Welcome to the Autumn edition of SEND Matters.

It is amazing how quickly this school half term has gone – the change from the light evenings of summer to autumn seems to have happened really suddenly, and the clocks go back shortly too! The daily changes to the colour of the trees and the variety of weather make it my favourite time of year.

In this SEND Matters there is lots of information about current activities for children and families, and a review of our Summer of SEND. It has been amazing to see the variety of new opportunities created locally, and the plans we have for half term and beyond. However, we always want more ideas and more options – please contact the Local Offer if you have an idea for a new activity or would like to get involved.

This term we have seen almost all pupils return to school – the attendance in schools in Bedford Borough remains above the national average (as it has throughout the last two years).

I strongly believe that the children in Bedford Borough have been brilliantly supported by families, schools and other professionals to return to learning, and seeing friends in schools. It has been wonderful to hear so many positive stories of how children have settled back into school so successfully. However, I totally understand that the return to school can be challenging – for any children or families that have concerns about returning, please speak to your school or one of the Council’s different support networks via the Local Offer – we can help overcome any barriers together.

Lastly, this term we have finally started the formal design stage for the new Special School in Bedford Borough. The Council has been working with the Bedford Borough Parent Carer Forum, Bedford Inclusive Learning and Teaching Trust (BILTT) and Wates (the designers and builders) to look at different design options
for the new school. There is still a long way to go but we have started a very exciting journey together.

Best wishes,

Ben

Ben Pearson

Chief Officer for Education, SEND and School Infrastructure

Bedford Borough Inclusive Play Parks

The Council are working with the Bedford Borough Parent carer Forum to provide funding to help build a permanent, inclusive and fully accessible outdoor play area. The play area will include specially adapted equipment that can be used by people who have a special educational need or disability and their families.

To find out more, see the full edition of SEND Matters.

Summer of SEND

We have been blown away by the response we saw throughout the 3 months. We have had well over 500 different practitioners attend training or webinars put on, over 250 parents engage in various parent carer sessions and over 30000 visitors to our Local Offer website.

To read more about the success of Summer of SEND see the full edition of SEND Matters.