Barry started as a social worker in 1980. He worked in mental health and child care in Kent, London and Bristol and spent many years in practice teaching and staff training positions throughout Avon before joining the Open University in 2004. He has published widely on social work practice and continuing professional development and co-edited Best Practice in Social Work: Critical Perspectives (2008) with Karen Jones and Harry Ferguson in the first volume to take a Critical Best Practice perspective to social work. Barry recently worked as academic lead and social work consultant with the BBC on a TV series, Protecting Our Children, examining child care social work with Bristol City Council.