Sarah's story

"Working with people from diverse backgrounds - many of whom have lacked support and opportunity; some who just neglect or ignore their responsibilities - was something that had appealed to me for a long time.

"At the risk of sounding like the stereotypical  'do-gooder', I had an urge to be helping people to make the most of their lives, to have a bit more hope and opportunity or just to feel capable of making changes - not just for their own benefit but so that we can all live our lives with less interference and hopefully with less fear.

"It's a difficult balance though -  giving time and energy to those who have done wrong, whilst representing the people affected by their actions or others who could be.  I certainly wouldn't underestimate the tensions that exist when representing so many different stakeholders. What a challenge!

"The training can't teach you everything though - much like the belief in the uniqueness of offenders, trainees have to understand and tailor their learning to their individual needs and weaknesses.

"The academic assignments often give scope to chose a certain aspect of criminal justice to investigate and as a trainee on the job, there's a personal development plan which allows you to identify your needs and seek opportunities to address them.

"Working partly on academic work and partly in the office, on the “front-line”, is an excellent way to see where theories fit with practice and vice versa, as well as to explore your own ideas and is a great, rounded learning experience.

"Rarely do people fit into a neat box, so to speak, so there's no time to be complacent and to assume you know the 'reasons' for offending behaviour or the solutions.  So being open to new ideas, different perspectives and being prepared to analyse and confront your own personal prejudices, values and beliefs is important if you're going to be able to cope with such diversity and embrace equality.  I think a rigid, dogmatic attitude would undermine the values of probation.  Having said that, enforcement and risk assessment are high on the agenda so there's no shortage of paperwork and government targets, with little flexibility in when and how these are met.

"On a more personal note, it's been an incredible journey for me.  There's no getting away from it - the timetable is intensive, particularly in the second year, but I've enjoyed the training so much that it hasn't felt like a 'slog' for me.

"As a single parent, with no degree or experience of the Probation Service, I was worried about how I would cope.  Sometimes I have felt overwhelmed and other areas of my life have undoubtedly been put on hold, but the training is so varied and interesting that the sacrifice has seemed small and the skills and knowledge that I've acquired have made it worthwhile.

"However, this is just the start. There's still a lot to learn and I don't think there will ever be a time, in this career, when I can sit back and profess to know it all.  Furthermore, change is an inherent feature of criminal justice generally and Probation practice specifically so it's important to be open to this.

"As I speak, Probation is going through a major change in being closely aligned with the Prison Service, under the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and multi-agency working is becoming increasingly central to the work of an Offender Manager. All I can predict is that life in the Probation Service will never be dull, or predictable..."