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National Objectives for Social Work Services in the Criminal Justice System: Standards - Throughcare
ANNEX B: PLANNING, TRAINING AND CONTRACTURAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR SOCIAL WORK IN PRISONS
PLANNING
Introduction
472.The provision of social work services in prisons represents a joint commitment by SPS and the local authority towards common objectives and service outcomes. The planning arrangements for these services must, therefore, reflect that joint commitment and, as far as is possible, should reflect the objectives of the planning systems operating within SPS and the local authority in respect of social work services to the criminal justice system.
Purpose of the Planning System
473.The purpose of the planning system is to set out those services to be provided by the social work unit in the prison, for the benefit of the following target groups;
473.1prisoners and their families;
473.2the prison; and
473.3local authority social work departments
474.The work of social work units in prisons and the planning system itself is necessary to underpin the wider throughcare process for prisoners and ex-offenders
475.The planning system reflects the position of SPS as purchaser and local authority social work departments as the provider of core social work services in prisons. In addition, social work departments may offer advice as appropriate on the provision of related support services by other agencies.
476.Increasingly SPS will be moving towards individual service level agreements between establishments and providing local authorities (or other agencies for support work). These standards describe existing procedures.
Annual Planning Process
477.Each establishment and relevant local authority social work department must produce and review an annual social work unit management plan. These plans will largely be operational in focus and will comprise certain common key components as outlined below.
478.The process of planning at establishment / social work unit level will be informed by an annual liaison meeting involving SPS, SWSG and COSLA. This meeting will provide the opportunity to share and discuss wider strategic issues which may impact on the provision of social work services in prison. The meeting will normally take place in June/July to facilitate completion of unit management plans by November each year. The planning timescale therefore will mirror as closely as possible that for other social work services to the criminal justice system
479.Plans will be subject to joint review by the prison and relevant social work department at the 6 month stage, in addition to the annual planning process, to create a rolling programme of joint service planning with in-built formal review to pre-arranged performance criteria.
480.Unit social work plans will generally be developed by the unit social work manager/ senior social worker together with the relevant prison manager (contracts and services manager / deputy governor), subject to the views of more senior managers in both agencies. Finalised plans will be agreed and signed by the Governor-in-Charge and the relevant Area Director for SPS and the Director of Social Work / Chief Social Work Officer for the relevant local authority.
481.Agreed plans, including social work unit budget and staffing levels, will not normally be subject to variation by either agency without 12 months prior notification.
Key Components
482.The annual unit management plans should include the following key components:
482.1 Objectives. A statement of shared objectives including the fulfilment of all relevant National Standards, between the prison and the local authority in respect of the social work unit in the prison
482.2 Priorities. A statement of priorities for the work of the unit, to be derived from those listed at paragraph 46, tailored to meet the needs of the prisoner population and the function of the particular establishment.
482.3 Service Estimates. An estimate of service output must be provided in relation to tasks associated with these priorities e.g. numbers of parole reports, numbers of group work programmes to be designed / delivered, numbers of prisoners in each group, extent of social work involvement / input to induction, sentence planning. Where possible, each estimate of work to be carried out by the social work unit should be shadowed by an indication of specific expectations of prison staff to enable the work to be undertaken, e.g. provision of accommodation, escorting of prisoners, co-working group work programmes.
482.4For social work units in relevant establishments, unit plans should contain a discrete section for pre-release work, to include anticipated levels of contact with community-based social work staff, levels of contact with community-based agencies, and number of pre-release planning meetings to be convened and administered.
482.5Plans for social work units in relevant establishments should take account of anticipated transfer of prisoners between establishments, to ensure continuity and effectiveness in work undertaken throughout the sentence.
482.6 Unit Budget/Staffing. An itemised budget for the social work unit, together with numbers and grades of relevant professional and administrative staff should be prepared. Where the social work unit has no establishment for administrative staff, plans should clearly state the level of administrative support to be provided by the prison.
482.7 Training. This section should describe the jointly agreed strategy to meet the job-related and developmental needs of staff within the social work unit. This strategy should be based on an annual training needs analysis undertaken by the social work unit manager/ senior social worker and include the source of training opportunities to be accessed during the planned period and, where necessary, funding bids for this purpose. Bids should be included in the section for an additional budget. There should also be joint agreement as to the range and volume of training to be offered by the social work unit staff to prison staff (or other agency personnel). This section should be quantified in time, costed and given a priority rating in relation to established priorities or service provision.
482.8 Other Support Services. Plans should anticipate and where possible specify the service input to be made by other agencies in support of social work services, e.g. in relation to work with partners and families, addictions and HIV/AIDS. Care should be taken to ensure that the use of such services complement the core input from social work and prison staff towards commonly agreed objectives. To this end, proposed use of such services should be discussed in advance between the prison and local authority as an integral part of the planning system, with a view to securing the best use of appropriate support services.
482.9Additional Budget / Staffing Bids. Where the social work department considers a bid for additional staffing or increased budget for the social work unit may be necessary, this should be pursued within the planning arrangements. Such bids should be derived from agreed service priorities and demonstrate the anticipated gain in service level outputs / advantages to the establishment.
482.10 Review. Plans should specify the frequency of joint management review (minimum 6 monthly) to monitor and evaluate progress in relation to planned service output. The plan must also detail who will undertake the review, e.g. contracts/service manager, deputy governor and unit manager / senior social worker and external social work managers. In addition, the agreed performance review criteria, as applied to the individual establishment, should be noted together with the method by which they will be applied.
TRAINING
Training for Social Workers in Prisons
483.Social workers based in prisons require access to appropriate training opportunities, like their community-based colleagues, in order to meet the evolving requirements of the Secretary of State, SPS and the local authorities for the custodial component of throughcare services.
484.Local authorities which manage social work units in prisons and SPS share responsibility for ensuring that social workers in prisoners can access appropriate training opportunities. Appropriate training may be provided by the local authorities or SPS directly, or may be delivered by other providers. Prison management locally must be alert to the desirability of including social work staff in training programmes for new initiatives within SPS (e.g. sentence planning).
485.Training for social workers in prisons may be funded by either SPS (for job-related training) or the local authority (for developmental training), through the following mechanisms:
485.1the training budget allocated by SPS to each social work unit for this purpose;
485.2the Governor's staff training budget;
485.3the central budget held at SPS College (for national initiatives);
485.4the local authority's training budget; and
485.5funding (for training relating to general criminal justice social work issues).
486.An induction programme for all new social work unit staff must be developed locally, by prison management in conjunction with the manager of the social work unit. This induction programme should be based on those provided for all new civilian staff in the prison and aim to provide a basic orientation to that prison. It must address the following issues:
486.1the role of SPS;
486.2the role of the particular establishment;
486.3SPS management structures and functional responsibilities within the establishment;
486.4umber and nature of prison population locally;
486.5security issues;
486.6familiarisation with the layout of the prison; and
486.7prison procedures and regime components.
487.Social work management must ensure that information is given about the role of the social work unit and about all relevant local administrative arrangements and procedures.
488.A local training strategy for social work unit staff must be developed jointly between prison and social work management locally, to reflect local service needs and to take account of changes in either the prison or local authority systems which impact on the work of the unit. The strategy must take account of both job-related training needs and developmental training needs. This strategy must be included in the annual management plan for the social work unit and must be reviewed by prison and social work management at least once each year.
489.To assist the development of such a strategy, social work unit managers must undertake a training needs analysis in respect of their staff, on an annual basis.
490.All training accessed by social workers in prisons should be evaluated. In particular, all training with a practical application must be jointly evaluated by the worker and his/her line manager after 3 months, to establish the impact of such training on practice.
Training Provided by Social Workers in Prisons
491.Social work units in prisons may be asked to assist in the provision of training to prison officers (for example, in relation to the provision of programmes for, or services to, prisoners). Such assistance must be planned in advance and, wherever possible, should be built into the management plan for the social work unit.
492.Training to be provided by social workers in prisons to other prison staff must be quantified in terms of time and local prison and social work management must agree the priority to be afforded such work and the implications for delivery of other social work unit tasks.
CONTRACTUAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR SOCIAL WORK SERVICES IN PRISONS
Social Work Unit Staff Complement
493.The social work unit staff complement will be set by the Governor and the Director of Social Work / Chief Social Work Officer as part of the annual planning process, and will be based on the tasks and targets set out in the social work unit's annual management plan. Once agreed, the staffing complement should be reviewed annually, although both SPS and the local authority will normally give each other a minimum of 12 months' notice of any proposed change to the agreed complement, in order to minimise any adverse effects on either party.
494.Where a social work unit is staffed by one social worker alone ("a singleton post"), the special circumstances of such posts should be reflected by enhancement of salary scale, to encompass the first point above the normal social worker salary scale.
Management and Accountability
495.Social work units in prisons are managed through the line management structure of the social work department, and are accountable to the Director of Social Work / Chief Social Work Officer for all matters relating to professional policy and practice.
496.In addition, social work units are accountable to the Governor for all matters relating to security and discipline, and for issues arising from the day-to-day provision of service, including meeting commitments set out in the annual management plan.
497.This accountability will normally be exercised through the Head of Functional Block in the prison, within which the social work unit is located for administrative purposes.
Conditions of Service
498.Social work unit staff employed by the local authority will be subject to the conditions of service of that authority in all respects. In addition, all such employees will be entitled to payment of the relevant environmental allowance at the current rate.
Health & Safety
499.The Governor will provide a safe and healthy working environment for social work staff and will ensure that the requirements of Health and Safety at Work legislation are observed in respect of the social work unit.
Accommodation
500.The Governor will ensure that the social work unit is provided with suitable offices and equipment to carry out its function, including the provision of appropriate and adequate interview facilities and rooms in which to undertake groupwork.
Financial Arrangements
501.Detailed funding arrangements for service delivery will increasingly be the subject of individual service level agreements between establishments and providing local authorities (or other agencies for support work). Negotiation of service level agreements with local authorities need, at minimum, to cover the following financial and staffing issues.
501.1provision of stationery, heating, lighting, telephones etc.
501.2salary costs (including NI contributions, superannuation, environmental allowances etc) of local authority staff based in prisons. All costs relating to staffing will attract VAT, and this must be taken into account when calculating budget requirements for social work units.
501.3travel and subsistence costs necessarily incurred by social work staff in prison.
501.4the costs arising from absence or sick leave
501.5salary and associated costs for any period of maternity leave taken by local authority staff based in prisons
501.6the advertising costs for staff recruitment, removal/relocation costs, in accordance with local authority conditions of service for local authority staff appointed from outwith the authority to a social work post in a prison.
501.7payment of a 5% management levy (based on total costs before VAT) to the local authority (eg management and administrative costs).
502.Local authorities will then be expected to provide and manage the services with the agreed annual budget and in accord with the service level agreement specific to that establishment.
503.Where no service level agreement is yet in place SPS will be expected to meet the costs set out in paragraph 500 in accord with existing financial procedures.
Staffing Arrangements
504.The local authority will be responsible for ensuring that sufficient social work staff are available at all times, to deliver the levels of service agreed with the Governor. This means that the local authority must make available replacement staff to cover for extended periods of staff sickness, or in the event of maternity leave. Costs associated with deployment of replacement staff in these circumstances will be borne by the local authority. 100% funding monies cannot be used for this purpose. However, if any savings have accrued to the prison's social work budget (e.g. because of delays in recruiting staff), such savings should normally be contributed towards the cost of any temporary replacement.
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