No Longer Social Workers: Developments in Probation Officer Training and Education in England and Wales
No Longer Social Workers: Developments in Probation Officer Training and Education in England and Wales

Summary/Abstract: Like most European countries, probation training and education in England and Wales has traditionally looked to social work to provide its knowledge base for practice. However, in the 1990s this relationship was threatened by successive governments’ moves to toughen up the image of the probation service and in which an association with social work was seen as an obstacle to change. This paper examines developments since the introduction of a specific award for trainee probation officers and considers the implications of the new qualifications framework to be introduced in England and Wales in 2010. A key element of the discussion will be the extent to which the changes in training arrangements have resulted in a cultural change within the Probation Service of England and Wales.

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