MPS Annual Learning and Development Business Plan 2007-2008

Report: 11
Date: 7 June 2007
By: Chief Executive

Summary

All Home Office forces are required to prepare an Annual Learning and Development Business Plan that meets the criteria specified in Home Office Circulars 44/2005 and 10/2007. Copies of the plan have been placed in the Members Room and this reports provides a summary of the 200 page document. It was agreed the plan would be considered in-depth by the HR Oversight Group and, subject to their views, recommended to CoP for formal approval rather than detailed discussion. It is a Home Office requirement that the MPA approve this plan.

A. Recommendations

That Members formally approve the Annual Learning and Development Business Plan for 2007-2008.

B. Supporting information

1. The requirement for all forces to have an Annual Training Plan originates with Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) and the format is prescribed. The full document is in three parts.

• Part 1: The Training Strategy – this is a three-year rolling strategy updated annually. There is no significant change in content this year.
• Part 2: Client Side Training Requirement – this describes how the training requirement is agreed and monitored within the MPS. These processes were scrutinised as part of the 2006 HMIC Baseline Assessment and found to be robust. There is therefore no change in process since last year but some adjustment has been necessary to reflect MPS organisational changes.
• Part 3: The Learning and Development Business Plan - This part includes a summary of the major products and services provided and the categories of the groups to be served. It also provides an overview of the ways in which these products and services are marketed across the MPS and the resources required to deliver the Plan. The most significant component of this part of the Business Plan is the Costed Training Plan. This provides the total predicted cost of training activity broken down by business group and costed using the National Training Costing Model. The format of the Costed Training Plan remains as in previous years as this meets all Home Office and HMIC requirements.

Background

2. It was agreed the plan would be considered in-depth by the HR Oversight Group and, subject to their views, recommended to CoP for formal approval rather than detailed discussion. It is a Home Office requirement that the MPA approve this plan. Copies of the plan have been placed in the Members Room and a summary of the 200 page document is attached at Appendix 1.

Issues raised by the HR Oversight Group

Organisational approach

3. In relation to the potential for income generation and the ‘delivery’ of training, it was explained that the HR Directorate are restricted by the Home Office in the amount that could be charged for providing training to other organisations, i.e. such charges should just cover costs. There needed to be a careful balance between what could be provided and the needs of the organisation. The HR Directorate did not wish to be in a position where they were contracted to provide training to other organisations at the expense of training of MPS staff.

4. In terms of the delivery of training, the ‘client’ side of the Training Management Board (TMB) comprised representatives from all Business Groups who were responsible for articulating the demand for training in support of the MPS priorities. The contractor side was composed of the various training schools and units that deliver training in response to this demand, some of which deliver highly specialised training, e.g. police use of firearms, public order, which is only available from them.

5. This approach provides an assurance that training decisions take account of the overall priorities of the Service. For example, in this financial year it is likely that the requirement for police recruit training will fall, the requirement for training newly recruited special constables will increase significantly. TMB will be managing and monitoring these and other trends or changes over the coming year.

Commitment to diversity and equality

6. In response to questions around the ‘golden thread’ of equality and diversity in all MPS training, it was emphasised that there had been a considerable investment in the trainer development programme to equip all MPS trainers both to challenge and respond to and support course participants on these issues.

Community involvement

7. The central Independent Advisory Group (IAG) for training issues provides an opportunity for community input across a broad spectrum of training issues at a corporate level. In response to questions from Members it was acknowledged that, as training and particularly recruit training, moves to the local model there will be an increasing emphasis on local community involvement and less involvement from the current central IAG. It was confirmed that no members of the IAG had a conflict of interest.

Management of training

8. The responsibility for learning and development lies with the Commissioner and his Management Board. Management Board is supported in this through TMB. Each Business Group has a Training Board that mirrors the functions of TMB at a Business Group level. In response to a number of specific questions around training for Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) it was explained that proposals around training emanate from the PCSO Programme Board on which the Authority is represented.

Training delivery

9. Members of the HR Oversight Group raised concerns about the effect of abstractions. It was emphasised by the MPS that an underlying principle is that training will be designed and delivered in such a way as to minimise absence from the workplace. On average, police officers will receive 12 days training per year, but only officer safety (OS), emergency life saving (ELS) and safety leadership are mandatory; other training is role dependent.

10. In addition, TMB carry out regular reviews of current training programmes and closely scrutinise proposals for additional training. This will include identifying which staff actually need the training and how it can be delivered most efficiently, e.g. e-learning, classroom-based etc.

Evaluation of the effectiveness of training

11. The Training Evaluation Strategy uses a four level model to define the evaluation responsibilities of different individuals and groups. This provides a common measure shared by other police organisations. In response to questions, it was made clear that the HR Evaluation Unit also visit all Operational Command Units (OCUs) and Borough OCUs (BOCUs) each year to ensure, amongst other things, that training is being delivered to an appropriate level. Following these inspections there are monthly meetings chaired by the Director of HR or his deputy at which OCUs and BOCUs are held to account for their performance on training.

Abbreviations

HOC

Home Office Circular

HMIC

Her Majesties Inspectorate of Constabulary

IPLDP

Initial Police Learning and Development Programme

C. Race and equality impact

The strategic objectives for training remain closely linked to the objectives of the Policing London Strategy 2007-2010. We continue to pay particular attention to the potential for direct and indirect barriers to learning and development but the evidence suggests that this is not an issue. At a strategic level, a key tool in this monitoring is analysis of data on course applications and acceptances collected to ensure compliance with the Race Relations (Amendment) Act.

D. Financial implications

Training and development represent a significant investment for the MPS. The predicted full cost of the training contained within the Costed Training Plan is £71,200,964. However, the National Training Costing Model is not designed to capture all costs related to learning and development issues. A further £9,614,270 has been identified as supporting wider developmental opportunities and professional qualifications. This gives a total of £80,815,235. The equivalent figure for 2006/07 was £82,091,448.

E. Background papers

• Home Office Circular 44/2005
• Home Office Circular 10/2007

F. Contact details

Report author: Alan Johnson, HR Policy Officer, MPA and Mike Harwood-Grayson, Head of Learning Management, MPS.

For more information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

Appendix 1

Briefing paper on the Annual Learning and Development Business Plan 2007-2008

Background

The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) are committed to creating a safer London. Policing a capital city like London continues to present many unique and demanding challenges. Improving community confidence through the full roll out of Safer Neighbourhoods, tackling crime and anti-social behaviour, bringing more offenders to justice, will only be achieved through the efforts of all our staff working together professionally and in partnership with all communities across London.

Clearly, it is people who deliver performance and the investment in training, development and organisational learning remains fundamental to the ability to deliver operational excellence in policing to the people of London. There have already been advances towards improving efficiency through the brigading together of Police Community Support Officers (PCSO), traffic warden and Specials training. The Leadership Academy is also in place and delivering enhanced provision in management and leadership development.

The MPS is fully committed to developing a workforce that is much more representative of London communities and is continuing to drive to recruit significantly more women and Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) candidates. The development of police staff will also be given a higher priority in order that they are appropriately equipped.

Training commitment

Training will be subject to rigorous quality assurance and evaluation procedures. The MPS is committed to valuing diversity and will ensure that all staff have opportunities to develop. Staff will be treated fairly regardless of their gender, race, colour, nationality, ethnic and national origin, disability, religion, sexual orientation or marital status. Part-time staff will not be excluded from training simply because they follow different work patterns; learning and development opportunities will be scheduled, as far as possible, so that all staff, including those working flexibly, can attend.

The MPS values and behaviours will be core. Managers will be held to account through a feedback process and provided with development opportunities if needed. The values will be integrated into processes, from recruitment through training, appraisal and selection / promotion, and will encourage individual endeavour and better team working. The behaviours provide clarity about what is, and is not, acceptable and productive behaviour. They provide parameters of behaviour that, when aspired to, are intended to deliver quality service improvements as well as improving team working. Clarity about what to expect from the police is also important for the public and partners as well. The values will underpin and support efforts on citizen focus.

Organisational approach

The organisational approach to learning and development adopted by the MPS is articulated through a client/sponsor contractor relationship. The principal clients are members of Training Management Board (TMB). One of the functions of the TMB is to articulate the demand for training in support of the MPS priorities. The contractor side is composed of the various training schools and units that deliver training in response to this demand. This approach provides an assurance that training decisions take account of the overall priorities of the Service. In essence, TMB is empowered to prioritise and monitor the training needed to maintain or improve performance across the whole of the Service.

Initial Police Learning and Development Programme (IPLDP)

One of our key objectives is the successful implementation of the IPLDP to deliver police recruit training locally The MPS realised that successful implementation was dependent on availability of adequate local training sites and that there were insufficient readily available and suitable locations.

The MPS strategy has been to adopt a progressive approach, utilising the sites that are available and migrating as new sites are identified. To date, eight sites, one of which is Hendon, have been identified and these commenced IPLDP training delivery in April 2007. There will be no further intakes on the original Hendon Foundation programme, although IPLDP students will commence their training with a 5-week module delivered at Hendon.

The content of the Post Foundation delivery regime has been reviewed and will complement the initial 31 weeks of the Programme. The MPS has chosen to follow the national route to qualification by becoming an Approved Centre for the award of levels 3 and 4 NVQ in Policing. Considerable challenges lie ahead in the implementation of workplace assessment, which will form a critical part of the relationship between the MPS and the selected NVQ Awarding Body.

Commitment to diversity and equality

The MPS is committed to upholding the values of diversity and equality in all its activities. This commitment is actively pursued through practical measures and the unique opportunities it provides to challenge attitudes and behaviours. To support this commitment, the trainer development programme places considerable emphasis on equipping our trainers both to challenge and respond to and support course participants on diversity issues.

Having completed the MPS wide Community Race Relations (CRR) training programme, efforts now focus on mainstreaming race and diversity training. This means ensuring that race and diversity issues are not dealt with separately in training but fully integrated into the training itself. Key to this process is our strategy of equipping all trainers to deal with race, equality and diversity issues both in their course material and dynamically in the classroom environment.

The Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate is working in partnership with the Directorate of Training and Development to ensure that new diversity learning resources (developed nationally by National Police Improvement Agency) are integrated into core training programmes, in particular training for PCSOs and student constables.

Individual competence in race and diversity is a core responsibility reported on in all Performance Development Reviews (PDRs). Additionally, it is a mandatory requirement embedded in all selection and promotion processes. The Police Race and Diversity Learning and Development Programme places targets for incorporating formal assessment against National Occupational Standards.

The Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate recently commenced an assessment trial for priority groups in the MPS and more effective use will made be of the existing PDR process do identify diversity performance, development needs, and performance objectives.

Community involvement

The Independent Advisory Group for training issues provides an opportunity for community input across a broad spectrum of training issues at a corporate level. The systematic reviews of training units carried out by the Learning Services & Performance Unit include an assessment of the extent to which community involvement features in the delivery of training. The review team also provides advice and recommendations as to how this could be improved where appropriate.

An integral part of all diversity training is community involvement, with members of the BME community and others participating in training sessions as associate trainers or lay contributors. This is particularly prominent in the initial training of police officers. The IPLDP provide new opportunities for this involvement to be taken forward at a local level.

Management of training

The responsibility for learning and development lies with the Commissioner and his Management Board. Management Board is supported in this through TMB. TMB is chaired by the Director of HR and is the client side body that determines training priorities for the MPS, and agrees relevant learning and development policies and strategies. Membership of TMB includes representation from all Business Groups.

Responsibility for the formulation and implementation of learning and development policy, training strategy and standards of performance lies with the Director of Training and Development. Each Business Group has a Training Board that mirrors the functions of TMB at a Business Group level.

Borough Commanders are responsible for determining local training priorities, although this is subject to scrutiny by their Business Group Training Board. Generally, Training Boards will be responsible for overseeing all learning and development related issues within their area of responsibility, whether it is for corporate of individual development. Line managers, in conjunction with individuals, are responsible for ensuring that learning and development needs are met. This applies both to corporate mandatory training requirements and individual needs identified through the PDR process.

Training needs

The cornerstone in the process for identifying training needs remains Performance Needs Analysis (PNA). This is a methodology for ensuring that learning and development is focused on addressing the performance needs of the Service. The process involves:

• Identifying the performance required
• Identifying current performance
• Identifying the performance gap
• Identifying possible solutions, including non-training solutions along with the associated risks and costs.

However, the reality is that the Service faces huge demands for training to meet legislative requirements, technical upgrades and the recommendations resulting from various reports. Accordingly, the MPS endeavour to maintain some capacity for discretionary training to meet local and individual needs.

Training delivery

The primary purpose of learning and development is to maintain and improve the performance of the MPS. To achieve this, training is delivered both through corporate programmes and on the basis of local needs. Major training units include the Directorate of Training and Development’s training schools, the Crime Academy, Leadership Academy, Firearms and Public Order training at Gravesend and the IT training establishment. However, nearly one hundred training units across the MPS deliver both corporately agreed programmes and training to meet local needs.

Although classroom based training continues to be the most frequent method of delivery, the MPS has a long tradition of delivering practical training through role–play, simulation, work based experiential learning and e learning. It has also pioneered immersive learning through its Hydra training facilities.

An underlying principle is that training will be designed and delivered in such a way as to minimise absence from the workplace. Wherever practicable, training is to be conducted at or near the workplace, using, if available, corporately produced training and learning materials. The MPS continue to strive to bring training to the students rather than the students to training. The benefits of this include significant reductions in the time wasted travelling to and from courses.

Collaboration

The Home Office commissioned The Raytheon Report on the opportunities for collaboration on training between forces. The report found that substantial savings could be achieved by establishing cluster colleges for the provision of police training. ACPO and the MPA proposed that a more appropriate approach was to establish a National Best Value Review to identify opportunities to promote collaboration at a regional level. The National Review defined the framework where regional collaboration can take place. The nine regions across
England and Wales have the remit to drive collaboration; the South East and Eastern Region meetings have been set up at the strategic level and practitioner level to progress this.

Evaluation of the effectiveness of training

Learning and Development is a large investment for the MPS and it is vital that such training is fit for purpose. The MPS Training Evaluation Strategy, currently under review, ensures that all training is subject to a corporate and structured evaluation process. The amount of training delivered in the MPS makes it neither practical nor cost effective to subject all programmes to the most detailed scrutiny. Consequently, an ongoing Training Evaluation Plan, focusing on priority areas for evaluation, is presented to TMB for approval at six monthly intervals.

The Training Evaluation Strategy uses a four level model to define the evaluation responsibilities of different individuals and groups. This provides a common measure shared by other police organisations and is recognised by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary.

• Level 1 Reaction: To what extent is the training process helping or hindering peoples’ learning?
• Level 2 Learning: What learning has taken place? To what extent have the objectives of the training been met?
• Level 3 Application: To what extent has the training contributed to the improvement of peoples’ performance in the workplace?
• Level 4 Results: To what extent has the training made an impact on MPS performance? What have been the ultimate benefits of the training?

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