Our Probation Culture Code
The new probation service is a new organisation for everyone and while it may feel more different for some of you, we want to build an inclusive culture that reflects our new and diverse workforce. We have worked with leaders across probation – in both the NPS and CRCs – over the past few months to develop a draft culture code that sets out our ambition for the culture we want to shape within the new organisation.
A probation service that is proud of the brilliant work we do, creates a great place for staff to work, is valued by service users and strengthens the justice system.
How to navigate the culture code
Our Probation Culture Code is aligned to our values and vision and sets out what we want the new probation service to look and feel like for all staff.
Our shared values – Purpose, Humanity, Openness and Together – underpin how we all behave.
Our vision to Assess Risk, Protect the Public and Change Lives and the HMPPS strategic principles create the alignment to what we are trying to achieve as an organisation.
We want to create a culture where we are proud of our profession, inclusive of everyone in our probation family and accountable for enhancing our service to improve the lives of our service users and the public.
The four cultural behaviours set out what we want to see from our colleagues and leaders to make that culture a reality. Leading Me is how we want everyone to feel and behave; Leading Others is how we want our leaders to act; and Leading Probation is about our collective behaviours as an organisation and how we want probation to feel to our colleagues, service users and partners.
Inspiring accountability
Leading Me: I feel empowered to make decisions and take action to deliver our service
Leading Others: Leaders create clarity and cohesion, aligning their actions and words
Leading Probation: We are committed to our mission, unblocking obstacles in the way
Championing every voice
Leading Me: I listen and treat everyone with empathy, kindness, equality and respect
Leading Others: Leaders advocate for our people, listening and communicating openly
Leading Probation: We respect and celebrate difference, challenging non-inclusive behaviour
Leading our profession
Leading Me: I own my professional development to deliver a consistent quality service
Leading Others: Leaders enable our people to be their best and drive positive outcomes
Leading Probation: We promote continuous learning to innovate and challenge the status quo
Connecting the system
Leading Me: I collaborate across the probation system to drive our service forward
Leading Others: Leaders reflect the voice of probation across our justice ecosystem
Leading Probation: We build positive working relationships to build trust within the system
We want to hear your thoughts
The culture code is still in development and we want to hear your thoughts as staff working across probation. We want the culture to bring together the best of our organisations and cultures, and be meaningful to everyone. If you have any thoughts and feedback, or a story about your current cultures that you’d like to share, we’d love to hear them!
Please feed any comments in through your leadership and transition teams.
Our Values
Our shared values unite us across MOJ – guiding our actions as individuals and inspiring us to be the best we can be, as we deliver excellent public services.
Purpose – Justice matters. We are proud to make a difference for the public we service.
What this means for probation and our colleagues in HMPPS: We implement the sentences and orders of the Courts. We prevent victims by changing lives.
Humanity – We treat others as we would like to be treated. We value everyone, supporting and encouraging them to be the best they can be.
What this means for probation and our colleagues in HMPPS: We believe that lives can change for the better. We work to encourage hope and to provide opportunities for rehabilitation. We treat everyone with decency and respect.
Openness – We innovate, share, and learn. We are courageous and curious, relentlessly pursuing ideas to improve the services we deliver.
What this means for probation and our colleagues in HMPPS: We are fair. We know that clear and just decisions make a difference in our work. We are transparent about what we do and look to learn and innovate to do better.
Together – We listen, collaborate and contribute, acting together for our common purpose.
What this means for probation and our colleagues in HMPPS: We value diversity. We work across prisons, probation and youth custody and with our partners and providers to make a positive difference to communities.
Our Leadership Code
The Leadership Code is a framework that is used across HMPPS and sets out the standards that we expect our leaders to demonstrate every day. It is designed to help anybody in the organisation who leads people on a daily basis, whether in a custodial, probation or HQ setting.