Introduction to the JAR

In September 2006, inspectors carried out a Joint Area Review (JAR) of services for children, young people and families in the Barnsley area.  The report of the JAR was published on 12 December 2006 and is available on both the Ofsted and Barnsley Council websites (see quick links), as well as through council offices at Berneslai Close and Wellington House.

Joint Area Reviews focus on how far children and young people are healthy, safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution, and are well prepared to secure economic wellbeing.

What the JAR said about us

Our Joint Area Review described outcomes achieved by children and young people growing up in the Barnsley area as 'adequate' and 'improving at a rapid rate in many areas'.

This reflects the success we have had to date and the distance we still need to travel to achieve the national average and above in key outcome areas.

The impact of local services in improving outcomes for children and young people is good.  Our capacity to improve further is good. 

There is an 'outstanding' score for helping children and young people make a positive contribution - "The impact of all local services in helping children and young people to contribute to society is excellent.  Services have a strong commitment to helping children and young people make a positive contribution and provide excellent support to help them develop constructive relationships and take responsibility."

"Strong political commitment, effective strategic management and embedded multi-agency working are successfully raising aspirations and providing rapid improvements to outcomes in many areas."

The Joint Area Review awarded the following grades:

Being healthy - 3 - good
Staying safe - 3 - good
Enjoying and achieving - 3 - good
Making a positive contribution - 4 - outstanding
Achieving economic wellbeing - 2 - adequate
Service management - 3 - good

The capacity to improve is 3 - good, and the current levels of our children's services, education and social care and health services for children are all 3 - good.

One part of the JAR was a re-inspection reviewing progress against the key issues identified in the 14-19 area inspection in 2004. The assessment of progress made since the last inspection of 14-19 provision is good.

More information about the outcome and the recommendations of the JAR are given in the summary, which you can access from quick links.

Our action plan following the Joint Area Review

We have now agreed our response to the Joint Area Review and have written a specific action plan for each of its recommendations.  The full plan is available on the council website and can be seen at Barnsley Town Hall, and council offices, including Wellington House and Berneslai Close.  A summary of the action plans for each of the recommendations is also available.

What is a Joint Area Review?

Joint Area Reviews were introduced in 2005 and will be carried out every three years, augmenting Annual Performance Assessments.  The services being reviewed are council services, including education and social services; health services; police and probation services; and publicly funded services provided by voluntary and community bodies.

A Joint Area Review inspects and makes overall judgements about the combined impact of local services for children and young people aged 0 to 19 years. It evaluates and reports on the extent to which services within an area bring about and improve the well-being of children and young people

The JAR judges the extent to which local services work together to:

• improve outcomes for children and young people
• protect the most vulnerable
• respond to the views of users - parents/carers
• encourage the involvement of children and young people
• use self-evaluation to accurately identify their strengths and areas for future development

The JAR inspection team, made up of inspectors from Ofsted, CSCI, ALI, the Audit Commission and other such bodies, meets with a wide range of young people, parents, carers, decision makers and other stakeholders during the inspection, as well as front-line staff and managers.

Key documents

• Barnsley JAR - Full Report
• Barnsley JAR - Report for Children and Young People
• Barnsley JAR - Summary
• Barnsley JAR Self Assessment