Celebrating what we've achieved so far with our Better Lives programme

We all want to live in the place we call home with the people we love, doing the things that matter most to us. That’s the social care future we seek.

Our Better Lives programme is helping to bring this future to life in Barnsley. We're refocusing our vision for Adult Social Care to place the people we support at the heart of everything we do.

Over the past two years, our Adult Social Care teams have achieved some great things to continue improving the way we support you, including:

• Making sure that your first contact with us helps you to stay independent and well. This is thanks to our Front Door team, getting support to you sooner.
• Working hard to support people in their own homes with our 'Home First' approach. This helps us to reduce admissions to residential care homes by 22%.
• Launching our Reablement Community Pathway. The pathway helps more people regain their independence and confidence, reducing their need for longer-term care.
• Leading South Yorkshire’s local supported employment scheme, helping people with learning disabilities or autism to get started in the workplace.

We’re really excited about what our teams are working on. We want to take you on this journey with us. Over the summer, you’ll be hearing more from the staff key to delivering these great achievements for you, our communities.

Keep an eye on our Better Lives blog to learn more about:

• What we’ve achieved so far.
• What we’re currently working on.
• How you'll achieve more with our support.

Our social work teams give national leaders plenty of reasons to celebrate

Earlier this month, we hosted our second-annual Social Work Teams celebration event. This brought colleagues across Adult Social Care together to celebrate everything they’ve achieved this year.

It was a brilliant afternoon and a great way to thank our teams for everything they do in our communities. Our thank you card summed it up perfectly – ‘Every day, you help people get the best care when they need it and continue doing the things that matter most to them’.

The event was also a chance to recognise some of the remarkable achievements and successes we’ve enjoyed in Adult Social Care over the past year. From colleagues earning new qualifications to bringing more awards success back to Barnsley. There was a lot to celebrate, and we had some very special guests joining in the festivities.

We were joined by Sarah Norman, our Chief Executive, Lyn Romeo, Chief Social Worker for Adults at the Department of Health and Social Care, and Maris Stratulis, National Director for the British Association of Social Workers.

It was great to show them the great things we’ve achieved and where we’re heading in Adult Social Care.  We also got to show our new Adult Social Care and Wellbeing Practice Framework.

Designed to help everyone in our teams be the best they can be, I’m really excited about what our Practice Framework will mean for the way we work. It will help us create more chances for everyone to continue learning and embed a strengths-based approach to our work to help us achieve the best outcomes for you, our residents.

Developing our plans for the future of Adult Social Care in Barnsley

Over the summer, it’s been great to see our teams coming together to reflect and connect at our Adult Social Care staff engagement sessions. There’s lots of great work happening which we couldn’t wait to update our services on, sparking interesting conversations about the future.

Wendy Lowder, our executive director, gave staff a glimpse into what our new Adult Social Care Strategy could look like. Feedback from our teams will be invaluable in helping us to make sure we’re getting our priorities right for our communities.

Sarah Norman, our Chief Executive, also popped by to introduce teams to our new council plan, laying out our vision for making Barnsley the place of possibilities. Her visit gave staff a chance to reflect on the great work happening every day in Adult Social Care in Barnsley.

This includes our award-winning Supported Employment service, which took home this year’s LGC Award for its innovative approach to economic development.

Throughout the sessions, we also looked at:

• Our new Adult Social Care Workforce Plan. Made by colleagues across the council, this plan looks at how we make sure we have a thriving, skilled social care workforce in Barnsley. You can learn more about our Workforce Plan on our workforce plan webpage.
• How we’re getting ready for our Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection when the time comes. This includes how our teams can get involved and our self-assessment.
• Our Market Position Statement and Market Shaping Plan. These plans will help us create and maintain a thriving, sustainable independent care market for our residents.

These are just some of the great things happening in Adult Social Care in Barnsley, helping us to create the social care future we all want to see. One where everyone is able to continue living in the places they call home, surrounded by the people they love.