Latest News
NEW COMMUNITY STRATEGY FOR BARNSLEY 2011 - 2015
The new Community Strategy for Barnsley 2011 - 2015 was approved by One Barnsley Board at its meeting on 14 September 2011. This document which sets out the high level priorities that One Barnsley partners will work on together over the next 4 years has been developed by One Barnsley in response to the major financial and policy changes that have been taking place nationally.
The new Strategy builds on a history of strong partnership working in Barnsley. It also builds on the progress that has already been made towards achieving the long-term vision for the Borough as "a successful, uniquely distinctive 21st century market town that offers prosperity and a high quality of life for all"
All One Barnsley partners are committed to delivering the Community Strategy for Barnsley 2011 - 2015, and have agreed the following principles:
Partnership working is even more important now than ever before;
One Barnsley will focus on the things it can do better together;
The Strategy outlines a number of things that partners will work jointly on over the next 4 years. The Strategy can be found under the LATEST DOCUMENTS section or at http://www.barnsley.gov.uk/communitystrategy
For further information contact Carol Brady on 01226 773901
CHANGES TO ONE BARNSLEY
Significant changes to One Barnsley, its structure and its membership have taken place since April 2011.
These changes will be reflected in a fully updated One Barnsley website that will be available in December 2011.
If you require information about One Barnsley before then, please contact:
Carol Brady, Partnership & Policy Officer at carolbrady@barnsley.gov.uk or
Pam Lee, Performance and Partnership Support Officer at pamlee@barnsley.gov.uk
2011 Census
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) carries out a census to find out more about the people who live in England and Wales and about the make-up of local neighbourhoods.
The next census will take place on 27 March 2011. ONS will be sending out questionnaires for around 25 million households to complete, asking about work, health, national identity, citizenship, ethnic background, education, second homes, language, marital status and so on.
The following links provide more information:
2011 Census
2011 Census Information
Use it or lose it! Microsoft voucher scheme
PEOPLE living or working in Barnsley have until the end of this month to apply for free vouchers to access training in software packages such as Microsoft PowerPoint, Word and Excel.
Available at essential, business and technical levels, the Microsoft accredited training can be delivered in a wide range of settings across the borough, including lifelong learning and further education centres, in the workplace, and at home.
The opportunity for local people to improve their computer skills arose when Barnsley Council won a national competition organised by software giant Microsoft. Since then, more than 600 residents and employees in Barnsley have undertaken training to make their businesses more competitive, improve their personal CVs and improve their job prospects. The scheme also gives people the chance to gain accreditation through exams in IT skills.
Shaun Wilders of local IT company Cultrix commented “Microsoft certification is essential for any IT company but keeping it means our technicians have to regularly attend training and sit exams. This can be very expensive so the free Microsoft vouchers were not only appreciated by our accountant, but Cultrix engineers took the opportunity to register for as many of the modules as they could rather than only the essentials that they’d previously been restricted to. Anyone in this sector who needs Microsoft certification would be stupid to pass up on this great opportunity to save some money and get some good quality accreditations for their staff and company.”
To find out more about Microsoft-accredited training in Barnsley simply contact your nearest lifelong learning centre. Students at Barnsley College, University Campus Barnsley, Northern College, Priory Campus and Dearne College should ask about vouchers at their IT suite.
If you would like to undertake the training at home visit www.microsoft.com/uk/britainworks The voucher code for the Essential level training is 6112-BWWOBAR-0707 For those who want to do business level training the voucher code is 7380-BWBWBAR-5829
Alternatively, call (01226) 773934 for more information. Offers ends Tuesday 30 November
A day in the life of Barnsley - Portrait Barnsley
People across the borough are being urged to get snap happy by joining in a special photographic event on Friday, 24 September.
Portrait Barnsley is being supported by Barnsley Council and news website wearebarnsley.com and aims to get as many people as possible to take pictures of their families, friends and colleagues, at home, work or play.
The day-long event will run from 10am to 9pm and people can send in their photos in a number of ways:
• Directly from a computer onto the website: wearebarnsley.com – simply follow the online instructions,
• Via email by sending attachments to portraitbarnsley@wearebarnsley.com making the subject ‘WAB’ and including a name and caption,
• Via MMS message by texting ‘WAB’ to 88833, attaching a photo, name and caption.
Many of the photos will be displayed on a big screen at the Continental Market in Barnsley town centre, where live bands will also be performing throughout the day.
The photos will be collected and archived by the council’s archive service and will become a valuable resource for the future.
It’s hoped that as many people as possible take part. Already signed up are “GR8 M8S” youth club, Thurnscoe, St Michael and All Angels Primary School, Wombwell and South Yorkshire Police.
For more information, please contact Helen Knox, 01226 773405.
Portrait Barnsley - a snapshot of life
On Friday 24th September a photographic event will take place supported by One Barnsley and www.wearebarnsley.com throughout the borough.
Our aim is to get as many people as possible to take pictures of their families, friends and colleagues, at home at work and play.
The photos will be collated and archived by the borough's archive service to provide a major resource in the future. We hope as many of you take part as possible.
Once you have taken your photo, you can upload them in 3 ways:
1) Directly from your computer to www.wearebarnsley.com and follow the instructions.
2) Via email attachment to portraitbarnsley@wearebarnsley.com (please remember your name and caption).
3) Via MMS message text 'WAB' to 88833 (please remember your name and caption).
On your marks, get set for Friday 24th September.
Free Microsoft training saves Barnsley business £3000 training costs
Business man, Andy Chesterton of Barnsley IT firm Praxsoft, has saved over £3,000 in computer training for his staff thanks to the Microsoft training vouchers Barnsley Council won.
Andy’s business is expanding and he has been able to take on two new members of staff. Andy said: “This is great for us as it allows me to train up 2 new starters to the respected Microsoft Certified IT Professional level, and gain some upgraded technical training which we would probably never have done for staff who did their training some years ago, all at no cost to my business“.
He added: “Proper understanding of these applications increases efficiency and reduces stress in the workplace. The vouchers that Barnsley Council has won are an opportunity that should not be missed.”
The vouchers must be activated by the end of November 2010. If you would like to follow Andy’s example and take advantage of this offer, please phone 01226 773405. This scheme is available to anyone living or working in Barnsley.
Free Microsoft Training for the borough
Barnsley was specially selected as one of three towns in Britain to receive £5 million worth of Microsoft training vouchers after it won second prize in the IT giant's "Britain Works Challenge", which encourages local authorities to devise effective programmes to address unemployment and availability of digital skills in the local community. The successful bid for the Microsoft training vouchers was put together by Barnsley Council.
Martin Cantor, principal officer at Barnsley Council, said: "Microsoft's Britain Works challenge is a superb initiative that will help transform our economy. The training vouchers are available to anyone in the borough who wants to get basic Microsoft training for free. Thousands more can also get more advanced training."
Click here to find out how you can get involved.
Getting Your Facts Straight - One Barnsley Research Conference
The first Barnsley Research Conference was held on 19th March 2010. Copies of the presentations can be downloaded here....
Issues Surrounding Asylum and Migration: a briefing note
A Briefing Document has been produced by the EDIP Cohesion Working Group regarding the Issues Surrounding Migration and Asylum
read more..
Joint Strategic Needs Assessment
The Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) identifies "the big picture" issues around health and well being for people in Barnsley. It pulls together into one place all the best available information regarding assessment of the current and future health and well-being needs of the Barnsley population.
The concept of a JSNA has been introduced in the recent Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill. It is an important part of the new duty to collaborate for local authorities and primary care trusts (PCTs). Whilst recognising the important thrust of Government policy towards personalised services and care, the JSNA is a tool to identify groups whose needs are not being met and who are experiencing poor outcomes.
To read the report please click here
Act on Climate Change
Take the One Barnsley pledge to combat climate change read more..
Free Financial Training
Do you come into contact with people facing financial difficulties? Click here for free training opportunity.
Credit Crunch Advice
This leaflet is aimed at supporting people with issues such as debt, finding affordable credit, dealing with loan sharks, getting benefit advice, finding a new job or getting emotional support and counselling. Read more...
Looking Ahead - Our vision for Barnsley
After much planning and consultation One Barnsley has compiled its vision for the future of Barnsley until 2020. The 'LOOKING AHEAD - Our vision for Barnsley' leaflet can be accessed here as well as in many information centres around Barnsley. It explains the ambitions we have for Barnsley and what we are going to do to help achieve them. The full document is called the Sustainable Community Strategy and can be accessed here
Barnsley's Local Area Agreement 2008 - 2011
Barnsley's ambitious new-style Local Area Agreement (LAA) has been signed off by Hazel Blears, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. The new-style LAA heralds a new relationship between central and local government and partnership working with others to deliver local improvement priorities over the next three years. It can be found HERE
