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SEND in Central Bedfordshire

Everything parents of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) need to know about Central Bedfordshire — the Local Offer, EHCP timeliness, tribunal stats, and all 135 schools with their SEN provision.

OFFICIAL LOCAL OFFER
Central Bedfordshire's SEND Local Offer
Services, support, education, health and social care for 0–25s with SEND
Visit Local Offer →

EHCP Timeliness

DfE 2024 data (June 2025 release)
Issued within 20 weeks48.8%
National average: 46.4%
Based on 649 new EHCPs issued in 2024.
Councils must issue new EHCPs within 20 weeks of the request. Exceptions exist but many delays don't qualify.

EHCP Assessment Requests

DfE 2024 data (June 2025 release)
Requests received
944
Refused (no assessment)
300
Refusal rate31.8%
National: 25.5%
Lower is better. Refused requests can be appealed to the SEND tribunal — and ~98% of cases heard find in the parent's favour.

SEND Tribunal

Appeals against LA decisions
Tribunal data not yet imported for Central Bedfordshire.
Source: DfE EES ↗

Annual Review Decisions

DfE 2025 release (2024 calendar year) · First published this year
Review decisions within 4 weeks50.8%
National: 44.4%
Based on 3,145 review meetings held in 2024. 133 expected reviews were not held.
After an annual review meeting, LAs must notify parents of the decision (amend, maintain or cease) within 4 weeks. This data was published for the first time in June 2025.

SEN Population

Pupils across all schools in this LA
Live EHCPs maintained (2024/25)
Total EHCPs in force across the LA
4,035
EHCP pupils (rolled up from schools)
6.8% of pupils · Nat avg: 4.8%
3,289
SEN Support (no EHCP)
18.4% of pupils · Nat avg: 13.6%
8,929
Total pupils
48,649

SEN Provision in Central Bedfordshire

Schools with specialist support
Special schools
Dedicated SEN schools
5
With SEN units
Mainstream schools with a dedicated SEN unit
4
With resourced provision
Specialist places within mainstream schools
14
Open SEN Finder →

Primary Needs of EHCP Pupils in Central Bedfordshire

DfE 2024/25 data (June 2025 release)
Most common need in Central Bedfordshire
Speech Language & Communication— 35.9% of EHCPs
Speech Language & Communication35.9%
Social Emotional & Mental Health30.6%
Autism19.8%
Moderate Learning Difficulties5.8%
Specific Learning Difficulties3.8%
Physical Disability2.2%
Profound & Multiple LD0.7%
Severe Learning Difficulties0.3%
Hearing Impairment0.3%
Visual Impairment0.3%
Multi-Sensory Impairment0.1%
The primary need is the main reason the EHCP was issued. Many children have co-occurring needs. ASD is the most common primary need nationally.

Schools with SEN provision in Central Bedfordshire

22 schools — special schools, SEN units, and resourced provision
Samuel Whitbread Academy
Resourced· Good
Lancot School
Resourced· Good
Parkfields Middle School
Resourced· Good
Claystone School
Special
Harlington Upper School
Resourced· Good
Stratton School
Resourced
Manshead Church of England Academy
SEN Unit· Good
Heathwood Lower School
Resourced· Good
St Andrew's CofE VC Primary School
Resourced· Good
St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School
SEN Unit· Good
Ramsey Manor Lower School
Resourced
Stannard School
Special
Silsoe CofE VC Lower School
SEN UnitResourced· Good
The Rushmere Park Academy
Resourced· Good
Esland Bedford School
Special
Shefford Lower School
Resourced· Good
Ivel Valley School & College
Special· Good
The Chiltern School
Special· Good
Brooklands Middle School
SEN Unit· Good
Toddington St George Church of England School
Resourced· Good
Arnold Academy
Resourced· Good
Oak Bank School
Resourced· Good

Helpful resources

EHCP Guide →
What an EHCP is, how to apply, appeal process
Annual Review Tracker →
Timeline and stages of EHCP annual reviews
Choosing a SEN School →
Practical guide for SEN parents
Our SEN Methodology →
How we calculate SEN Experience Indicator
DATA SOURCES
School-level SEN data: DfE Education Health and Care plans release + GIAS. LA-level stats: DfE EES + HMCTS SENDIST. Local Offer: Central Bedfordshire Council. National benchmarks are most-recent published values. Last updated: 20 April 2026.