Joint Area Review - useful documents

Framework of Key Judgements used in the JAR [34KB]
The scope of joint area reviews is defined by 36 key judgements on how services contribute to outcomes for children and young people and four judgement areas in service management. Coverage of the key judgements will be differentiated and proportionate and they will not all be covered, or in the same way, in each review. Investigations into safeguarding, looked after children and those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities will always be covered, drawing on the relevant key judgements. A handy grid of the framework of key judgements is provided.

Detail of Key Judgements used in the JAR [383KB]
Joint area reviews aim to judge the contribution which services make to the well-being of children and young people. Well-being is defined in terms of the five outcomes of: being healthy; staying safe; enjoying and achieving; making a positive contribution; and achieving economic well-being. This document sets out the key judgements used by JAR inspectors about the contributions which services make to those outcomes.

The scope of each key judgement is described by illustrations of the evidence which will be used to make a judgement. These are framed in a way which enables it to be applied to a range of services, as partnership working. Take note that some of the indicator evidence may no longer be available. Also the grading aspects of the JAR included in this document have been superseded by the “Grade Descriptions used in the JAR” document since 2007 as some grades are now awarded only through the Annual Performance Assessment and not the JAR.

Grade Descriptions used in the JAR [293KB]
Five judgements are graded using a four-point scale from Grade 1 (inadequate) to Grade 4 (outstanding) with detailed criteria for each.

Graded judgements are made on the collective contribution of all services to the outcomes achieved by each group of children and young people. Judgements will be made on:

• safeguarding
• looked after children
• children and young people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities

Graded judgements will also be made on the collective contribution of all services to service management and on the collective capacity of services to improve. These judgements will take account of their contribution to improving outcomes for children and young people, as well as their track record in service management. The grades are made on a “best fit” basis to the criteria shown in the document.

Range of briefings used by JAR inspectors [25KB]
A key piece of evidence that will be used for the JAR is the review of the Children and Young People’s Plan which details an assessment of impact, progress and improvement by the Nottinghamshire Partnership.  The 2007 Annual Performance Assessment is also used, especially to determine our additional areas for investigation.  However all inspectorates and commissions also contribute to the compilation of information for reviews from existing inspection findings and performance data including inspections of schools and children’s homes. These contributions are listed in the table.

Timeline for the CPA and JAR [98KB]
The Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) and the Joint Area Review (JAR) focus on similar and contrasting aspects of services provided for local people:

The CPA examines how the council is working corporately, and with its partners, to improve services and deliver improved outcomes for local people.

As part of its judgement on a council’s achievement, corporate assessment reports on the contribution of the council to the quality of outcomes for children and young people. The joint area review provides the judgements for this aspect of the assessment.

The JAR focuses primarily on the most vulnerable children and young people and use the most recent annual performance assessment (APA) as a starting point for the inspection. Joint area reviews cover publicly-funded services for children and young people in the local area, including those that are directly managed or commissioned by the council, as well as services provided by health and youth justice services. The JAR evaluates how well all services, when taken together, improve the well-being of children and young people in a local area.

Because these two processes have many overlaps the timeline of activities is closely related.

Ofsted initial briefing presentation [115KB]
Joint area reviews are carried out through a programme to ensure each upper tier local authority area is covered by such an inspection from 2005 to 2008. The JARs are organised into blocks of authorities for administrative purposes and each block is subject to changes in procedure. Usually these are minor changes but a major change affected all authorities from block 12.

Each of the authorities in a block is invited to a briefing by Ofsted that covers the changes that apply. Nottinghamshire is in block 19 and the PowerPoint presentation of the Ofsted briefing provided in January 2008.

JAR frequently asked questions [27KB]