The overall aim of accredited programmes is to achieve attitudinal change and behaviour, thereby reducing the risk of harm to victims, facilitating reintegration in the community and enabling the participants to lead crime free lives. The programmes will be court ordered as a requirement of a community sentence or included in a post-release licence; with a small number of prolific and priority offenders and some other non-sentenced perpetrators participating in some programmes. All will be subject to offender management processes or analogous arrangements.

All of the programmes have received NPS/NOMS accreditation on the basis of demonstrable effectiveness and are subject to standard treatment management processes to ensure programme integrity, including video monitoring of the staff delivering the programme. NPS/NOMS accredited programmes may only be delivered by programme tutors who have successfully completed a NPS/NOMS Accredited Programmes Assessment Centre and have subsequently successfully completed the NPS/NOMS programme tutor-training course for the respective programme.

Tenders may be invited on the basis of the provider delivering the whole of the programme in question or on the basis of a co-delivery model where the actual delivery is undertaken on a shared basis with a member of the provider’s staff and a probation programmes worker jointly delivering the programme. If the provider is wholly delivering the programme in question, associated programme quality, scheduling, compliance and monitoring activities are required.

Programme completion targets are a key element of the national, regional and area probation business plans and associated performance management; providers will be required to demonstrate their contribution to the achievement of the respective probation area’s programme-related targets. In consequence probation areas will use reasonable endeavours to ensure a flow of suitable offenders with requirements to undertake the respective programmes thereby underpinning programmes’ completion targets.

Service user programme start sequencing is a matter primarily for the respective offender manager, in consultation with the programme management staff. Both the pre and post programme sessions, noted below with respect to specific programmes, are undertaken in collaboration with the respective offender managers.

• Provide safe and secure programme environment for programme delivery in accordance with the NPS standards 1 for accredited programmes
• Ensure the effective management of those offenders who are undertaking the programme in accordance with Probation National Standards for the supervision of offenders and in such a way as to enhance community safety.

• Ensure risk issues associated with the offenders are identified and managed according to any standards set by the National Probation Service.
• Accredited programmes draw on a cognitive behavioural model with the result that offenders with an IQ below 80 are unlikely to be able to benefit from these programmes.
• Ensure that the diversity needs of staff and offenders are planned for and integrated into the operational programme delivery.
• Work in collaboration with other stakeholders such as: (Offender Management, Prisons, Victims Services and Police) involved in the delivery of services to offenders.

The scheme will be delivered in line with:

• Criminal Justice Act (2003)
• NOMS Offender Management Principles (2005)
• NPS National Standards
• NPS Business plan
• Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements
• Current operational manual and practice guidance
• Regional Reducing Re-offending Action Plan