'Joining up Justice' to prevent more tragedies like Baby P

26 June 2009

An innovative new training programme has been created by Skills for Justice, to ensure Justice agencies work together more effectively to avoid more tragic cases like the death of Baby P. The 'Joining Up Justice' programme has now been successfully piloted in the south east of England.

The programme culminated in an event at the Marriott County Hall hotel in London this week (24 June) where participants who had undertaken the new learning programme received their NVQ awards. The 30 participants were from a range of Justice organisations such as Victim Support, HM Prison Service, Youth Justice Board, Probation Service, and Thames Valley Police and many had little knowledge of the role of the other organisations taking part in the project, even though they form an integral part of the criminal justice system.

Our research with employers identified a need to encourage more effective multi-agency working across the Justice sector. High profile tragic cases over the last few years have caused outrage, and it was clear there needed to be a more joined-up approach to justice services. With support from employers in the South East, we developed the idea for a training programme to address the need for improved skills in multi-agency working. The idea won the support of South East of England Development Agency (SEEDA) who agreed to fund the project.

Alan Woods OBE, chief executive of Skills for Justice said at the event

"We all know what happens when agencies don't work together effectively. When things go wrong, it can have a terrible impact on people. That's been highlighted in the recent tragic case of Baby P, and in the circumstances leading up to the killing of two French students in London."

"Multi-agency working is fundamental to the effective operation of the criminal justice system. When Joining up Justice was born there was little training or learning available, and no qualifications available to build and recognise skills in this vital area."

"The project has brought together people from across justice agencies to learn more about how to work together. That can range from developing understanding of the targets, priorities and culture of other agencies – indeed sometimes just understanding the language they use - to a more formal approach, through building protocols for joint working."

The programme itself is an innovative and powerful new approach to learning, combining a traditional competency-based approach with action learning - a new concept in the Justice arena which develops leadership and management skills. It's a comprehensive package of training where participants attend classroom sessions, produce portfolios of evidence and take part in action learning.

Sarah Adamson from Victim Support, who undertook the training programme also spoke at the event, and said

"It has encouraged practitioners and managers from the different agencies to explore their work experiences together and to integrate subsequent learning into developing practical approaches in how their organisations worked."

"Using the underpinning knowledge of the standards gave participants an opportunity to reflect upon not only what they did but also why they did it. Combined with contributions from different parts of the Justice sector the learning became multi-dimensional."

We are now working to put the standards used in this project into a qualification framework. Once this has been completed, the programme will be available to our Justice and community safety employers. The model has proved a great success, which will work well not just across Justice but in linking justice agencies more effectively to partners across the whole public sector.

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