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 0–25s with SEND
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Ofsted rating: Bedford's children's services are currently rated Requires improvement. This means Ofsted has concerns about some services for children. It does not directly reflect SEND support, but SEND provision is often scrutinised in separate Area SEND inspections.
Latest DfE data (2024)
Issued within 20 weeks73.0%
National average: 45.9%
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.
DfE requests data (2024)
Refusal rate32.3%
National: 25.2%
Lower is better. Refused requests can be appealed to the SEND tribunal — and ~98% of cases heard find in the parent's favour.
Appeals against LA decisions
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)
4.7% of pupils · Nat avg: 4.8%
1,664
SEN Support (no EHCP)
12.0% of pupils · Nat avg: 13.6%
4,266
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
Primary Needs of EHCP Pupils in Bedford
DfE data (2024/25)
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%
Specific Learning Difficulties2%
Severe Learning Difficulties0.3%
Profound & Multiple LD0.3%
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
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.