Almost half of the schools in Central Bedfordshire are academies. This means that they are run by a trust and are responsible for their own school performance and improvement.
Central Bedfordshire has historically been a three-tier school system, where children move between lower, middle and upper schools. However, this has been changing more recently as more than 50% of schools in Central Bedfordshire have changed the age range they cater for, effectively becoming a primary or secondary school. This is where children move schools only once.
Mixture of schools is confusing
This mixture of schools be confusing for parents in Central Bedfordshire, while schools in neighbouring areas operate within a primary/secondary model, so there are children who cross council borders to attend schools.
Also, uncoordinated changes can create problems for other schools in the local area. This is because schools are allocated their funding based on the number of pupils they have. There is a point at which schools with too few pupils and inadequate funding can become at risk of closure. No-one wants that to happen.
To mitigate this, there is an acknowledgement by schools and Central Bedfordshire Council that greater coordination of any future changes is needed.
Already, a clear majority of schools in Central Bedfordshire have either:
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already converted to the primary/secondary school model
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want to change their age range to this model and are open to exploring a change to a primary/secondary or an extended secondary model
The simplified pathway of the primary/secondary model of education provides greater clarity for both pupils and the schools.