UNCLASSIFIED
APPROVED PREMISES IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
Approved Premises (AP) provide controlled accommodation for higher risk offenders under the supervision of the Probation Service. They provide a greater degree of supervision for offenders than is possible in other forms of housing. Residents follow a structured regime which includes an overnight curfew. There is 24 hour supervision at the AP by trained staff. APs are the safest option for many offenders as it allows their risk to be managed. They are required to comply with all the conditions of their order or licence, including the curfew and any additional restrictions imposed on their movements. Facilities like these are a vital part of the public protection process; they enable successful resettlement of offenders back into the community while contributing to the reduction of reoffending.
APs provide accommodation for offenders who are released from prison, or sent by courts, and this can be for a variety of reasons:
§ Most residents are offenders who have been released from prison and are required to live at the AP as a condition of their Parole or Licence. These residents are also required to participate in the APs’ regime to alter their offending behaviour and improve skills to optimise chances of successful resettlement in the community.
§ Defendants may be living at an address not regarded as suitable by the courts, or the courts may wish there to be a degree of oversight until the trial. In these cases, they will be bailed simply to stay at an AP until their case has been dealt with by the courts.
§ The courts may wish to have an offender assessed to see if she or he is suitable for a Community Order with a Condition of Residence. In this case, the offender will be bailed to stay at the AP, but he or she will also be expected to work with the Probation Service towards the preparation of a report for the court.
§ Offenders may be on a Community Order with a Condition of Residence. They may live at the AP for about a year, and they will undergo a programme of work aimed at changing their offending behaviour.
WHERE DO CASUAL SUPERVISORS FIT IN?
All APs are staffed by a group of Probation Service Officers (PSO) and fixed hours Supervisors who work to a rota providing 24 hour cover, requiring at least two staff on duty at any one time. Casual Supervisors provide double cover at night, and can be asked to come in for varying daytime periods if the Manager and Deputy are both going to be absent. Shifts vary from two or three hours to overnight up to 12 hours, and can involve working at weekends.
Each shift will start with “hand over”, when staff coming off duty will brief newly arrived staff about the state of play in the AP. During a shift staff are jointly responsible for running the AP and supervising the residents. Staff are also expected to engage with the residents, and to contribute to the development of a comfortable, and firmly structured environment.
Casual Supervisors are employed by the Probation Service on a casual basis; this means that we are not obliged to offer you work, and you are not obliged to accept work offered. It is not a permanent job. It does provide an opportunity to gain very
relevant experience in developing a career in social work, probation or the voluntary sector. As relief staff you will be regularly evaluated by the permanent staff of the AP, and this information will be used to help you to develop your skills, and to form the basis of any references you may ask us to provide.
THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS
1. Applying
If you choose to apply to Staffordshire & West Midlands Probation Trust to become a Casual Supervisor, please complete the application form enclosed, which will ask you to identify the AP/location, or perhaps two APs where you would like to work.
The recruitment process now begins. At any stage in the recruitment process you may find that the job is not for you, and equally, we may decide that you are not suitable for the post.
2. Paper Selection
Your application form will now be considered by a group of managers from the AP Division, and those applicants who meet the shortlisting criteria will be invited to attend for interview.
3. Interview
Shortlisted applicants will be by a panel of managers from the Staffordshire & West Midlands Probation Trust, AP & Prisons Division and will be required top undertake a written exercise.
4. Checks Carried Out
Criminal Records Bureau and Department of Health checks will be carried out if selected.
References will also be taken up.
An unsatisfactory outcome to any of these checks will mean that recruitment will be terminated.
Please note that possession of previous convictions is not necessarily a bar to employment with S&WMPT. If you have a previous conviction, further information may be sought about the nature of the offence, and will be considered in the context of other information from your application and your interview, but failure to declare previous convictions or other material facts will result in termination of the recruitment process, or subsequent employment.
5. Induction and Training
Successful applicants will attend induction training given by AP managers and staff.
You will also be given some basic induction into AP routines and tasks, and have an opportunity to meet and spend some time with AP staff and residents. You will be paid for your time to attend induction and training sessions.
6. Observation Shifts
Successful applicants will undertake one or two shifts with experienced staff who will observe and assess your performance.
You will be paid for these shifts.
BASIC EXPECTATIONS
1. Once a Casual Supervisor has been confirmed they will undertake particular shifts, and they must honour that commitment. The expectation is the same as for full time staff in terms of attendance at work. Any shift swapping between casuals should be approved by the Manger/Deputy in advance. Attendance at some training/supervising sessions may be required from time to time.
2. Casual Supervisors should report punctually, appropriately attired, fresh and fit for work, having not been employed in any other capacity within the last 11 hours prior to the commencement of their shift.
3. Casual Supervisors can be called upon to undertake all those duties described in the job description or specified in individual AP procedures. They should make an active contribution to the life of the AP and make every effort to engage positively with residents.
4. Casual Supervisors should make sure they familiarise themselves with recent entries in the log book, information folders and resident records, ensuring they are particularly aware of any individual factors or circumstances that they may be required to monitor, or enforce, or respond to.
5. S&WMPT employees must not use the general resource of the hostel for their personal use. Activities such as washing, ironing, cooking or word processing are not acceptable whilst any personal use of the fax, telephone or photocopier must be recorded and paid for.
6. Timesheets need to be fully and accurately completed: failure to do so may result in delayed payment. Any queries with regard to pay or conditions should be taken up through the appropriate line management/divisional administration.
CONDITIONS OF SERVICE
At the present time Casual Supervisors are employed within APs on as “as and when” basis to carry out the duties outlined in the enclosed Job Description, and are paid only for the hours worked with no entitlement to sick leave or bank holidays. Casual Supervisors have access to the Service’s Pension Scheme.
Main Conditions
1. /Pay
/ £8.76 per hour2. /
Unsocial Hours
/ Hours worked between 17.00 hours and 08.00 hours, Monday to Friday are paid at plain time plus 30%3. /
Week-end
/ Hours worked between 08.00 hours Saturday and 08.00 hours Monday are paid at plain time plus 50%.4. /
Annual Leave
/ 25 days per annum pro-rata to hours worked.5. /
Bank and Public
Holidays
/ No entitlement. Where work is undertaken on these days, plain time plus 50% is paid.
THE HOSTELS
Bilston AP
23 Wellington Road
Bilston
Wolverhampton, WV14 6AH
Tel: 01902 497688
Bilston AP is a 15 bedded Home Office AP accommodating men over 18 years of age. Bailees, probationers and parolees reside at the AP and experience a supervised programme of activities.
Carpenter House AP
33 Portland Road
Edgbaston
Birmingham, B16 9HS
Tel: 0121- 248 3680
Carpenter House is a 19 bedded Home Office AP for male offenders over 18 years old. Bailees, probationers and parolees reside at the hostel and experience a supervised programme of activities.
Crowley House AP
31 Weoley Park Road
Selly Oak
Birmingham, B29 6RA
Tel: 0121-472 7111
Crowley House is a 20 bedded AP for women offenders. Because of its specialist nature Crowley takes referrals from all over the country.
Elliott House AP
96 Edgbaston Road
Moseley
Birmingham, B12 9QA
Tel: 0121-440 2657
Elliott House is a 20 bedded AP for male offenders with mental health problems. Because of its specialist nature, it is a national resource, and takes referrals from all over the country.
Stonnall Road AP
85 Stonnall Road
Aldridge
Walsall, WS9 8JZ
Tel: 01922 459574
Stonnall Road is a 12 bedded Home Office AP accommodating men aged 18 years and over. Bailees, probationers and parolees reside at the AP and experience a supervised programme of activities.
Sycamore Lodge AP
Clay Lane
Langley
Oldbury, B69 4 TH
Tel: 0121-552 9930
Sycamore Lodge is an AP for mail bailees aged 17 years and over. Residents are accommodated in the 32 bedded AP. At Sycamore Lodge staff work very closely with partnership organisations by way of weekly visits from CPN Aquarius, Add action and Basic skills tutor. Residents are key worked in accordance with the National Standards.
Welford House AP
31 Trinity Road
Aston
Birmingham, B6 6AJ
Tel: 0121-523 4401
Welford House AP is a 19 bed facility for male only residents 17 years and over. The AP provides accommodation for residents on bail, community rehabilitation orders, and licence case. It has a structured programme of activities that challenges offending behaviour and encourages positive lifestyle.
The AP is unique in that it has a drugs worker to provide an intensive drugs service for up to 10 drug misusers.
Staitheford House AP
14 Lichfield Road
Stafford
ST17 4JX
Tel: 01785 223417
Staitheford AP is a 13 bedded Home Office AP accommodating men over 18 years of age. Bailees, probationers and parolees reside at the AP and experience a supervised programme of activities.
Wenger House AP
21a Albert Street
Newcastle –under-Lyme
ST5 IHJ
Tel: 01782 717423
Wenger House is a 26 bedded Home Office AP accommodating men over 18 years of age. Bailees, probationers and parolees reside at the AP and experience a supervised programme of activities.
Wharflane House AP
34 Rectory Road
Shelton
Stoke-on-Trent
ST1 4PW
Tel: 07782 205554
Wharflane House is a 22 bedded Home Office AP accommodating men over 18 years of age. Bailees, probationers and parolees reside at the AP and experience a supervised programme of activities.
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Q:\advertpacks\contracted&casual\infopack UNCLASSIFIED 1
November2010