Home›SEND›Bedford

SEND in Bedford

Everything parents of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) need to know about Bedford: the Local Offer, EHCP timeliness, tribunal stats, and all 85 schools with their SEN provision.

OFFICIAL LOCAL OFFER
Bedford's SEND Local Offer
Services, support, education, health and social care for children and young people with SEND (birth to age 25)
Visit Local Offer →
Ofsted rating: Bedford's children's services were rated Requires improvement at their last full inspection in August 2025. This rating covers children's social care, not SEND support directly, though SEND provision is scrutinised in separate Area SEND inspections. Note: Ofsted is phasing out headline children's services ratings from April 2026.

EHCP Timeliness

DfE 2024 data (June 2025 release)
Issued within 20 weeks74.2%
National average: 46.4%
Based on 355 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
473
Refused (no assessment)
153
Refusal rate32.3%
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

DfE 2024 data (June 2025 release)
Appeals registered
26
Appeal rate
National mean: 2.8%
1.1%
Appealable decisions
2,330
Parent wins at hearing
National estimate (HMCTS)
~98%
Parents win the vast majority of SEND tribunal cases at hearing. If your EHCP request is refused, appealing is often worth pursuing. A high appeal rate may indicate contested decisions locally.

Annual Review Decisions

DfE 2025 release (2024 calendar year) · First published this year
Review decisions within 4 weeks18.0%
National: 44.4%
Based on 1,728 review meetings held in 2024. 73 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
2,170
EHCP pupils (rolled up from schools)
0
SEN Support (no EHCP)
0
Total pupils
35,480

SEN Provision in Bedford

Schools with specialist support
Special schools
Dedicated SEN schools
2
With SEN units
Mainstream schools with a dedicated SEN unit
3
With resourced provision
Specialist places within mainstream schools
4
Open SEN Finder →

Primary Needs of EHCP Pupils in Bedford

DfE 2024/25 data (June 2025 release)
Most common need in Bedford
Moderate Learning Difficulties, 26.5% of EHCPs
Moderate Learning Difficulties26.5%
Speech Language & Communication24.6%
Social Emotional & Mental Health22.1%
Autism20.9%
Physical Disability2.5%
Specific Learning Difficulties2%
Hearing Impairment0.6%
Severe Learning Difficulties0.3%
Profound & Multiple LD0.3%
Visual Impairment0.3%
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 Bedford

8 schools, special schools, SEN units, and resourced provision
Kempston Academy
SEN UnitResourced
Goldington Green Academy
Resourced
Ridgeway School
Special· Good
Lincroft Academy
Resourced
Cambian Walnut Tree Lodge School
Special
Rivertree Free School
SEN Unit
Grange Academy
SEN Unit· Good
Mark Rutherford School
Resourced· Requires Improvement

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: Bedford Council. National benchmarks are most-recent published values. Last updated: 20 April 2026.