OASys changes
Over the past few weeks we have repeatedly raised with the NPS concerns about changes being made to OASys to incorporate ARMS assessments and the 4 Pillars approach to risk.
The main concerns are as follows:
- Lack of training – especially in current context with members working remotely. Emailing out a powerpoint slide pack is no substitute for proper training and we are very concerned this will lead to members not properly understanding what is being asked of them and ending up being criticised for poor practice further on down the line.
- Issues relating to prison OASys completion. Remembering that OASys will be done by prison staff POMs for some clients, will those prison POMs have had the relevant training for ARMS and the four pillars approach? Some NPS prison POMs did not have the initial ARMS training as they didn’t need it. There is also a concern about the relevance of doing an assessment to support dynamic management of risk in the community while the client is still in custody.
- The integration into OASys means ARMS now needs to be done within the 15-day window for OASys rather than the longer timescale previously allowed for ARMS separately, this will place increased pressure on staff at a time when they are already struggling with excessive workloads.
- It isn’t clear how the additional WMT timing for ARMS will now be allocated to the tool which potentially leaves staff with a shorter timescale to do ARMS and no recognition of it in the WMT.
- The changes do solve some of the issues of duplication between the ARMS template and the OASys template but they also create different duplication between OASys and other reports (MAPPA and Parole) so it doesn’t result in any net gain in term of efficiency
Napo was not consulted on these changes but as soon as we knew about them we began making representations about all of the above and asked HMPPS to pause the roll out to fix the issues and allow for more consultation and crucially proper training. Until today we had received no proper response however we have been promised a formal response by early next week. In the meantime members with concerns relating to any of these issues should raise them formally with their line manager in supervision to ensure that there is a record in case of future practice concerns being highlighted.
Probation Change Programme – a chance to influence the team
This week Katie Lomas was invited to speak alongside one of the CRC Directors at an event being held for the HMPPS Probation Change Programme team. This team is made up of staff from across the MoJ, some from a Probation background but many from other technical specialisms. The invite was specifically to give examples of the thoughts and feelings members have about the change to come. This was an excellent opportunity to give an unfiltered view of what it’s really like for those facing these changes on the frontline, in CRCs and in the NPS. It was a chance to make sure the team know that TR has been harmful to staff and this may at times affect the ability of members to respond or engage positively. This was also a chance to explain the mixed feelings many have about the future and the fears about moving to the NPS and how this isn’t “going back” as the NPS was only created in 2014.
Drugs, Alcohol and Justice – All Party Parliamentary Group
This group, co-chaired by Mary Glindon MP and Lord Ramsbotham met this week to consider services for those moving from custody to the community. Katie Lomas was invited to speak about the changes to Probation and the opportunities for partnership working with specialist services. It is vital that the next iteration of the Probation system returns genuine partnership working, at local level, with specialist services, especially for drug and alcohol treatment and support. Getting this right will result in reductions in reoffending and the prison population but it can’t be done on the cheap and services need to be properly resourced. Katie also called for better and faster sharing of information and services that are flexible to meet the needs of all clients, not just those best motivated to engage.