London Probation Trainee Probation Officers

Diploma in Probation Studies

Our formal traineeship programme leads to a BA and Level 4 NVQ in Community Justice Studies, accredited by the University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield. Trainees spend three days a week working in local probation services, with one day a week to attend lectures and one day for study. Students have access to library resources provided by the University of London, as well as an internal library and on-line course support.

Working together in selected offices, Trainees are supervised and assessed by a specially trained practice development assessor. With an emphasis on the realities of the role, students focus at first on procedural work such as initial assessments, reports, supervision plans and court work, and quickly become immersed in work with offenders under supervision.

The academic side of the course includes interesting units on social science and criminology as well as subjects like substance abuse, mental disorder and effective practice. Students produce two pieces of coursework - a practice study and a longer piece of work - linking theoretical learning with experiences gained in the workplace.

As the programme progresses, learning at University and at work become increasingly complementary; practice experience informs learning at University and theoretical learning guides practice. It's genuinely an involved, compelling and fascinating induction into the profession.

And, as long as you can demonstrate transferable skills that that show you have the potential to work with people who are experiencing personal or social difficulties, you do not need any previous experience working with offenders in order to be accepted onto the course.

Working as a Probation Officer

At the end of our two year course, you will be fully qualified to apply for work as a Probation Officer in London or any of the other eight Probation areas across England and Wales.

Candidates should note that the Diploma itself is a two year vocationally focused course, and does not automatically result in a position with London Probation.