We sat down with Lea, who is currently working towards her Professional Qualification in Probation – or PQiP for short – to become a fully qualified probation officer here in Greater Manchester.
Here’s Lea on life as a trainee probation officer…
So, how did you get into this particular career, and what made you want to jump into the probation service, specifically?
I’ve always had an interest in the legal world and love watching crime dramas. I started off in courts admin, where I was exposed to a lot of different roles in the Criminal Justice System, like probation officers, solicitors, judges and so on.
Credit: The Manc Group
I decided that was the kind of career I wanted, and I feel like, with probation, if you like watching crime documentaries and understanding human behaviour, then it might be the perfect career for you. It was kind of the moment everything clicked into place for me.
I’m sure training to be a probation officer involves a little more than your average nine-to-five, but what does a typical day look like for you?
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Every day is different. You do have different priorities; a lot of the time, you prioritise things around emergencies and what is most urgent.
For example, today one of the offenders I work with, who’s only 19, got kicked out of his house, so I’ve been trying to find him a place to sleep tonight to keep him off the streets.
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Criminal behaviour is often about taking shortcuts, I would say, so it’s prioritising that situation to keep him on the straight and narrow, but also making sure that the public is protected. I think that the number one priority with probation is public protection.
Typical days can also include making sure offenders follow what they’ve been ordered to do by the court, whether that’s Community Payback or other measures.
On top of that, it’s about making sure they have the support they need. Some people struggle to keep appointments, so we carry out referrals and mental health checks to help them stay on track.
These all sound like quite emotional situations to be thrown into. How do you deal with the emotional side and high-stress scenarios?
It can be hard on you emotionally. Although you’re dealing with offenders, they’re often in the situation they’re in for a multitude of reasons. It’s about trying to keep a cool head and manage the situation strategically.
You can’t do it on your own – it’s impossible – but as a probation officer, you are the first point of call. You’re kind of like their ‘life manager’ working to make sure they’re okay, as well as following the law.
It sounds like very important and fulfilling work. What’s the training process like?
As a trainee probation officer, it is difficult at times because they really do throw you into stuff, but they do it strategically, slowly increasing the level of cases you work on and providing opportunities to shadow more experienced colleagues.
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I can easily lean on my colleagues, and in addition to the practical training, there’s the university side of it as well. It’s quite a dynamic role, and you still benefit from the split between study and practice.
How do you unwind after this job?
That’s a really great question. I cycle to work, and that’s my silent time, so even that hour alone of cycling is a way to keep me off my phone and allows my brain to properly switch off.
I think that’s really important because you can do everything you possibly can to help offenders, and you need to take care of yourself, too.
Do you think you can make that impact during your working day?
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I certainly like to think so. I think it’s important that you do take breaks as well; people forget that it’s not a normal job. You will have to be able to deal with challenging offenders, but it’s just about being resilient and following what you learn in training, remembering it’s about the circumstances they’re in and trying to understand that.
And do you get satisfaction and fulfilment from that?
Oh yeah, absolutely. In probation, there is that pattern of people making the same mistakes over and over again, and you’ll see them over and over again for years, but then you remember that people are capable of change – it just takes longer for some than others. When I’m struggling, I always think of those I have helped turn their life around and take pride in knowing they’re doing better and are happier.
Is there one particular case that springs to mind?
Yeah, there’s one particular offender I always think of. When he first came to court, he wouldn’t speak to anybody, and even when he went on probation, he just wouldn’t say anything or even show up to anything.
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He was then allocated to me – and sometimes it’s not necessarily the officer, but it’s something about that emotional connection, or it could just be how you get along with people – that finally clicked.
I did a lot of work with him; he was homeless, jobless, had an addiction problem and wasn’t compliant with his court order, but now he’s housed, has a job, and he’s doing really well.
Credit: The Manc
That’s such a lovely story. What skills or qualities would you say are needed to do this type of work?
The top one would be resilience. Resourcefulness, communication and organisation. Being able to stay calm is a really big one, too.
What other benefits are there to a role in the Probation Service?
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I feel like lots of people don’t realise that this is one of those roles where you can start at the very bottom and work your way up, and there are so many areas that you can work in the Probation Service
It’s like the NHS: so many different lanes you can go down, different specialities, and it is a Civil Service job, so the pension is really good.
Of course, and lastly, if you were to give one piece of advice to someone interested in a career in the Probation Service, what would it be?
Persevere. It’s not always going to be easy, and you’re going to go through a lot, because it’s a hard job and you’re dealing with challenging people, but you just have to push through because it does get easier.
It is such a rewarding job, and I wouldn’t change this career for anything.
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Interested?
If Lea’s story has made you think a career in HM Prison and Probation Service might be for you, you can find out more about the opportunities in Manchester on the Service’s recruitment website.
You can hear from Vinay, a Community Payback placement coordinator who works in the Probation Service, in the video below.
Inside Manchester’s newest Italian restaurant serving 70-year-old Calabrian recipes
Clementine Hall
A new restaurant inspired by Calabrese cooking has opened its doors in Manchester city centre.
Sometimes only a steaming hot bowl of homemade pasta will do, and you’ll find it at the new Pranzo Italian in abundance.
Located on King Street, slap bang in the centre of town, this light-drenched restaurant is set to become your go-to for authentic Italian cuisine.
Born in West Yorkshire, they opened their first restaurant in the spa town of Ilkley back in 2018 before quickly opening another location in Harrogate after Pranzo became inundated with hungry customers.
Images: The Manc
Fast forward to now, they have another site in York and now luckily for us, here in Manchester.
Inspired by founder Marco’s Italian heritage and his Nonna’s traditional Calabrese cooking, every single thing you’re served here is homemade.
From the fresh pasta and the rich sauces to the fluffy focaccia used to mop up said sauces, and not to forget the cherry gin used in the standout Sour Cherry Negroni.
Dishes here are as traditional and authentic as they get, using 70-year-old recipes that Marco learnt from his Nonna (who you’ll spot in old pictures proudly hung up around the restaurant).
Images: The Manc
On our visit, after indulging in couple of cocktails at the bar we kicked things off with a couple antipasti, because it really would be rude not to.
The arancino picante was a real standout, stuffed with spicy fennel sausage, smoked provola cheese and served on a bed of nduja cream.
This had everything you wanted in an arancini, crispy on the outside, gooey on the inside and served piping hot.
We recommend ordering the focaccia el aglio alongside it to dunk into the smoky nduja cream, a genius move if you ask us.
Images: The Manc
Now, onto the mains.
We ordered three of Pranzo’s specialist pastas and every single one was cooked to perfection. If you’re a fan of proper al dente pasta then trust us, you’re going to love this place.
The ragù di manzo features fresh mafalde pasta in a deeply savoury 4-hour beef shin sauce, and they definitely don’t skimp on the meat.
Showered in parmesan at the table, it’s a favourite on the menu for a reason. The reason? It’s nothing short of delicious.
Images: The Manc
We don’t know about you, but if burrata is on the menu then we’re ordering it with zero hestitation.
A lot of the pastas on the menu give you the choice of plonking a burrata on top, and we went for the nduja è salsiccia piccante.
The sauce is decadent and fiery, combining nduja with spicy fennel sausage, spinach and cream. The addition of the creamy burrata was another genius move, balancing out the spice perfectly.
Last but not least, and a personal favourite, was the scoglio seafood pasta.
This wasn’t just some pasta topped with a couple of prawns, this was absolutely packed full of juicy tiger prawns, mussels and squid – all perfectly cooked and tossed with garlic and cherry tomatoes in a silky sauce.
The recipe used for this one hasn’t changed in 70 years, and we’re glad that it hasn’t.
Images: The Manc
Elsewhere on the menu you’ll find seasonal specials such as your classic caesar salad and pan fried fish, as well as a selection of pizzas.
Of course it wouldn’t be an Italian feast without a tiramisu and this one hits all the right spots.
Indulgent with a punchy coffee flavour and almost cloud-like in texture, that’s a winning dessert if we’ve ever seen one.
The space, set across two floors, is light and airy whilst the service is top notch. But don’t just take our word for it, find out more about Pranzo and book your table here.
The independent Manchester gym that’s spent eight years getting the city’s office workers stronger
Daisy Jackson
In a city centre that has changed almost beyond recognition over the past eight years, one Manchester gym has stuck to a simple idea – getting people stronger shouldn’t have to take over their lives.
Tucked away on Kennedy Street, opposite Manchester Town Hall and just a short walk from St Peter’s Square tram stop, P1 Fitness Studio is celebrating its eighth year in business.
This local success story has been built by husband-and-wife team Peter and Abby, who wanted to build the kind of gym they actually wanted to train in themselves, after becoming increasingly frustrated with what they saw as the ‘normal gym scene’.
Their answer was to create something different: a smaller, calmer space where people could be coached properly, recognised when they walked through the door and actually enjoy coming to train.
Eight years later, Peter and Abby are still hands-on in the independently owned business, working alongside a coaching team of five.
Welcome to P1 Fitness, in Manchester city centre / Credit: The Manc Group
There is no franchise model or corporate head office. Just the same basic philosophy they started with in 2018, which seems to have resonated with a particular part of Manchester.
P1’s members are predominantly busy professionals – lawyers, architects, creatives, teachers, business owners and office workers – many of them in their 30s, 40s and beyond.
For people spending much of their working lives behind a desk, the proposition is deliberately straightforward – you don’t need to live in the gym to become stronger and healthier.
P1 believes two properly coached strength sessions a week can make a meaningful difference.
Sessions last 50 minutes and run throughout the working day, meaning members can train before work, at lunchtime or after work. There are showers, changing facilities, towels and toiletries too, making it possible to fit training around a working day rather than the other way round.
More recently, the studio has added an infrared sauna, giving members somewhere to recover and switch off before heading back to the office or home.
The independent Manchester gym that’s spent eight years getting the city’s office workers stronger / Credit: The Manc Group
P1 specialises in small group personal training, with a maximum of six people per coach.
Everyone follows a structured strength programme, but the coaching is adapted to the individual. Exercises, weights, and progressions can all be changed depending on someone’s ability, goals, injuries or simply how they’re feeling that day.
So someone picking up a barbell for the first time can train alongside somebody who has been lifting for years, without either being pushed through the same generic circuit.
It’s also not the kind of gym where you’ll see your own reflection staring back at you at every turn, because the focus is on becoming stronger and moving better, rather than how you look.
The idea is longevity – looking after your joints, maintaining muscle, building strength, and staying capable of doing the things you want to do outside the gym as you get older.
Or, in P1’s own words: “Built stronger to last longer.”
And there’s some impressive evidence that the approach has encouraged people to stay the course.
Based on its current schedule of roughly 75 coached sessions a week, P1 estimates it has delivered more than 31,000 coached sessions across its eight years.
Some of the people attending those sessions have been there since the doors first opened.
Rather than celebrating short-term transformations, P1 marks the less glamorous (but arguably more meaningful) milestones: members receive T-shirts when they reach 100, 250, and 500 training sessions.
That means there are members whose relationship with the studio is measured in hundreds of coached sessions and several years, rather than a six-week challenge.
And over time, the gym has become something more than somewhere to lift weights.
P1 increasingly describes itself as a ‘third space’ for Manchester professionals – somewhere between home and work where people can train, switch off, see familiar faces and feel part of a community.
People train alongside many of the same faces each week, and coaches get to know the people they’re working with.
There are socials, themed workouts, challenges, member celebrations and charity events to really build that P1 community – for example, members raised more than £1000 for Parkinson’s UK through a bake sale last year.
The business has also increasingly taken its philosophy beyond its own four walls, working with Manchester companies and corporate teams on strength training and health education, including sessions around women’s health, men’s health, nutrition and sustainable strength training.
P1 has won Best Strength Training Gym of the North West at the National Fitness Awards in 2023, 2024 and 2025, while also being shortlisted three times for the National Fitness Awards’ Functional Training Gym of the Year UK award.
But perhaps the more remarkable achievement is simply making it through the last eight years as an independent city-centre business.
Since P1 opened, Manchester has had to navigate Covid and lockdowns, the huge shift towards home and hybrid working, and the major redevelopment around Town Hall and St Peter’s Square.
The city centre around the studio has changed dramatically, but the basic idea inside P1 hasn’t. It’s not just a gym, but a third space with a barbell in the middle of it.
Find out more and book your first sessions with P1 in Manchester HERE.
Danny Jones -
31st October 2025 
