Central Bedfordshire Council news and press releases

SEND consultation relaunches

Thursday, 15 April 2021

Consultation relaunches on changes to the educational support and provision for children and young people identified with SEND.

We have relaunched a consultation on proposed changes to special schools and additional resource provisions within mainstream schools, to support children and young people identified with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

This is part of Schools for the Future programme, which is a long-term plan to raise education standards and make sure Central Bedfordshire area has the right schools, in the right places, delivering the best education.

The consultation, which was originally launched in February, proposes to:

  • increase places across the four special schools in the area: The Chiltern School, Ivel Valley School, Oak Bank School and Weatherfield Academy
  • increase additional SEND places in mainstream schools – known as additional resource provision
  • include multi-use/nurture spaces within mainstream schools, where there is space to do so.

Following feedback from a participating parent, a decision was made to pause the consultation last month. We have used the time to work with SNAP Parent Carer Forum in revising the consultation and making the supporting information simpler to read and clearer to understand.

Councillor Sue Clark, Central Bedfordshire Council’s Executive Member for Families, Education and Children, said:

We’re committed to getting these exciting proposals right for families of children and young people identified with SEND, so we were grateful for the feedback from parents. We have listened to this and taken the opportunity to work with SNAP Parent Carer Forum to revise the consultation with the aim of achieving the most valuable feedback possible on the proposals.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused to those who that took the time to respond to the original consultation. While we will analyse and consider those comments, we would encourage those who have already participated to resubmit their views on the revised consultation, so that they can be properly represented.

The consultation is open for 12 weeks until July 8.

Further information, including how to have your say is available on the Schools for the Future website.