Looked after children placed in Central Bedfordshire by other local authorities
There are a number of looked after children placed in Central Bedfordshire by other local authorities.
The information below outlines the resources available to children and young people in care, who may be placed in our area by other local authorities, including children placed for adoption.
About Central Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is located 60 miles north of London and 80 miles south of Birmingham, with excellent road and rail connections to both.
The population per the 2011 Census was 254,000 and comprised 228,000 (90%) white British. The next largest ethnic group was white other which accounted for 10,500 (4%) of the population. Of the total population 56,350, (22.2%) were children and young people aged 0-18.
Notifications
When your authority places a looked after child in Central Bedfordshire, notifications should be sent to conferenceandreviewdutydesk@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk. Any change of address and notifications of children leaving Central Bedfordshire should also be sent to this email address so we can update our records.
Please ensure that notifications highlight any particular risks or vulnerabilities to assist us to respond effectively to any issues that might arise.
If you need to contact Central Bedfordshire Children’s Services to make a referral, please call the Access and Referral Team.
Telephone: 0300 300 8585 (for emergencies, outside office hours call 0300 300 8123)
Email: accessreferral@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk
School admissions
One of the factors most likely to disadvantage young people in care is the school time they may lose by being out of school, so securing a suitable place must be a priority. Central Bedfordshire is an admissions authority for all community and voluntary controlled schools. The governing bodies of academies, foundation schools and voluntary aided schools are the admissions at these schools
Central Bedfordshire’s Virtual School
The Virtual School is part of the School Improvement Service within Children’s Services. It promotes the educational achievement of looked-after children aged 2 to 18 years ensuring they have high aspirations and reach their full potential by:
- promoting high aspirations and raising achievement through challenge, support and targeting intervention
- ensuring that looked-after children access high-quality learning, which meets their needs in a timely manner
- working closely with all those, directly and indirectly, providing education and support working together proactively to respond to and overcome them
- promoting equality and diversity
The Virtual School works closely with admissions, to ensure that we are consulted where additional support may be needed to secure a school/college place.
Contact The Virtual School
Jaqui Bunker-Dare
Telephone: 0300 300 5697
Email: virtualschoolhead@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk
Information, advice and guidance
The child’s school is responsible for ensuring they have access to impartial careers advice and guidance. The young person or their social worker should speak to the school in the first instance. The Careers Service trades with all Central Bedfordshire secondary schools and provides them with careers advisers, who can see the young person and produce for them a careers action plan which would outline their options. We would also offer any young person resident in Central Bedfordshire the same facility. The young person or their social worker just needs to contact us to make an appointment.
Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND)
We promote a graduated approach to the identification and support of children and young people with SEN and disability. It has coproduced SEND guidance documents for children and young people 0 – 25 who attend early years settings, schools, colleges or other educational establishments. These documents can be found by visiting the Local Offer
We provide a range of services that work with schools and early years settings to help meet the needs of children and young people with SEN and disability. These include services to support children and young people with hearing impairment, visual impairment, autistic spectrum conditions and social-emotional and mental health difficulties. It also includes early years specialist support, educational psychology and special school outreach.
For those children and young people with a statement or EHC plan, the SEND Support Team is responsible for coordinating placement within the local authority. The team is also responsible for monitoring and reviewing statements and EHC plans, as well as managing EHC needs requests. To contact the team email statass@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk or telephone 0300 300 4768 / 5533.
We have a range of specialist provision for children and young people with statements and EHC plans. These include 2 area special schools, a school for pupils with moderate learning difficulties and a school for pupils with social, emotional and mental health. In addition, there are specialist provisions in some mainstream schools to support children with speech and language needs, hearing impairment, autistic spectrum conditions and social, emotional and mental health.
CBC SEND Parent and Young Person Partnership Service
CBC Special Educational Needs and Disability Parent and Young Person Partnership Service is a statutory service who work at arm’s length from the authority and offer a free confidential support service for parents and carers of children with special educational needs.
Free Early Education for 3 and 4-year-olds
Every child, regardless of their background or family circumstances, is entitled to receive 570 hours per year of free early year’s education from the term following their 3rd birthday. The 570-hour entitlement equates to 15 hours per week for 38 weeks (usually term time) of the year, or if you prefer, many childcare providers are able to ‘stretch’ the entitlement by offering fewer hours over more weeks (for example – 12 hours per week for 48 weeks of the year) Early education can be accessed at a variety of local day nurseries, playgroups, child-minders and maintained nursery schools and classes.
The Central Bedfordshire Family Information Service holds up-to-date details about local childcare, including approved early education providers.
Contact Central Bedfordshire Council Family Information Service
Telephone: 0300 300 8585
Email: fyis@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk
Children’s Centres
There are 9 Children’s Centres across Central Bedfordshire offering a range of activities and support including adult and child activities, home learning, family support outreach, community events, volunteering, family health, antenatal as well as a range of additional activities and events.
Child Sexual Exploitation
Bedfordshire Police has a child sexual exploitation team that coordinates work to prevent exploitation, gather intelligence, and investigate cases where Child Sexual Exploitation is suspected.
Refer a child to children's services
Children in Care Sufficiency Strategy and Plan 2022 to 2027
Read the Children in Care Sufficiency Strategy and Plan 2022 - 2027.