grateful to you all.
We are now a new organisation bringing together the very best practice and signifies an important milestone. Together, we are going to build a truly excellent Probation Service which I hope you will all feel proud to be part of.
Post-unification, our focus will be on giving you time to settle in and embed the changes we have made to bring stability across the organisation, continuing with our recovery and focus on implementing the Target Operating Model (TOM). My leadership team and I are wholeheartedly committed to supporting you as we work together to smoothly combine our teams and continue to strive to deliver excellent probation services.
As we move forward, together we will create a shared culture that proudly reflects the diversity of our workforce and the work we do. A collaborative, inclusive and supportive workplace where everyone feels that they belongA place for staff to work which is valued by people on probation and ultimately protects the public and changes lives.
We have of course undertaken a significant period of change and I do understand that times such as this will impact upon people differently and for some of you, there are unfortunately ongoing issues relating to roles and the transfer which are causing concern. I want to reassure you that we are doing all we can to resolve these matters and we will continue to support you in every way we can.
If you are experiencing any difficulties today or have any queries, there is lots of information available on the Welcome Hub along with the details of where you can seek further support and assistance; information about our staff networks and various support services. Please also speak to your line manager if you have any personal concerns. For staff joining the unified Probation Service who have a pay related query, from today SSCL will be adding a new option to their Contact Centre phone line to support staff (dial 03452415351 and this new option will be announced first).
Looking ahead, we have a number of events coming up which I hope you will be able to join. At 4pm today, Jo Farrar, HMPPS CEO and Second Permanent Secretary, and I look forward to welcoming you to our All Staff MS Teams event (click here) to celebrate this momentous occasion and I am really looking forward to having the opportunity to welcome you in person (or at least via an MS Teams camera)!
We will also be holding our next bi-monthly All staff event on the 6 July 2021 at 1.30pm (click here). Please join me and other members of my senior leadership team then when we are also hoping to be joined by our Lord Chancellor. Later in the summer we will be celebrating Probation Day – with a week of activities starting on the 16th August. We will share more information on this new annual event in the coming weeks.
These are exciting times and as we enter and adapt to a new era, there will be both opportunities and challenges for us all on an individual, team and organisational level. I strongly believe, however, if we work together, we can overcome any challenges and achieve great things. I want to express my sincere thanks to you all once again and I am looking forward to working with you as we build upon the carefully laid foundations to strengthen our probation service and continue our focus on delivering excellent services.
Best Wishes
Amy Rees
Director General for Probation and Wales