I recently became a grandfather again, and it’s absolutely wonderful.

More so because the birth was complex and challenging. I cannot thank the staff at Barnsley Hospital enough.

It brings a whole new perspective and once again makes me think about our young people in Barnsley and their futures.

It’s often said we want our children to do better than we have, and that applies to our grandchildren even more.

So, what does doing better mean? Of course, that is different for every child, but some basic things underpin it.

A good education. It’s hard to find good employment and a career without it.

Good health. Our health underpins everything, and without it, doors close very quickly.

A good home. A roof over our head is the least we need. It affects our health and our ability to progress in other areas of life.

Good employment. Again, we can’t pay the bills without it, and without a career or work progression, our ambitions to do better soon disappear.

We’ve accomplished a great deal in recent years to create both, and we’re not done yet. We still need to do more to ensure our young people don’t miss out.

Education in Barnsley is now overall as good as it has ever been. We’re giving our young people better opportunities.

However, our children and young people grow up in a variety of different circumstances. Schools alone won’t get us where we need to be. There are 168 hours in a week, and our children and young people are in school for 30 hours if they aren’t on holiday. The bulk of their learning takes place in their community and at home.

The challenge is to help that part of their growing up to be as good as possible. To enrich their experiences, build their confidence, support their education, and prepare them for work.

It begins with early years support, then expands their experiences in school, helping them achieve in their exams and other learning, ultimately preparing them for work readiness.

We’ve increasingly invested in Barnsley’s physical future, and now our Great Childhoods Ambition aims to invest in our children and young people.

Working with our partners, we want our new Youth Zone, Base 71, to reach as many people as possible.

We want all our primary schools to expand the Children’s University’s offer of learning outside school hours.

We want to help our children develop their GCSE core skills in Maths, English, and Digital - skills that are essential in life, both generally and at work. We want our young people to understand the world of work and be ready for it. We want to provide them with a broader range of experiences in art, music, sports, culture, and other opportunities. These things shape young minds and build better futures.

We won’t be able to do it all at once. We’ll have to build up those programmes over time. But we will make a start.

We’re providing free bus travel to under-18s who live in Barnsley to help them access new opportunities. We’ll support families with reimbursements to cover the cost of school uniforms and provide support kits for Year 11 students, helping over 37,000 children and young people.

The entire community can benefit from this. Some families have access to knowledge, resources and skills, and they pass these on to their children, who inevitably succeed as a result. We want all of them to have those opportunities. We want every child to reach their full potential.