A shake up of the Probation Service has been launched to make sure it plays a full part in reducing re-offending, which is a key plank in the new criminal justice strategy. The Service is viewed as giving poor value for the 500 million pounds spent on it annually. Latest figures show that about half of prisoners re-offend within two years of release. There is a marked variation in performance between areas and last year more than one third of inspections revealed below standard performance. A crime survey disclosed that 25% of people in the UK view the Probation Service as poor or very poor.A re-structuring will replace 54 local committees with 42 local boards. The boundaries will then match those of the police and the courts and this will allow better partnership working. A national directorate is also being created to be accountable to ministers.

Read more on PROBATION SERVICE MOVES INTO LINE WITH CRIMINAL JUSTICE STRATEGY…

In a move to attract and retain the best teachers, a new continuing professional development strategy has been launched. Seventy thousand teachers will benefit from ‘Learning and teaching’, a comprehensive package of development and training opportunities.A Professional Bursaries’ pilot programme will give teachers up to 700 pounds to support their own professional development. They will be able to spend the money in a variety of ways including conferences and workshop fees. If the pilot is successful it could mean some elements of training budgets passing directly to teachers who would decide how the money is spent.

Read more on CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY FOR TEACHERS LAUNCHED…

Drejer AThe Learning Organization, (UK), 2000 Vol 7 No 4

Start page: 206. No of pages: 15

Argues that the literature on core competences and competence-based strategy considers competences and core competences only in terms of their impact on the organization and its services. Contends that this means that the literature has not considered the structural characteristics of competences and, consequently, has not considered how these competences can be developed. Reviews the nature of competences, proposing that they consist of four generic elements – technology, human beings, organizational systems, and organizational culture. Based on this analysis, uses the ideas behind organizational learning to develop a framework for the development of competences, drawing together the work that has been done on individual, group and organizational learning to underpin this. Uses the analogy of a football team to illustrate the process of competence development, showing the movement from novice through proficient to world class. Discusses how organizations move through these stages, acknowledging the research that needs to be done.

Read more on ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING AND COMPETENCE DEVELOPMENT…