Bedfordshire

The school transport system in Central Bedfordshire is “an absolute mess and needs reviewing”, according to a local councillor.

Central Bedfordshire Council’s Employment and Skills Academy has been rated ‘good’ by Ofsted after an inspection in July.

A man from Bedford has become the first British Sikh to receive the highest honour given by Cranfield University in its 78-years history.

Refurbishment works at Bedford’s Jubilee Park Skatepark are complete.

At a celebration event, staff from our Public Health and Learning Development teams presented the awards to the settings. They have all been involved in the pre-school emotional health and wellbeing project, which aims to support the mental health, wellbeing and resilience of children in Central Bedfordshire.

The ‘Healthy Child, Healthy Workforce’ Quality Standard Accreditation evidences a setting's commitment to the emotional and mental health and wellbeing of its children and workforce, and to creating a nurturing environment where children can thrive. To become accredited, settings complete a self-assessment to demonstrate how they meet eight standards that we have developed. The setting is then visited to quality assure the self-assessment.

At the event, 2 of the 8 professionals who have successfully completed the Level 4 qualification in Early Years Emotional Wellbeing, which we part fund, were also presented with certificates. 

Cllr Steve Owen, Executive Member for Children’s Services, said:

The early years have a huge role to play in creating a foundation for good mental health in the future. Children who have good mental health are more likely to succeed in school, build healthy relationships and grow into well-adjusted adults. By focusing on the mental health and wellbeing of children in their early years, we support them to have a healthier, happier future where they are better equipped to handle life’s ups and downs and contribute positively to their communities. The celebration event not only acknowledges the hard work and dedication of those involved in our project, but also reinforces our ongoing commitment to improving the emotional health and wellbeing of preschool children.

As well as partly funding the Level 4 qualification in Early Years Emotional Wellbeing and developing the ‘Healthy Child, Healthy Workforce’ accreditation, we are delivering Parenting Puzzle courses across our children’s centres to help parents build strategies to reduce the stress of parenting and support their child's emotional wellbeing. We have also developed e-learning and training aimed at early years practitioners.

Ofsted inspected the Bedfordshire Employment and Skills Academy (BESA) over 4 days, and the service was rated ‘good’ in 6 categories resulting in an overall ‘good’ rating. Inspectors looked at: the quality of the education provided, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, adult learning programmes and apprenticeships.

The report highlighted a supportive learning environment, with inspectors saying:

Learners and apprentices develop positive relationships with staff and benefit from a culture where the principles of equality and diversity are nurtured. They feel highly valued and supported.

It also praised BESA’s leadership and the variety of courses on offer, saying:

Leaders and managers provide an ambitious and accessible curriculum that helps learners to develop the knowledge and skills they need to improve their employment opportunities and to progress in their careers.

Tutors were also praised for continually updating their subject knowledge to ensure it remains current, by completing training and webinars. They were also praised for:

…provid[ing] learners and apprentices with useful information to help them plan their next steps.

The report made 3 recommendations to help BESA build on its ‘good’ rating.

Councillor Steve Watkins, our Executive Member for Assets, Business and Housing, said:

We are delighted that BESA has been rated ‘good’ by Ofsted across all categories. This recognition highlights the positive impact we’re making in helping residents develop essential skills and secure employment.

We are encouraged by the feedback and will continue to build on our achievements, ensuring that we maintain these high standards. Our goal is to keep providing a service that supports the long-term success of our community.

At the time of the inspection, 400 adult learners were enrolled across various courses, while 43 individuals were actively participating in apprenticeship programmes.

Find our more about the courses and qualifications offered by BESA.

Monday 23 September will see the window close on a 10-week conversation that will start to shape the future of new homes, jobs and infrastructure, recreation and leisure, transport, local facilities, and green spaces in the area over the years ahead.

Last week, Councillor Adam Zerny, Leader of Central Bedfordshire Council, met with people living and working in Biggleswade to hear first-hand what they think about where they live, and what the Local Plan should look like.

Councillor Zerny said:

Before we consider where development might take place, we want to know what matters to local people. This feedback gives us the best chance of reflecting the community’s needs and aspirations throughout the process.

We know new homes will be needed – young people will want to get on the housing ladder; others will want to be near local schools and facilities as they create their first family homes; and people downsizing will want to stay close to their roots.

But we also know there has been much housebuilding in our area and it’s important plans for the future ensure the right facilities and services, the roads and public transport, and new or improved green spaces that people want to see.

We want this Local Plan to be done gradually to ensure it’s something the public can support. Getting involved at this stage is vital if you want to help shape the future of where you live – that’s why I’m encouraging everyone to take part before the deadline on 23 September.

Find out more about the Local Plan and share your thoughts, ideas and views. Paper copies are also available in Central Bedfordshire libraries.

You can also sign up for updates via email and join our dedicated WhatsApp news channel.

Cranfield University has played a key role in the production of the first metal part ever 3D printed in space.

"Don’t miss the chance to share your views on the new Local Plan for Central Bedfordshire" – that was the message from the leader of the council as he took to the streets to find out what’s important to local people.

Your weekly what’s on guide for Bedford and the surrounding area from the Bedford Clanger. Never miss a thing in Bedford ever again. From theatre to film, live music to art exhibition...

A refurbished skate park with a new surface, railings, and adding a new grind rail has opened in Jubilee Park, Bedford, A spokesperson for Bedford Borough Council has said the improvements...

GB Olympian, Greg Rutherford, has tried out the ‘Happy Hormone’ formula in the ideal test environment onboard an ocean cruise ship and to encourage people to boost happiness by trying something new, he’s joining forces with the UK cruise line to offer free excursions to customers

New signage acting as information points have been installed at Bedford Park and Addison Howard Park in Kempston in an effort to "improve the visitor experience" across the Borough's green spaces...

New noticeboards and signs have gone up at Bedford Park and Addison Howard Park.

Mohammad Yasin MP (Labour) was one of 52 Labour MP's to abstain from the vote to remove winter fuel payments for all but the poorest pensioners as a motion to block the Government's plans to...

This follows an 8-week consultation that ran earlier this year.

Almost 500 people, including representatives from a number of schools, responded to the consultation in which we put forward 5 proposed changes to the 2 policies. The changes were proposed to reduce the cost of school transport to the taxpayer. School transport costs have risen from £9 million to £19 million and the current school transport provision is over and above what we are obliged to provide by law.

At the meeting (watch the recording), our Executive agreed to implement a voluntary independent travel training scheme for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), helping them become more independent and confident using public transport.

Further changes will affect students over 16, including an amendment which now means they may be provided with seats on home to school transport but only where there is a surplus, although this is not guaranteed. Low-income families will be asked to apply for a discretionary bursary which can be used to contribute to the cost of their transport. Where this doesn't cover the full cost, we will make up the difference so low-income families will still get transport for free.

Additionally, students with SEND attending college will be provided transport at the start and end of the college day, regardless of lesson times.

After listening to feedback from the consultation, councillors rejected the change for us to transport children from their home to their ‘nearest school’ only rather than the school in their ‘catchment area’.

Councillor Steve Owen, our Executive Member for Children's Services, said:

The Executive carefully considered all feedback from those who took part in the consultation. The whole point of a consultation is to ensure people can influence council decisions and that we can make decisions fully informed about the impact a change might have. That’s exactly what has happened, and I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to talk to us about the changes. There was a lot of feedback about the potential impact of the proposal to only transport children to their ‘nearest school’ on families and the longer-term viability of some schools. Following some careful consideration, we agreed not to make this proposal forward.

It's crucial that we provide a school transport service that meets the needs of our community while also managing our resources effectively.

The changes that were agreed will deliver some savings without a detrimental impact on residents or schools. It’s important to note that the changes that were agreed will only affect new applications for school transport; we will honour existing commitments. Our school transport team will continue to ensure that people receive the support they need, including guidance on how to apply for bursaries.

Every day we transport around 6,500 children to and from school across Central Bedfordshire, on around 750 routes.

Two East West Rail plan profile drawings concerning Bedford town centre have been released through the Freedom of Information process.

Stopping an “ill-conceived recommendation” from being adopted by a local authority on school transport changes in Central Bedfordshire “is critical”, a schools trust is warning.

Gym-goers and swimmers across Bedford will notice a new campaign on the mirrors of their leisure centres in the coming weeks as GLL has become the first leisure provider in the UK to join a cancer awareness programme...

Congratulations on the purchase of Debenhams. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create meaningful change in Bedford and to imaginatively future-proof the town centre as an...

Voice and rights charity VoiceAbility free advocacy services are available to support Bedford residents with their health, care and wellbeing decisions. VoiceAbility believes that...

Bedford Town were once again in league action on Tuesday night and came away with what is becoming a familiar result as two of the Southern League Premier Central's promoted sides played out a 1-1 draw at the Sonning...

As Bedford Borough Council prepares to discuss if they should withdraw support for BedfordBID, the organisation set up to help promote Bedford Town Centre businesses, their CEO has said they are open...

Two men have been arrested in connection with a sexual assault investigation in Kempston over the August Bank Holiday weekend.

A man wanted on suspicion of rape has been arrested after police descended on Bedford Park yesterday evening (10 September). Officers investigating the rape…